Vendor Manager

Octopus Investments; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Pension plan

Share incentive

Private medical insurance

Parental leave

Life insurance

Wellness hub Anchor

Overseas work opportunity

Cycle to work

Job summary

Octopus Investments is seeking a Procurement Lead to manage supplier relationships from selection to renewal. You will negotiate terms, oversee onboarding, performance and renewal while leveraging AI to reduce admin and sharpen decision-making. Your judgment will drive value, governance and supplier reliability.

You will collaborate with Information Security, Legal, Risk and Compliance to ensure robust procurement practices and data protection across contracts.

Qualifications

• Experience in procurement, vendor management, or contract management.

Responsibilities

• Build supplier relationships and advise on contracts.
• Negotiate pricing, renewals and terms, and review proposals.
• Ensure due diligence and governance in supplier onboarding and risk management.
• Use data and AI to improve buying processes and report on spend.

Skills

Procurement

Vendor management

Contract management

Negotiation

Education

CIPS qualification

Tools

Procurement platforms

AI tools for research

Job description

Company Description

Every supplier we choose affects how well we back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world, and that’s our mission.

Octopus is a group of entrepreneurs and investors who believe there’s a brighter way to do business. We’re an accredited B Corp, and we’ve changed our Articles of Association so every decision weighs the interests of employees, customers, communities, the environment and shareholders.

Job Description

What’s in it for you

You’ll own our supplier relationships from selection to renewal, and your recommendations will shape what we buy. You’ll negotiate pricing and terms, see each supplier through onboarding, performance and renewal, and have room to use AI and automation to cut admin and sharpen decisions. Your judgement will decide whether we get real value and whether our suppliers are reliable and well governed.

The role

You’ll look after our supplier relationships and make sure we get good value from every contract. You’ll work closely with colleagues across the business, and with Information Security, Legal, Risk and Compliance.

What you’ll do

Build supplier relationships

• Build long‑term relationships with approved suppliers, and give colleagues practical, clear advice on their contracts.
• Run service reviews and improvement plans, and step in early on supplier issues and commercial risks.

Negotiate and source

• Negotiate pricing, renewals, extensions and terms, looking beyond the lowest price to overall value, and spot savings from supplier consolidation to better contract terms.
• Support tenders (requests for proposal and requests for information), review proposals and recommend suppliers on cost, quality and risk.

Keep suppliers safe and well governed

• Support due diligence and onboarding, working with Information Security, Legal, Risk and Compliance so the right checks happen.
• Keep contract records accurate and help manage risks such as service continuity, financial stability and data protection.

Improve how we buy

• Use data, reporting tools and AI responsibly to simplify processes and report clearly on spend, renewals, savings and supplier performance.
• Help colleagues understand the cost of buying AI-enabled products, including licensing and usage‑based pricing.

Qualifications

Essential

• Experience in procurement, vendor management, supplier relationship management or commercial contract management.
• A track record of building supplier relationships and negotiating strong commercial terms.
• Experience supporting supplier selection and tendering.
• Confidence working with financial information, supplier data and spreadsheets.
• Clear communication with senior colleagues, and a practical approach to advising stakeholders.
• Sound commercial judgement: balancing cost, service quality and risk, and knowing when to bring in specialists.

Desirable

• Experience in financial services or another regulated environment.
• Familiarity with supplier due diligence, third‑party risk management and procurement governance.
• Experience buying technology, software as a service (SaaS) or professional services.
• Experience with procurement or contract management platforms, or using AI tools for research and analysis. Curiosity about both counts too.
• A CIPS (Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply) qualification, or equivalent experience.

Don’t tick every box? If you meet most of the essentials, we’d still love to hear from you.

Additional Information

What we offer

• A competitive salary, bonus, pension and share incentive plan
• Untracked holiday
• Hybrid working – three days in the office, two days from home
• Anchor (our wellness hub) which includes Headspace, one to one coaching through Wellness Cloud, Digital GP, employee assistance program & more
• Up to 6 months paid parental leave regardless of gender
• Life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection
• Private medical insurance for you and your family
• The option to work overseas up to a month per year

Plus: pension, free mortgage advice, a financial coach through Octopus Money, electric vehicle leasing and cycle to work through salary sacrifice, season ticket loans, professional study benefits, ClassPass and Perks at Work.

Our Values

At our core, we believe that how a company behaves is just as important as what it does. That’s why we chose to become an accredited B Corp (the equivalent of a Fairtrade coffee stamp but for companies) and to change our Articles of Association so that the interests all our stakeholders – employees, customers, communities, environment and shareholders – are considered in every decision we make.

We are committed to building a workplace where diversity is valued, and inclusion is a priority. By providing equal opportunities for growth and development, we embrace and celebrate all races, genders, religions, sexual orientations, ages, disabilities, and socio‑economic backgrounds. We believe teams achieve their best when every member feels safe, respected and empowered to be their authentic selves.

We're proud to be disability confident and are committed to supporting candidates with a disability, including neurodiversity and mental health conditions, throughout the recruitment process. Applicants are welcome to opt‑in to the disability confident scheme as part of our application process. If you require any adjustments to the interview process, we’ll be happy to accommodate where possible.