Vendor Manager - IT Recruitment Partnerships

Unison Group; Chennai District; Hybrid; INR 2,000,000 - 4,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Unison Group is seeking a seasoned Vendor Manager for IT recruitment partnerships. You will build, manage and grow our vendor network for IT hiring, partnering with new and existing vendors to drive quality CV submissions and successful closures across multiple regions.

You will own end-to-end vendor recruitment cycles, negotiate terms, monitor performance and ensure timelines align with client demands. The role requires strong communication and stakeholder management across internal teams and

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in IT recruitment, staffing or vendor management.
• Proven track record with multiple recruitment agencies/vendors.
• Strong negotiation and relationship management skills.

Responsibilities

• Identify, onboard and manage recruitment vendors for IT hiring.
• Build and maintain a cross-regional vendor network (India, Singapore, Middle East).
• Coordinate with vendors for project-based and volume hiring.
• Ensure CV quality, timelines and closure against requirements.
• Monitor vendor performance and enforce SLA compliance.

Skills

Vendor management

IT recruitment

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Vendor network

Job description

Position: Vendor Manager - IT Recruitment Partnerships
Work Location: Hyderabad / Chennai
Experience: 10+ Years
Industry: IT Staffing / Recruitment / Consulting

Job Summary

We are looking for an experienced Vendor Manager to build, manage and expand our recruitment vendor network for IT hiring requirements. The person will be responsible for identifying and partnering with new recruitment vendors, managing existing vendor relationships, driving quality CV submissions and ensuring successful closures against assigned hiring requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify, evaluate and onboard new recruitment vendors / staffing partners for IT hiring requirements
• Build and maintain a strong vendor network across Singapore, Malaysia, India and the Middle East
• Partner with vendors for project-based hiring, contract staffing and volume recruitment requirements
• Understand assigned client requirements / JDs and clearly communicate hiring expectations to vendors
• Source and obtain quality, relevant CVs from recruitment partners within agreed timelines
• Screen and validate vendor submissions for skills, experience, notice period, location, salary expectations and overall suitability
• Manage the complete vendor recruitment cycle from requirement allocation → CV submission → interview coordination → follow-up → offer → joining → closure
• Take ownership of assigned accounts / requirements and work closely with vendors to achieve monthly closure targets
• Build strong relationships with high-performing vendors and continuously improve vendor productivity
• Monitor vendor performance based on CV quality, turnaround time, interview conversion, offer conversion and joining ratio
• Negotiate and manage commercial terms, replacement clauses and other vendor engagement requirements where applicable
• Develop backup vendor channels for critical and niche IT skill requirements
• Coordinate closely with internal recruiters, account managers and hiring teams to ensure requirements are fulfilled within SLA
• Maintain accurate vendor database, hiring pipeline, submission trackers and closure reports
• Identify new market opportunities and continuously expand the recruitment partner ecosystem

Required Skills & Experience

• 10+ years of experience in IT Recruitment, Staffing, Vendor Management or Recruitment Agency Management
• Strong understanding of IT skills, technologies and recruitment processes
• Proven experience working with multiple recruitment agencies / staffing vendors
• Strong vendor network across India, Singapore, Malaysia and/or Middle East will be highly preferred
• Experience handling project-based IT hiring and volume recruitment
• Strong negotiation, relationship management and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to work on multiple requirements simultaneously and deliver against tight timelines
• Strong follow-up skills with a result-oriented and closure-focused approach
• Good communication skills with the ability to manage vendors professionally and drive accountability
• Experience in achieving recruitment targets / closures will be an advantage

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Number of new vendors onboarded
• Active and productive vendor network
• Quality and number of CV submissions
• CV-to-interview and interview-to-offer conversion
• Successful closures and joining ratio
• Vendor turnaround time and SLA adherence
• Monthly hiring / closure target achievement
• Vendor performance and relationship quality

Ideal Candidate:

A highly connected and commercially aware recruitment professional who can build a strong vendor ecosystem, drive vendors for quality CVs and personally take ownership of requirements until successful closure