Category Manager, Strategic Partner Management

Maybank; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial institution in Kuala Lumpur seeks a Category Manager, Strategic Partner Management to oversee vendor performance and procurement strategies. The role requires at least 10 years of experience in procurement and vendor management within the technology sector. The ideal candidate will have expertise in category strategy, risk assessments, and contract adherence. This position plays a critical role in optimizing costs and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years’ experience in Procurement or Vendor Management for Technology.
• Understanding of banking or financial sector vendor requirements is an advantage.
• Expertise in Category Strategy formulation and contract management.

Responsibilities

• Manage technology vendor and contract performance.
• Conduct spend and demand analysis to optimize costs.
• Lead third-party risk assessments and vendor compliance tracking.

Skills

Procurement

Vendor Management

Category Strategy

Contract Management

Risk Assessment

Job description

Category Manager, Strategic Partner Management

• Responsible for technology vendor and contract performance, category cost optimization and procurement strategy, regulatory compliance assurance, risk assessments, and Vendor governance processes.
• Acts as the single point of contact for Group Risk, Legal, and Compliance on vendor-related matters.
• Manages the vendor performance lifecycle, analytics, and continuous improvement initiatives. Translates vendor data into insights and actions to improve service, cost, and innovation outcomes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Category Management in Technology primary responsible for Spend analysis, Demand analysis (forecast vs actual), Market insight and trends, Contract analysis, and Cost drivers.
• Understands vendor and contract requirements in Technology and Banking.
• Lead third-party risk assessments, onboarding due diligence, and exit planning.
• Track vendor compliance to obligations, certifications, and risk tier and controls aligned to internal Procurement policy, BNM RMiT and outsourcing guidelines.
• Facilitate internal audits, regulatory reviews, and control testing for vendor engagements.
• Monitor SLAs, KPIs, and contract adherence through scorecards and escalation frameworks to identify contract non-performance and penalties.
• Develop vendor scorecards, dashboards, and performance reporting frameworks.
• Monitor contractual KPIs and SLAs across technology domains.
• Lead QBRs (Quarterly Business Reviews) and service improvement plans with vendors.
• Drive cost benchmarking, spend tracking, and cost-avoidance reporting.
• Collaborate with Business/Technology leads on vendor renewal decisions.

Requirements:

• Minimum 10 years’ experience in Procurement or Vendor Management for Technology.
• Background in Financial sector or understands banking or financial sector vendor requirements, is an advantage.
• Expertise in Category Strategy formulation, vendor performance oversight, vendor lifecycle understanding, and contract management.