Vendor Management Lead
RemoteUnited Kingdom
Job Summary
Own vendor relationships across the EMEA region as the primary point of contact for key vendors spanning claims, support, and specialised service providers. Maintain and run vendor scorecards covering service levels, quality, and cost to drive improvement conversations, while leading periodic audits and business reviews to document findings and agree on action plans. Ensure vendors meet regulatory obligations and keep compliance evidence current, identifying and mitigating operational, financial, and concentration risks before they escalate. Drive cost efficiency by tracking external capacity costs and identifying savings opportunities, then inform build versus buy decisions with data and analysis on in-house, specialist partner, or flexible external capacity options. Stay market aware by tracking the broader vendor landscape and bringing fresh ideas to improve the business. Collaborate cross-functionally with Operations, Product, Insurance, Legal, Procurement, Finance, and Customer Experience on sourcing, RFPs, and external capacity models. Manage documentation including contracts, SLAs, and risk assessments for the entire EMEA portfolio. Based in or able to work from London with occasional travel to EMEA.
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years' experience in vendor, partner, or third-party relationship management
- Experience managing outsourced service providers such as claims administrators, BPOs, or specialist service partners
- A genuinely data-driven approach: comfort pulling together performance, cost, and market data to identify trends and build a case for decisions
- A track record of holding vendors accountable through scorecards, SLAs, and structured performance reviews
- Experience with third-party or vendor risk management, including identifying, documenting, and mitigating operational, financial, and compliance risk
- Some exposure to build versus buy, make versus buy, or outsourcing strategy decisions
- An interest in the commercial and cost side of vendor management
- Curiosity about the wider market
- Strong negotiation and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to work cross-functionally
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
- Based in or able to work from London
- Willingness to travel occasionally for in-person vendor engagement across EMEA
Desired Qualifications
- Experience in a fast-growing insurtech, fintech, or other high-growth technology environment
- Exposure to delegated authority, MGA, or coverholder/TPA governance frameworks
- Experience with specialised service or fulfilment partners (e.g., assistance, repair, or logistics-type providers), not just claims/BPO vendors
- Relevant insurance qualifications (e.g., Cert CII, ACII) or willingness to work towards them
- Additional European languages
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