Business Program Manager – Vendor Strategy & Operations

Business Program Manager – Vendor Strategy & Operations
Location: London
Working pattern: Hybrid – onsite Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
Contract: 12 months
Pay rate: £36.54 per hour PAYE

The opportunity We are recruiting a Business Program Manager to join the Vendor Strategy & Operations team within a leading global technology and AI organisation.

The team operates as a central hub for the organisation’s extended workforce, supporting temporary workers, independent contractors, vendors and vendor-supplied workers.

You will manage the full lifecycle of extended-workforce engagements while coordinating activity across a complex, matrix organisation. The role combines hands-on operational delivery with programme management and process improvement.

Approximately 60% of the role will focus on operational delivery, with the remaining 40% focused on improving, documenting and automating processes.

Key responsibilities

• Manage extended-workforce engagements from initial intake through to onboarding, extensions and completion
• Coordinate Statements of Work, contract approvals and work-order creation
• Support contract negotiations and ensure the correct approvals are secured
• Work closely with procurement, compliance, legal, internal teams and external vendors
• Manage programme timelines, milestones, dependencies and operational bottlenecks
• Resolve onboarding and engagement issues efficiently
• Identify and mitigate compliance risks, including worker-classification considerations
• Map existing processes and identify opportunities to streamline or automate them
• Recommend practical improvements to non-standardised or inefficient processes
• Create and maintain clear documentation for onboarding flows and related programmes
• Communicate progress, risks and recommendations clearly to stakeholders at all levels
• Explore how AI and automated workflows could improve operational delivery

Essential experience

• Strong programme or project management experience
• Experience mapping processes, managing timelines and resolving bottlenecks
• Knowledge of procurement and contract-management processes
• Understanding of Statements of Work, work orders and contract approvals
• Excellent stakeholder-management experience within a complex or matrix organisation
• Strong process-improvement skills, with examples of making operational processes more efficient
• Exceptional written and verbal communication
• Confidence challenging existing processes constructively and recommending improvements
• Ability to balance detailed operational work with broader programme priorities
• Curiosity about using AI and automation to improve workflows

Desirable experience

• Vendor-management or extended-workforce experience
• Experience managing temporary workers, contractors or vendor-supplied workers
• Knowledge of compliance-risk mitigation and worker classification
• Familiarity with procurement systems such as SAP
• Experience using a vendor management system such as Fieldglass
• Experience within a large, global technology organisation

Previous experience with the organisation’s internal systems or processes is not required. However, you must be able to learn complex processes quickly and confidently coordinate activity across multiple teams.

Interview process The interview process will consist of three competency-based interviews, with no test or assessment. This is an urgent requirement, and the process is expected to move quickly.

There is no guaranteed extension beyond the initial 12-month contract, although continuation may be possible.