Vendor Management Specialist

About this role

FirstRand, the group behind FNB, is hiring a Vendor Management Specialist based in Johannesburg. The role looks after vendor relationships, service level agreements and contracts, so the bank gets the delivery and value it expects from its third-party partners.

What you’ll do

• Manage service level agreements, contracts and procurement work for strategic and other third-party vendors.
• Link internal teams with external partners across the group on key vendor engagements.
• Advise business teams on day-to-day and tactical vendor management, and challenge them confidently when material risks come up.
• Help solve problems with vendors while protecting supplier relationships under the contract terms.
• Contribute to vendor governance policies, frameworks and guidelines, and explain them to internal and external stakeholders.
• Help analyse total cost of ownership and review business cases with input from finance, business and vendors. You will also take part in budgeting when needed.

What you need

• A degree in one of the following: B Com, B Com Honours, BSc, BSc Honours, BSc Engineering or a Supply Chain degree.
• 5 to 7 years of progressive experience in vendor management and/or procurement, ideally in a similar-sized organisation.
• 2 to 3 years of ICT experience (advantageous).
• Experience in vendor, relationship, contract or procurement management in the banking industry (advantageous).
• CIPS certification (advantageous).
• A solid understanding of vendor management methods and of the governance structures used to manage vendor programmes and vendor risk.
• Strong data analysis skills, with the ability to turn results into recommendations.
• Strong business and commercial insight.

Is this job for you?

This role suits an experienced procurement or vendor management professional who likes building relationships and can also hold their ground in tough conversations. You should be comfortable working with senior executives as well as operational staff. The work is fast-paced and rarely routine.

Tips before you apply

• Have your degree certificate, academic transcripts and proof of any CIPS study ready before you apply.
• Show your 5 to 7 years of vendor or procurement experience on your CV with clear examples: the contracts, SLAs and vendors you managed, and the results you delivered.
• Highlight any ICT or banking vendor work, and give examples of times you influenced stakeholders or challenged a decision on risk.