Head of Vendor Management

Summary

Join AVIV Group, a leading digital real estate tech company, as their Head of Vendor Management. This critical role involves building and leading the vendor management function, owning commercial relationships with key technology and service providers. The ideal candidate will be a strong negotiator, commercially astute, and experienced in managing complex vendor relationships. Responsibilities include strategic vendor ownership, RFPs and tooling strategy, contract negotiations, product/service optimization, and driving internal adoption of new features. The role also requires evaluating technology ROI, ensuring operational excellence, and cross-functional integration. This position is crucial for improving efficiency, unlocking vendor value, and supporting long-term scalability.

Requirements

• 7+ years in vendor management, strategic sourcing, or commercial operations, ideally within a tech-enabled or customer-facing organization
• Demonstrated success managing large-scale vendor ecosystems and tooling platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Diabolocom, Besedo)
• Proven experience in leading complex RFPs, contract negotiations, and vendor performance programs
• Strong commercial acumen and ability to evaluate the ROI of technology investments
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills
• Familiarity with procurement and legal contract processes
• Experience working closely with Product and Tech teams in a matrixed organization

Responsibilities

• Strategic Vendor Ownership: Serve as the primary commercial point of contact for all key vendors, especially across sales, customer care, and moderation tooling. Drive accountability, performance, and innovation from each partnership
• RFPs & Tooling Strategy: Lead Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Proofs of Concept (PoCs), and evaluations for new and existing vendors to ensure alignment with business objectives and cost-efficiency
• Contract Negotiations & Renewals: Partner with Legal and Procurement to manage contract lifecycles, ensuring favorable terms, risk mitigation, and adherence to compliance standards
• Product/Service Optimization: Evaluate and optimize the product/service mix of vendors to avoid duplication, underutilization, or misalignment with business goals
• Feature Adoption & Training: Drive the internal adoption of new features and services through structured rollouts, workshops, and training sessions
• Operational Excellence: Ensure timely resolution of operational issues and coordinate with vendors on SLAs, incident management, and support escalation
• Vendor Performance Reviews: Conduct regular business reviews (QBRs), track vendor KPIs, and ensure vendors are meeting performance expectations
• Technology ROI Evaluation: Assess ROI and business value of existing and prospective vendor technologies and partnerships. Partner with finance and operations teams to improve both, cost and operations, efficiency
• Cross-Functional Integration: Coordinate with Product/Tech and Procurement functions to ensure smooth integration, evolution of technical requirements, and effective vendor onboarding
• Salesforce Management Partner Oversight: Identify and manage an external Salesforce maintenance and support partner to minimize internal development efforts while maintaining agility and expertise

Benefits

• 30 days annual leave + 2 Volunteering days per year
• Hybrid or remote working options
• Flexible working hours
• Company pension scheme
• ���58 public transport allowance
• ���100 allowance for glasses
• A mix of Health and Wellbeing benefits
• Bicycle leasing (Job Rad)
• Berlin only - Subsidised canteen (3.50€/day)
• Charity fundraisers
• Laptop (MacBook/Dell)
• Smartphone + Subscription (requires approval)
• Partnership with Urban Sports Club & Kyan Health