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

Rate: £36.54 per hour PAYE

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

The team acts as a central operational hub for the organisation’s extended workforce, including temporary workers, vendors, vendor workers and independent contractors.

You will manage the full worker-engagement lifecycle while coordinating processes across a complex, global matrix organisation. The role is approximately 60% operational delivery and 40% programme and process improvement .

Key responsibilities

• Manage extended-workforce engagements from initial intake through to onboarding, extensions and completion
• Coordinate contract negotiations, Statements of Work, approvals and work-order creation
• Work closely with procurement, compliance, legal, operational teams and external vendors
• Manage programme timelines, milestones, dependencies and potential bottlenecks
• Resolve onboarding and engagement issues while maintaining a positive stakeholder experience
• Identify and mitigate compliance risks, including worker-classification considerations
• Map existing processes and identify opportunities to streamline, automate and improve them
• Create and maintain clear process documentation and onboarding guidance
• Communicate progress, risks and recommendations to stakeholders at all levels
• Explore opportunities to use AI and automation to improve operational workflows

Essential experience

• Strong programme or project management experience
• Experience mapping processes, managing timelines and resolving operational bottlenecks
• Knowledge of procurement and contract-management processes
• Practical understanding of Statements of Work, work orders and contract approvals
• Excellent stakeholder-management experience within a complex or matrix organisation
• Exceptional written and verbal communication
• Experience identifying and implementing process improvements
• Confidence working across detailed operational delivery and wider strategic improvement
• Curiosity about AI and its potential to automate or improve workflows

Highly desirable

• Vendor-management or extended-workforce experience
• Knowledge of compliance-risk mitigation and worker classification
• Experience supporting temporary workers, independent contractors or vendor-supplied workers
• Familiarity with procurement platforms such as SAP or vendor-management systems

Previous experience with the organisation’s internal systems or processes is not required. The successful candidate must, however, be able to learn complex processes quickly and confidently coordinate activity across different teams and infrastructures.

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