Procurement and Vendor Operations Senior Manager

Job Description Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced and detail-oriented Senior Manager to support Procurement Operations and Vendor Management within Vertex's BPO-enabled operating model. Reporting to the Associate Director, the Senior Manager will play a critical role in overseeing BPO-delivered activities, monitoring performance against SLAs, enforcing procurement policy compliance, and driving continuous improvement across outsourced procurement workflows.

This role requires a strong operator with excellent analytical and communication skills, and the ability to collaborate effectively with business stakeholders, Finance, Internal Controls, Category Management, and the external BPO partner.

This role also supports operational execution across Procurement Req-to-PO, Service Desk and Vendor Master Data Management activities delivered through the BPO, serving as an operational nerve center within the retained model.

This role does not own enterprise policy, vendor contracts, or audit accountability, but plays a critical role in surfacing risks and driving operational improvements.

BPO Operations Oversight

• Oversee day-to-day BPO-delivered procurement operations, including requisition review, PO creation, change orders, and catalog enablement, procurement service desk support, and vendor master data management.
• Monitor BPO performance against SLAs and KPIs (e.g., cycle time, touchless PO rate, policy compliance rate); identify performance gaps and support remediation planning.
• Monitor volumes, backlog, aging, and quality to ensure operational stability and consistent service delivery.
• Participate in service reviews and governance forums, including operational performance meetings and QBRs.
• Serve as the primary day-to-day contact for offshore delivery leads, run operational calls, track performance issues, and drive resolution.

Policy & Process Compliance

• Ensure adherence to procurement policies, approval matrices, and buying channel strategies across all BPO-delivered activity.
• Monitor maverick spend, identify root causes, and drive sustainable compliance improvements.
• Partner with Category Management to ensure operational execution aligns with sourcing strategies.
• Support training and communications on procurement tools, processes, and policy updates.

Escalation & Issue Resolution

• Serve as an escalation point for complex vendor, requisition, and PO issues not resolved at the BPO level.
• Partner with business stakeholders, Procurement, and Accounts Payable teams to resolve urgent operational issues and maintain executional alignment in a timely manner.
• Coordinate with the BPO to investigate root causes of defects, delays, vendor or user complaints, and implement durable solutions, corrective actions, clarifications, and process handoff improvements.
• Escalate systemic or high-risk issues to the Associate Director as appropriate.

Performance Reporting & Analytics

• Track and report on procurement operations metrics, including cycle time, exception rates, and catalog adoption.
• Use reporting tools such as BI platforms and Excel to generate operational dashboards and insights.
• Identify trends, risks, improvement opportunities and surface recommendations to the Associate Director.

Continuous Improvement & Digitization

• Drive catalog adoption, self-service enablement, and guided buying compliance initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to simplify procurement workflows and reduce manual interventions.
• Support automation and digitization initiatives in partnership with the BPO.

Risk & Controls

• Ensure appropriate controls are embedded within requisition-to-PO workflows.
• Support audit and compliance activities related to procurement operations.
• Identify operational risks and escalation mitigation strategies as appropriate.

Team Support & Development

• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement within the team.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and provide coaching to support professional growth.
• Support onboarding and training on procurement systems and processes.

• 5-8+ years of experience across Procurement Operations and Vendor Management , with demonstrated experience in Procure-to-Pay execution and vendor oversight
• Experience managing outsourced procurement operations and vendor relationships required , including performance oversight and governance
• Experience working in a BPO-enabled or shared services model preferred
• Hands‑on experience in Req-to-PO, Procurement Service Desk, and Vendor Master processes
• Professional certification (e.g., CPSM, CIPS) preferred
• Continuous improvement experience (Lean/Six Sigma) a plus

• Strong understanding of end-to-end Procure-to-Pay processes, policies, and best practices.
• Knowledge of procurement systems, guided buying platforms, and ERP systems (e.g., Oracle, Coupa) and service desk/work management tools.
• Proficiency in data analysis and reporting tools (e.g., BI platforms,