Service Contract Manager

Job Title
Service Contract Manager

Location
Saronno / Milan / Italy

Reporting to
Service Manager Italy

Travel
Regular travel within Italy and occasional international travel

About

The Role
Vanderlande is looking for a highly motivated Service Contract Manager to act as the primary customer and business partner for assigned service contracts. This role goes beyond traditional contract administration. We are looking for a business-oriented professional capable of building strong customer relationships, ensuring contractual performance, managing financial results, identifying business opportunities, and driving continuous improvement initiatives. The Service Contract Manager acts as the primary owner of the customer relationship and the contractual performance of assigned service agreements.

Working closely with the Service Operations Team Leader and the operational teams, this role ensures that customer expectations, contractual commitments, business objectives, and service outcomes remain aligned. Beyond contract performance, the role plays a key part in developing long-term customer partnerships. By working closely with Vanderlande commercial, business development, and service sales teams, the Service Contract Manager identifies customer needs, promotes continuous improvement initiatives, supports investment discussions, and contributes to the sustainable growth of Vanderlande’s service business.

The successful candidate will combine commercial awareness, financial understanding, customer focus, and leadership skills to support the growth and long-term success of Vanderlande's Service business.

Ideal Candidate Profile
We are looking for a future service leader who can successfully balance customer satisfaction, contractual performance, financial results, and business growth. The ideal candidate understands that long-term service success comes from building trusted customer relationships, managing business risks, and continuously creating value for both the customer and Vanderlande.

Preferred Backgrounds

Service Contract Management

Service Management

Customer Success Management (Industrial / B2B environments)

Operations Management

Maintenance Management

Technical Account Management

Aftermarket Services

Experience in customer development, service sales, contract renewals, aftermarket services or account growth activities would be considered a strong advantage. Experience in automated material handling systems, intralogistics or industrial automation is considered an advantage, but is not a prerequisite for success in this role.

What Success Looks Like

Builds trusted relationships with customers.

Protects and grows service contracts.

Identifies business opportunities and improvement initiatives.

Creates long-term value for both the customer and Vanderlande.

Main Responsibilities
Customer Relationship Management

Act as the primary customer, contractual and business point of contact for assigned customers.

Build and maintain strong customer relationships at both operational and management levels.

Manage stakeholders at different organizational levels within both the customer organization and Vanderlande, ensuring alignment on priorities, performance and business objectives.

Lead customer review meetings and performance discussions.

Prepare and present regular operational, contractual and financial performance reports to customers and internal stakeholders.

Manage customer escalations, contractual issues and special customer requests, coordinating internal stakeholders as required.

Ensure alignment between customer expectations and contractual deliverables.

Contract Management

Own the performance of assigned service contracts and the contractual scope of services to be delivered, ensuring compliance with agreed service levels, contractual commitments and customer expectations.

Ensure maintenance activities included within assigned service contracts are effectively planned and coordinated with the Service Operations Team Leader and operational teams, in accordance with contractual commitments, operational windows and SLA requirements.

Monitor the progress of contractual activities, customer requests, and agreed action plans, ensuring timely follow-up and closure.

Monitor compliance with contractual obligations, SLAs, and performance targets.

Identify contractual risks and drive mitigation actions.

Coordinate contract renewals, amendments, and scope changes.

Support the development of a qualified network of suppliers, subcontractors and service partners for…