Head of Vendor Management / Associate Director

Head of Vendor Management

Advancing patient safety. Building trusted partnerships. Growing careers.

At Arriello , we help pharmaceutical and life sciences organisations navigate complex regulatory requirements while keeping patient safety at the centre of everything we do.

Through our expertise in Pharmacovigilance, Quality & Compliance, and Regulatory Affairs , we support clients across the globe in delivering safe and effective medicines to patients. As our business continues to grow, we are looking for talented professionals who are passionate about quality, collaboration, and making a meaningful impact.

We are proud of our supportive and inclusive culture, where people are encouraged to share ideas, develop their expertise, and contribute to continuous improvement. If you are looking for an opportunity to apply your skills in a dynamic international environment while continuing to build your career, we would love to hear from you.

Our values shape how we work every day:

Inclusive – We value fairness, respect, and learning from one another.

Dedicated – We deliver practical, client-focused solutions.

Innovative – We work together to find better ways forward.

Passionate – We build strong relationships and care about the quality of what we do.

What You Will Do

Vendor Strategy & Leadership

• Lead and develop the Vendor Management and Commercial Outsourcing function.
  
• Establish and implement a centralised vendor and procurement strategy across all business units.
  
• Develop long-term vendor partnership strategies aligned with business objectives.
  
• Contribute to senior management discussions and strategic planning initiatives.
  
• Act as the senior escalation point for vendor-related issues, disputes and performance concerns.
  

Vendor Lifecycle Management

• Oversee the full vendor lifecycle, including sourcing, qualification, evaluation, onboarding and governance.
  
• Maintain comprehensive oversight of approved, preferred and prospective vendors.
  
• Develop scalable vendor qualification and onboarding processes in partnership with Quality Assurance and other stakeholders.
  
• Ensure vendor capacity planning supports forecast business requirements.
  
• Conduct market assessments to identify alternative suppliers, capabilities and pricing opportunities.
  

Governance, Compliance & Risk Management

• Establish and maintain vendor governance frameworks, KPIs, metrics and quality measures.
  
• Ensure vendor documentation, agreements and qualifications remain compliant and audit ready.
  
• Support risk identification, mitigation and business continuity planning associated with external providers.
  
• Collaborate with Legal, Quality and Contract Management teams on vendor agreements and contractual compliance.
  

Commercial & Financial Management

• Lead vendor pricing strategies and commercial negotiations.
  
• Drive cost optimisation initiatives across third-party spend categories.
  
• Monitor vendor expenditure and provide reporting to support forecasting, budgeting and financial control.
  
• Develop recommendations relating to outsourcing, insourcing, vendor consolidation, automation and technology solutions.
  

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Drive continuous improvement and innovation across vendor management processes.
  
• Lead process improvement, system implementation and automation initiatives to improve vendor management efficiency and transparency.
  
• Support proposals, pricing submissions and client-facing discussions where required.
  

Stakeholder & Team Development

• Provide training, guidance and mentorship to support team development.
  
• Build strong partnerships across Commercial, Technical Operations, Quality Assurance, Finance, HR, Legal and Project Management functions to ensure effective vendor performance and alignment with business objectives.
  

Essential

• Significant experience in Vendor Management, Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Outsourcing, or Partnership Management within life sciences, pharmaceutical, CRO, or related regulated environments.
  
• Proven success developing and managing high-performing vendor and supplier networks.
  
• Strong understanding of Pharmacovigilance, Regulatory Affairs, Quality & Compliance, and outsourced service delivery models.
  
• Demonstrated experience negotiating complex commercial agreements and large-scale vendor contracts.
  
• Experience establishing vendor governance frameworks, performance management programmes, and risk management processes.
  
• Strong commercial acumen, including cost optimisation, budgeting, forecasting, and financial management.
  
• Expertise in vendor lifecycle management, from sourcing and qualification through onboarding, performance management, and offboarding.
  
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with experience working across senior leadership teams and cross-functional departments.
  
• Excellent communication, relationship-building, and negotiation skills.
  
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organisational, and project management capabilities.
  
• Proven ability to drive change, continuous improvement, and operational excellence within a growing organisation.
  
• Experience working in fast-paced, international, and high-growth environments.
  

Desirable.

• Experience within pharmacovigilance, regulatory affairs, quality assurance, or outsourced healthcare services.
  
• Experience with Vendor Management Systems (VMS), ERP, CRM, or procurement platforms.
  

• Flexible working arrangements.
  
• Opportunities for professional development and career progression.
  
• Exposure to international clients and diverse project portfolios.
  
• A collaborative and supportive culture built on knowledge-sharing and teamwork.
  
• The opportunity to work alongside leading pharmacovigilance and regulatory experts.
  
• Meaningful work that directly contributes to patient safety and public health.
  
• Recognition for your expertise, contributions, and achievements.
  

Equal Opportunities

Arriello is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplace where everyone is valued and treated with dignity. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are dedicated to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process where required.