Head of Supplier and Vendor Management

Role Description

Department

IT Services at the University of York is maturing its vendor and contract management capability to support our ongoing digital strategy. We are establishing an IT Supplier & Vendor Management team and are seeking an outstanding leader to shape its future and drive commercial value across our third-party relationships.

Role

As the Head of IT Supplier & Vendor Management, you will lead this strategic function, reporting to the Director of IT. You will establish and uphold vendor management governance, bringing structure, visibility, and commercial consciousness to our contract and supplier operations. Your key responsibilities will include leading on contract and sourcing strategies, conducting complex negotiations, and managing the contract lifecycle for critical third-party Cloud, SaaS, and managed IT services. Through collaborative, high-trust leadership, you will inspire a high-performing team and build contract management expertise across the department.

Skills, Experience & Qualification needed

• Vendor & Procurement Expertise: Professional qualification in Procurement, Contract Management, ITAM, and/or ITIL or equivalent IT contract/vendor experience, alongside a degree-level qualification.
• Strategic Contract Management: Significant experience leading supplier management and procurement in a complex environment, particularly for IT systems (SaaS, cloud, hardware, software licensing, and consultancy).
• Commercial Negotiation: Proven ability to lead complex, high-value commercial negotiations and manage the end-to-end contract lifecycle to optimize value and balance risk.
• Stakeholder & Collaborative Skills: Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a track record of building effective relationships with internal stakeholders (including Procurement and Legal) and external strategic partners.
• People Leadership: Experience in line management, guiding, inspiring, and developing a team to deliver high-quality service and continuous improvement.

Interview date: To be confirmed

For informal enquiries: please contact Tyrrell Basson on tyrrell.basson@york.ac.uk

The University strives to be diverse and inclusive  – a place where we can ALL be ourselves.

We particularly encourage applications from people who identify as  Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic background, who are underrepresented at the University. 

We also encourage applications from women for senior roles. 

We offer family friendly, flexible working arrangements, with forums and inclusive facilities to support our staff. #EqualityatYork

As a Disability Confident employer, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum (essential) criteria for each position will be offered an interview.  Read more about the University of York’s commitments under the Disability Confident scheme.