About the company
This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Head of Vendor Management / Associate Director based in Hungary.
Take the lead in shaping vendor management and strategic outsourcing within an international pharmaceutical and life sciences environment. In this senior role, you will develop a centralized vendor strategy, strengthen supplier partnerships, and ensure external services meet rigorous quality, compliance, and performance standards.
Responsibilities
- Develop and implement a centralized vendor management and procurement strategy across business units.
- Build and maintain strategic vendor partnerships that support business objectives, service quality, and reliable delivery.
- Serve as the senior escalation point for vendor disputes, performance concerns, and other supplier-related issues.
- Oversee the full vendor lifecycle, including sourcing, qualification, evaluation, onboarding, performance management, governance, and offboarding.
- Establish scalable vendor qualification and onboarding processes in collaboration with Quality Assurance.
- Monitor vendor capacity and ensure supplier capabilities align with forecast business requirements.
- Conduct market assessments to identify alternative suppliers, emerging capabilities, and competitive pricing.
- Establish and maintain vendor governance frameworks, key performance indicators, service metrics, and quality standards.
- Ensure vendor documentation, contractual agreements, and qualification records remain compliant and audit-ready.
- Identify and mitigate third-party risks while supporting business continuity planning.
- Collaborate with Legal, Quality, and Contract Management teams to manage vendor agreements.
- Lead commercial negotiations and develop vendor pricing strategies.
- Drive cost optimization across third-party expenditure categories.
- Monitor vendor spending and provide financial reporting.
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen vendor management processes.
- Support the implementation of vendor management systems and process automation.
- Provide training, guidance, and mentorship to develop team capabilities.
Requirements
- Significant professional experience in Vendor Management, Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Outsourcing, or Partnership Management within life sciences, pharmaceuticals, CROs, or related regulated industries.
- A proven track record of developing, managing, and optimizing high-performing vendor and supplier networks.
- Strong understanding of pharmacovigilance, regulatory affairs, quality and compliance requirements, and outsourced service delivery models.
- Demonstrated experience negotiating complex commercial agreements and large-scale vendor contracts.
- Experience designing and implementing vendor governance frameworks, performance management programs, and service-level metrics.