Manager, Vendor Partnerships in India at Jobgether

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Manager, Vendor Partnerships based in India.

This role is central to building, managing, and optimizing a high-performing ecosystem of external research vendors that support large-scale market research operations. You will be responsible for ensuring vendor performance is measurable, transparent, and aligned with business and research quality standards. The position combines vendor relationship management, commercial negotiation, and data-driven operational oversight to improve speed, cost efficiency, and data quality across research projects. You will work closely with internal research, operations, product, and engineering teams to design scalable vendor governance frameworks and performance systems. The environment is highly analytical and systems-oriented, with a strong focus on automation, metrics, and continuous improvement. It is an ideal opportunity for someone who enjoys working at the intersection of operations, data, and strategic partnerships.

• Own and manage relationships with market research vendors, including panel providers, fieldwork agencies, and data suppliers across onboarding, performance management, contracting, and renewals.
• Establish and maintain a structured vendor governance framework with clear KPIs, SLAs, escalation processes, and accountability mechanisms.
• Define and track vendor performance metrics such as data quality, cost efficiency, turnaround time, fraud rates, and respondent experience.
• Build and maintain dashboards and reporting systems in collaboration with product and engineering teams to enable data-driven vendor evaluation.
• Use historical and real-time data analysis to guide vendor selection, allocation of volume, and consolidation decisions.
• Support commercial discussions including pricing, contract negotiations, spend monitoring, and ROI-driven optimization.
• Partner with research and operations teams to ensure optimal vendor matching based on performance history and project requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives by translating vendor performance insights into actionable operational and strategic improvements.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business, Economics, Statistics, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in vendor management, procurement, operations, or panel management within market research, insights, or data services.
• Strong experience using data and performance metrics to drive operational and vendor decisions.
• Proven ability to analyze complex datasets and translate insights into actionable business decisions.
• Experience working with research vendors such as panel providers, fieldwork agencies, or data suppliers.
• Familiarity with survey platforms, panel management tools, and research quality frameworks.
• Strong negotiation, stakeholder management, and communication skills.
• Proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets; exposure to BI tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker) is a plus.
• Ability to balance quantitative analysis with qualitative judgment in decision-making.
• Strong problem-solving mindset with attention to detail and operational rigor.

• Competitive salary with equity options (where applicable).
• Health insurance coverage and employee wellness support.
• Company-issued laptop and work equipment.
• Provident Fund (EPF) contributions as per policy.
• Paid holidays and flexible time off.
• Opportunity to work with global enterprise clients and large-scale research operations.
• Exposure to advanced data-driven vendor management systems and automation initiatives.
• Career growth in a fast-scaling, innovation-focused environment.