Vice President of Vendor Management - Vendor Lifecycle Management

Who we are looking for:

The Vice President, Vendor Lifecycle Management (VLM) plays a critical leadership role in the end-to-end management and execution of the vendor lifecycle, with responsibility for driving operational rigor, timely execution, transparency and accountability across vendor management activities.

The role leads an India-based team responsible for end-to-end vendor management and serves as a senior point of accountability for lifecycle execution, capacity, reporting, issues and escalations.

The individual will bring strong execution discipline, analytical insight, structured problem solving and a sense of urgency to help the Business navigate vendor requirements, cross-functional dependencies, risks and operating challenges with clarity and pace.

Role Purpose

The role is accountable for lifecycle management across vendor onboarding, due diligence, contracting, ongoing monitoring, renewals/change activity and related operational processes, while partnering closely across Business, Procurement, Risk, Cyber, Legal, Technology and Finance stakeholders and external vendors.

The ideal candidate combines strong people leadership, vendor and third-party management expertise, executive communication skills and operational discipline, with the ability to drive decisions, resolve issues and accelerate execution in a complex, highly regulated environment.

Why this role is important to us:

Effective vendor management requires coordinated execution across multiple business and control functions. Delays, unclear ownership, capacity constraints or unresolved dependencies can materially affect business priorities, risk management and vendor outcomes.

This role ensures that:

• Business stakeholders have clear visibility into vendor lifecycle status, capacity, risks, dependencies and priorities
• Vendor activities progress with appropriate pace, ownership and accountability
• Issues and exceptions are identified early, escalated appropriately and driven through resolution
• VLM operates with consistent governance, service standards, reporting and execution discipline
• Cross-functional partners and vendors have a clear senior point of accountability for lifecycle execution

Key Responsibilities

VLM Leadership & End-to-End Delivery

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across the vendor lifecycle, with overall accountability for delivery quality, timeliness and outcomes.
• Lead and develop a team responsible for end-to-end vendor management.
• Establish consistent lifecycle governance, ownership, service standards and escalation mechanisms.
• Maintain clear accountability for work in progress, aging items, service commitments, risks, dependencies and completion dates.
• Drive follow-through on commitments and intervene when execution is delayed or cross-functional dependencies are not being resolved.

Team, Capacity & Resource Management

• Own capacity and workload management across the VLM team, ensuring resources are aligned to business demand, priorities and risk.
• Maintain transparent views of demand, capacity, utilization, backlog and resource constraints.
• Anticipate capacity constraints and recommend prioritization, process, automation or staffing actions before service commitments are affected.
• Set clear individual and team objectives and maintain strong performance management, coaching, development and succession planning.

Business & Cross-Functional Relationship Management

• Build trusted working relationships with Business leaders and partners across Procurement, Risk, Cyber, Legal, Technology and Finance, ensuring clear ownership and coordinated execution across the lifecycle.
• Act as a senior point of contact and escalation for Business stakeholders navigating vendor lifecycle requirements.
• Maintain effective working relationships with vendors, particularly where vendor responsiveness, delivery or dependencies affect lifecycle execution.
• Navigate competing priorities and decision rights across a matrixed organization and influence timely outcomes without relying solely on direct authority.

Governance, Risk Management & Escalation

• Maintain robust governance and oversight across vendor lifecycle activities.
• Establish clear accountability, decision rights, SLAs and escalation paths.
• Drive timely resolution of lifecycle exceptions, risks, findings and cross-functional dependencies.
• Identify and escalate material delays, unresolved decisions, control concerns and resource constraints early, with a clear articulation of business impact, accountable owner, action required and target resolution date.
• Actively drive escalated items to resolution rather than relying on reporting or governance forums alone.
• Ensure transformation initiatives preserve appropriate control integrity while improving efficiency.

Process Optimization & Digital Enablement

• Lead continuous improvement of end-to-end vendor processes, identifying opportunities to simplify, standardize and automate.
• Drive adoption of risk-based and proportionate vendor pathways.
• Reduce manual handoffs, duplication, rework and unnecessary process complexity.
• Challenge process bottlenecks and unnecessary delays, engaging the appropriate process owners to improve execution speed without compromising control requirements.
• Champion workflow, automation and AI opportunities across VLM.
• Drive greater lifecycle transparency through integrated workflow, dashboards and management information.
• Shift VLM capacity from manual coordination toward exception management, risk decisions, vendor performance and value realization.

Performance, OKRs & Executive Reporting

• Establish KPIs and management reporting across lifecycle performance, including capacity, demand, backlog, aging, cycle time, SLA performance, risks and escalations.
• Monitor efficiency, cycle time, SLA adherence, exceptions, risks and benefit realization.
• Own VLM OKR definition, tracking and reporting, ensuring alignment between strategic objectives, team priorities and measurable outcomes.
• Produce clear, concise and accurate executive-level reporting that translates operational data into insights, emerging risks, decisions required and corrective actions.
• Provide senior leadership with clear visibility of performance, emerging risks and transformation progress.
• Ensure reporting clearly distinguishes completed work, work in progress, overdue items, material dependencies, accountable owners and required decisions.

What we value

These skills will help you succeed in this role:

• Demonstrated experience leading teams responsible for vendor management, third-party risk, procurement, operations or similarly complex cross-functional processes
• Strong people leadership skills, with experience managing managers and senior professionals and building accountable, high-performing teams
• Strong execution rigor with the ability to maintain momentum, manage ambiguity, prioritize competing demands and drive issues through resolution
• Deep understanding of vendor lifecycle and third-party governance requirements within a large, highly regulated organization
• Strong ability to translate operational data into executive-ready insights, recommendations and actions
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex issues clearly to senior executives and operational stakeholders
• Proven stakeholder-management and influencing skills across Business, Procurement, Risk, Cyber, Legal, Technology, Finance and external vendors
• Strong analytical judgment and problem-solving skills, including the ability to distinguish routine execution issues from matters requiring senior escalation
• Ability to balance speed and business enablement with appropriate governance, risk and control discipline
• Experience with performance management, OKRs, KPIs, SLAs, capacity reporting, dashboards and executive management information
• Experience leveraging workflow, automation, data/analytics and AI-enabled tools to improve operational efficiency and transparency

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Finance, Operations, Risk Management or a related discipline; MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification preferred.
• 15+ years of overall work experience, with significant experience in Vendor Management, Third-Party Risk Management, Procurement, Operations, Risk, financial services or related functions.
• Demonstrated experience leading a multi-level team, including managers and senior professionals; experience managing approximately 6+ direct or matrixed reports strongly preferred.
• Experience operating within a complex, global, matrixed and highly regulated financial services environment strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of vendor lifecycle processes, governance and risk/control frameworks.
• Experience with workflow optimization, automation, data/analytics and digital transformation.
• Strong executive communication, stakeholder management and influencing capabilities.
• Strong proficiency with Excel and PowerPoint and familiarity with reporting, workflow, analytics and AI-enabled productivity tools.

About State Street

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