Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Fair Vendor

🎯 Role Definition

We are seeking a results-driven Fair Vendor to manage and optimize our supplier and vendor relationships across events, retail fairs, or marketplace channels. The ideal candidate will own the vendor lifecycle—from sourcing and contracting to performance monitoring and continuous improvement—ensuring compliance, cost efficiency, and exceptional partner experiences. This role requires strong negotiation and stakeholder management skills, practical procurement and contract knowledge, and the ability to analyze spend and vendor performance using ERP and BI tools.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Vendor Coordinator / Vendor Onboarding Specialist
Procurement Analyst / Sourcing Specialist
Events Operations Coordinator

Advancement To:

Senior Vendor Manager / Supplier Relationship Manager
Head of Vendor Management / Procurement Director
Strategic Sourcing Lead

Lateral Moves:

Contract Manager
Procurement Business Partner
Vendor Compliance & Risk Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Own end-to-end vendor lifecycle management for the Fair Vendor portfolio, including sourcing, selection, onboarding, contracting, performance monitoring, and offboarding to ensure timely delivery of goods and services and compliance with company standards.
Lead the development and execution of sourcing strategies and RFP/RFQ processes to secure competitive pricing, favorable commercial terms, and high-quality supplier relationships that align with organizational goals.
Negotiate complex contracts, master services agreements, and service level agreements (SLAs) that mitigate risk, define clear deliverables, and protect the company’s commercial and legal interests.
Conduct spend analysis and category management to identify cost savings opportunities, consolidation opportunities, and supplier rationalization initiatives that improve margin and operational efficiency.
Implement and maintain vendor performance scorecards and KPIs (on-time delivery, quality, SLA compliance, responsiveness) and run quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with strategic suppliers to drive continuous improvement.
Build and maintain strong cross-functional relationships with events, merchandising, operations, legal, finance, and marketing teams to translate business requirements into vendor selection and management actions.
Manage vendor onboarding and compliance programs, including background checks, insurance verification, tax forms, contract digitization, and audit readiness to reduce operational and regulatory risk.
Design and execute risk assessment frameworks for suppliers, including financial health checks, data security reviews, and continuity planning to proactively identify and mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities.
Lead dispute resolution and escalation processes for vendor-related issues—coordinating root cause analysis, corrective action plans, and follow-through to closure while preserving supplier relationships.
Administer vendor payment terms and invoice dispute workflows in collaboration with finance to ensure accurate, timely payments and maintain healthy supplier relationships.
Drive vendor innovation and value creation programs by identifying opportunities for co-development, bundling services, or piloting new offerings that enhance shopper experience and event outcomes.
Coordinate contract renewals, amendments, and termination activities, ensuring timely negotiations and smooth transitions to alternate suppliers when necessary.
Maintain a centralized vendor master data repository and ensure data accuracy in ERP/Procurement systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Workday) to support reporting, compliance, and operational efficiency.
Prepare executive-level reports and dashboards summarizing vendor health, spend trends, contract coverage, and risk exposures to inform strategic decisions and budget planning.
Plan and manage the vendor communications cadence, including onboarding materials, SLA updates, service bulletins, and escalation contacts to ensure clarity and consistency.
Lead cross-functional vendor selection committees and scoring matrices to ensure procurement decisions are defensible, documented, and aligned with corporate procurement policies.
Monitor marketplace and category trends, benchmark supplier performance and pricing, and recommend proactive sourcing initiatives to capture market-driven advantages.
Ensure vendor operations and supplier-provided products/services comply with company quality standards, regulatory requirements, and sustainability commitments.
Implement and maintain contingency plans for high-risk suppliers to minimize business disruption and ensure continuity of key services during incidents.
Coach and mentor junior procurement and vendor management staff, establishing best practices, templates, and playbooks for consistent vendor governance across events and channels.
Identify and implement process automation opportunities (contract lifecycle management, PO automation, onboarding workflows) to reduce manual effort, improve SLA adherence, and improve vendor experience.
Manage multi-vendor programs and bundled contracts, ensuring clear allocation of responsibilities, performance measurement, and commercial optimization across partners.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to answer business questions related to vendor performance, spend trends, or contract terms.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap by advising on supplier data requirements, governance, and KPIs for vendor analytics.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements, ensuring vendor-related data is accessible, accurate, and actionable.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team to prioritize vendor-data tasks and integrations.
Assist legal and compliance teams with contract language templates, standard terms, and vendor audit coordination to streamline review cycles.
Facilitate internal training sessions on vendor management tools, procurement policies, and best practices to raise organizational vendor governance maturity.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Vendor management and supplier lifecycle expertise, including onboarding, performance monitoring, and offboarding best practices.
Contract negotiation and commercial drafting experience with SLAs, MSAs, and vendor-specific service agreements.
Strategic sourcing proficiency, including RFP/RFQ design, supplier selection, and total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis.
Spend analytics and category management using Excel, Tableau, Power BI, or Looker to produce actionable insights and cost-saving recommendations.
Proficiency with procurement and ERP systems (e.g., SAP Ariba, Oracle Procurement, Coupa, Workday, JAGGAER) and contract lifecycle management (CLM) platforms.
Supplier risk assessment and mitigation techniques including financial health checks, compliance screening, and business continuity planning.
Familiarity with invoice reconciliation, PO lifecycles, and working knowledge of AP processes to coordinate payment and dispute resolution.
Data literacy: ability to query vendor datasets (SQL or equivalent), validate data quality, and collaborate with data teams to create vendor dashboards.
Knowledge of regulatory and compliance frameworks relevant to vendors (privacy, insurance, tax, export controls, and quality standards).
Experience running vendor performance reviews, designing KPIs, and leading supplier improvement initiatives.

Soft Skills

Strong negotiation and persuasion skills with a track record of closing commercial agreements that balance risk and value.
Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration; can influence peers and executives without direct authority.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills for contract language, vendor communications, and executive reporting.
Analytical and problem-solving mindset with attention to detail and the ability to synthesize complex supplier data into clear recommendations.
Project management and organizational skills to manage multiple vendor programs, renewals, and onboarding projects simultaneously.
Relationship-building aptitude to develop trusted, long-term vendor partnerships.
Adaptability and resilience in high-volume event or marketplace environments with shifting priorities.
Ethical judgment and integrity handling confidential vendor and financial information.
Coaching and mentoring capability to uplift junior team members and standardize vendor management practices.
Time management and prioritization skills to deliver results under tight deadlines.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Finance, Operations Management, or related field; OR equivalent practical experience managing vendor or procurement functions.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s plus professional certifications such as CPSM, CIPS, CPP, or a Procurement/Supply Chain Master’s (MS in Supply Chain Management, MBA with procurement focus).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Supply Chain Management
Business Administration
Finance or Accounting
Operations Management
Contract Law or Legal Studies
Hospitality & Event Management (if role focuses on fairs/events)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8 years in procurement, vendor management, strategic sourcing, or supplier relationship roles; 5+ years preferred for senior-level positions.

Preferred:

Demonstrated experience negotiating and managing multi-year contracts and SLAs in a retail, events, marketplace, or complex services environment.
Proven track record of delivering measurable cost savings, process improvements, and supplier performance uplift.
Experience with enterprise procurement/ERP systems and vendor analytics tools.
Background managing cross-functional vendor programs, migrations, or large-scale onboarding initiatives.
Prior exposure to legal, finance, and compliance collaboration on supplier risk and contract matters.