Vendor Manager

Job Title: Sourcing Program Professional

Job Description

We are seeking a highly organized sourcing and program professional to support vendor onboarding and contracting execution. You will play a crucial role in connecting sourcing managers, business partners, and vendors, moving engagements from selection to signed contracts and live programs. Additionally, you will support ongoing supplier management and compliance once the program is active.

Responsibilities

• Partner with stakeholders to execute sourcing and vendor management for GenAI data annotation and collection.

• Lead contract negotiations that optimize value to the company.

• Manage vendor performance and governance in collaboration with the business.

• Provide market intelligence and sourcing updates to leadership.

Essential Skills

• BS/BA degree.

• 4+ years of outsourcing or strategic sourcing experience, ideally in tech or AI domains.

• Demonstrated success in negotiating complex contracts and managing vendor relationships.

• Strong commercial negotiation skills across multiple levers beyond rates.

• Program management experience with business stakeholders, cross-functional groups, and third parties.

• Highly organized and able to synthesize complex information into executive-ready summaries.

• Proficiency in running RFIs and RFPs.

• Expertise in pricing analysis and benchmarking using Google Sheets and Excel.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience sourcing annotations for ML/AI or large language model development.

• Experience managing high-volume data annotation sourcing programs.

• Experience working with BPOs, crowdsource/freelance platforms, and boutique data vendors.

• Ability to break down vendor cost models and ROI drivers.

• Prior experience at major tech companies such as Google, Amazon, Open AI, and Apple.

Work Environment

The position requires working onsite three days per week in NYC. The work environment is dynamic, involving collaboration with various technologies and equipment to support AI research and product development.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of New York, NY.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $90.00 - $95.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: Medical, dental & vision Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital 401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) Short and long-term disability Health Spending Account (HSA) Transportation benefits Employee Assistance Program Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of New York, NY.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Nov 24, 2026.

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in New York,NY.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [email protected] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.