Specialist / Senior Specialist, Vendor Management and Expert Network Innovation, ETF

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WHO YOU'LL WORK WITH

Bain’s Primary Research capability helps client teams develop well-grounded answers by working with a wide range of external research partners, including expert networks, survey providers, specialist research vendors, and other third parties. The Specialist / Senior Specialist, Vendor Management and EN Innovation, manages a defined set of workstreams covering vendor administration, quality and compliance, performance and spend tracking, vendor meetings, and process and innovation work. The role reports to the Manager, Vendor Management and EN Innovation, ETF.

We’re looking for someone organized and dependable who can take on a set of workstreams and keep them moving with limited direction. The role will suit someone who enjoys working across teams, keeps records and analysis in good order, notices issues early, and puts forward practical ways to improve how things are done. We’re open to candidates at either Specialist or Senior Specialist level, depending on experience and the scope of what they have owned previously.

Primary Research is an important capability for Bain, helping teams build a clear view of markets, customers, and the questions our clients are working through. As the range of research channels grows, a great deal rests on the day-to-day work behind it: keeping track of activity, following up, checking quality and compliance, and running vendor processes well. This role covers much of that work, and the analysis that comes with it helps the team make decisions more quickly and with better information.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Key responsibilities

• Help manage Bain’s portfolio of external research vendors, including expert networks, specialist research vendors, and other third parties.
• Run regular vendor meetings and check-ins, from scheduling and agendas through to notes and following actions through to closure.
• Keep track of vendor performance, spend, usage, and open issues, drawing out trends and raising anything that needs attention.
• Coordinate vendor onboarding, renewals, amendments, and offboarding, working with Legal, Risk & Compliance, Finance, and other teams as needed.
• Carry out quality, compliance, and documentation checks, resolving routine issues directly and escalating larger ones with a suggested way forward.
• Contribute to process and innovation work, including piloting new tools, reshaping workflows, gathering feedback, and helping colleagues adopt changes.
• Prepare updates for the Manager covering progress, risks, and decisions that need to be made.
• Build good working relationships across research, Legal, Risk & Compliance, Finance, technology, and client-service teams.
• Act as a first point of contact for vendor and internal queries, handling most directly and passing on anything complex or sensitive.
• Keep process documentation, templates, and shared repositories accurate, current, and easy to use.

ABOUT YOU

Required qualifications

• 3–6 years in vendor or supplier management, operations, procurement, professional services, external talent, research operations, or a related field; the upper end of the range points to Senior Specialist level.
• A track record of managing several workstreams at once and keeping them moving with limited direction.
• Well organized, with a strong eye for detail and a habit of following things through.
• Clear written and verbal communication, including preparing concise updates and materials that are easy to follow.
• Comfortable working with performance, spend, and usage data, and confident in Excel to draw out what the numbers are showing.
• Able to work effectively with different teams, including where priorities do not line up.
• Good judgment and discretion when handling confidential vendor, commercial, or client information.

Preferred qualifications

• Background in expert networks, primary research, survey vendors, external talent providers, or knowledge and research operations.
• Involvement in risk, compliance, vendor quality, or third-party management work.
• Familiarity with workflow, ticketing, procurement, or contract management tools, either using them or helping put them in place.
• Exposure to commercial discussions, contract tracking, or vendor performance conversations.
• Time spent in consulting, financial services, or another fast-paced client-service environment.
• Comfortable working across time zones with colleagues in different locations.