About The Role
We are looking for an Associate Program Manager to join the Uber AI Solutions team. Program Managers move fluidly from thinking about big-picture solutions to having a strong handle on small details so the team can seamlessly deliver on strategic cross-functional projects impacting scale, often with tight deadlines. You are a bridge and a connector for the team, contributing to high-impact, high-visibility projects that keep us moving forward!
As the Program Manager for Vendor Management, you will be the primary owner of our technology-vendor ecosystem, building strategic partnerships, driving cost and performance improvements, and ensuring airtight governance across contracts, compliance, and risk. You will operate as a go-getter problem-solver who is equally comfortable negotiating at the table, diving deep into data, and orchestrating complex, cross-functional initiatives that move the business forward.
What The Candidate Will Do
- Vendor Procurement: Lead end-to-end RFP processes, vendor short-listing, commercial negotiations, and contract drafting. Craft and manage Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) that balance cost, risk, and performance. Establish KPIs, run quarterly business reviews, and publish vendor scorecards. Analyze spend and performance data to surface cost-saving and value-creation opportunities.
- Vendor Compliance and Risk: Ensure adherence to contractual, legal, regulatory, and information-security requirements. Proactively identify, assess, and mitigate vendor-related risks; maintain risk registers and contingency plans.
- Relationship Management: Build and nurture long-term, win-win relationships with technology and service vendors. Serve as the single point of contact for all vendor-related communications and escalations. Lead rapid-response cross-functional task forces to resolve vendor disputes, service failures, or delivery risks.
- Process Improvement and Strategic Planning: Map, measure, and streamline procurement and onboarding workflows using Lean / Six Sigma techniques. Partner with Finance, Legal, IT, and Business teams to align vendor strategy with company OKRs.
- Data and Reporting: Build dashboards (Excel, SQL, Power BI, or similar) to visualize spend, SLA adherence, and risk posture. Present insights and recommendations to leadership to guide strategic decisions.
- Stakeholder Management: Influence leaders and functional heads; communicate program status, risks, and ROI in clear, executive-ready formats.
What The Candidate Will Need
- Minimum of 3 years experience as a program manager in a tech and/or start up environment and managing scaled operations, technology vendors, RFPs, contract negotiations, or large-scale procurement programs. Education in Business, Engineering, Supply-Chain, or related field.
- Proven record of securing favorable commercial terms and driving total-cost-of-ownership savings. Intermediate knowledge of Data Analytics (e.g., SQL, Google Data Analytics, Tableau, Power BI).
- Familiarity with e-procurement / P2P suites (Coupa, Ariba, etc.), contract-lifecycle tools and platforms.
- Working knowledge of current market dynamics, emerging tech vendors, and pricing trends in SaaS and infrastructure. Exposure to global, multi-vendor ecosystems (on-shore, near-shore, off-shore).
- Hands-on experience running process-improvement and risk-mitigation initiatives.
- Exceptional verbal/written skills with outstanding emotional intelligence and the ability to build trust, influence and empower people across a variety of job functions through your relationships and resolve conflicts across cultures and time-zones.