Vendor Operations Manager

Job Title: Vendor Operations Manager

Reports to: Sr. Program Manager, Strategic Initiatives + Partnerships

Position Summary:

Apkudo is a rapidly scaling software- and robotics-as-a-service company focused on transforming reverse logistics for mobile phones and other connected devices. We deliver our robotics and operations with the help of managed service providers, OEMs, field service vendors, and regional support partners across the US and internationally. Keeping those partners performing is central to how we deliver for our customers.

New partnerships are built and launched by our Partnerships team. This role will be the go to person for managing key service and hardware partnerships day to day. You will onboard new vendors and partners, hold them to the service levels in their agreements, work escalations to resolution, report on how they are performing, negotiate new commercials, and run the regular business reviews that keep everyone aligned. This is a hands-on execution role.

What you'll do:

• Lead new vendor and partner relationships at the point they move from launch into execution, and manage performance, communication, and issue resolution from that point forward

• Onboard new vendors and partners

  • gather what they need to operate

  • coordinate documentation and system access

  • set up reporting and communication schedules

• Manage the day-to-day performance of our managed service, field service, and hardware vendors across US and international sites, holding each to the service levels in their agreements

• Act as the daily point of contact for vendor site and regional management; log, triage, and work escalations through to closure

• Manage the global partner network supporting product deployments, including regional coverage, response expectations, and partner readiness as new markets come online

• Monitor whether vendors are delivering what their agreements require, and drive any gaps to correction

• Own the SLA regime: build and publish the monthly performance scorecard, calculate credits earned under each agreement, and drive them to claim

• Validate vendor invoices against contracted rates, volumes, and escalators; identify and resolve billing discrepancies

• Administer rate cards, escalators, and headcount true-ups; track cost per unit against plan and flag drift

• Work with partners and internal stakeholders to develop monthly business reviews, maintain action logs, and drive open items to completion

What you'll need:

• BA/BS or equivalent operating experience.

• 5+ years in vendor/partner management, supplier or partner operations, or managed services delivery

• 2+ years of experience in the mobile/connected device, supply chain (reverse or forward), consumer electronics,, and/or technology industries is desired

• Direct experience managing third-party vendors - OEMs, staffing, field services, or logistics

• Expert with Project Management tools and AI tools

• Experience onboarding new vendors or partners and getting them running

• Strong analytical and reporting skills; Excel/Sheets required, SQL or Power BI a plus

• Strong written and verbal communication, including working directly with vendor leadership

• Has administered a services agreement, not just managed a relationship - SLAs, credits, rate cards, escalation clauses

• Comfortable holding a vendor to account without damaging the relationship

• Organized, process-driven, execution-focused, and comfortable with ambiguity

• Willing to travel to US and international sites as needed

Nice to haves:

• Managing vendors across multiple countries or regions

• Managed services or BPO environments

• Supporting hardware or robotics deployments in the field

  NOTICE TO APPLICANTS/EMPLOYEES

Apkudo, Inc.

Please take notice that Apkudo, Inc. (“the Company”) collects certain information about you. For more information on the Company’s policies, please refer to the Company’s privacy policy on its website (https://apkudo.com/legal/privacy.html) and the Personal Data Protection Process.

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• Go to court;

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If you are a Texas resident, please take note of the following:

The Texas Data Privacy Act (“TDPA”) provides Texas residents with certain rights regarding their personal data. As an applicant or employee of the Company, these include:

• Right to confirm whether the Company processes their personal data and to access such personal data.

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