Senior Program Manager, Vendor and Scaled Operations

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States, +2 more countries.

📋 Description

• Oversee Thumbtack's vendor and outsourcing strategy for Service Operations, which includes decisions on sourcing, make-versus-buy recommendations, capacity strategy, and addressing partner expansion, consolidation, or exit scenarios.

• Manage commercial relationships in collaboration with Legal, Finance, and Procurement, covering SOWs, rate structures, SLA credits and remedies, and contract renewals.

• Design and refine governance for vendor performance, including SLA and scorecard architecture, QBRs, decision rights, escalation paths, and remediation playbooks.

• Manage a portfolio of scalable operations and partner support programs that span one year or more.

• Define strategy, sequence tasks, prioritize initiatives, make capacity determinations, track dependencies, handle escalations, and communicate changes effectively.

• Develop measurement frameworks that encompass quality, SLA achievement, forecast accuracy, cost-to-serve, and leading indicators.

• Align senior leadership across Service Operations, IT, Legal, Finance, Product, and Workforce Management regarding sourcing priorities and tradeoffs.

• Facilitate adoption and change through teams and partners who are not directly under your supervision.

• Recognize and develop AI and automation solutions to minimize coordination overhead and enhance oversight.

• Mentor program managers and institutionalize effective practices in playbooks and standards.

⛳️ Requirements

• At least 8 years of experience in program or project management, with a minimum of 3 years managing vendor, BPO, or outsourced delivery relationships at scale.

• Demonstrated experience with multiple vendors, multiple locations, or vendor transitions is strongly preferred.

• Proficient in program management tools such as Jira, Linear, Coda, or Smartsheet.

• Well-versed in both Agile and Waterfall methodologies.

• Extensive experience managing outsourcing relationships end-to-end, including commercial terms, governance, performance management, escalation processes, and handling challenging conversations.

• Proven ability to construct and defend make-versus-buy or vendor expansion cases utilizing cost, quality, and risk modeling.

• Experience in managing multiple concurrent large-scale programs while making prioritization and capacity decisions.

• Skilled in designing repeatable operations and identifying performance degradation through leading indicators.

• Experience in building robust SLA and scorecard architecture, governance models, transition playbooks, and reporting systems.

• Ability to develop and sustain models, dashboards, and SLA tracking mechanisms.

• Experience in navigating ambiguous environments without established processes.

• Background in mentoring program managers or sharing best practices.

• PMP, PgMP, or an equivalent certification is a plus.

🏝️ Benefits

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.

• Generous paid time off and holiday schedule.

• Opportunities for professional development and growth.

• Flexible work arrangements and a supportive team culture.