Senior Vendor Relationship Manager

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Romania, +5 more countries.

📋 Description

• Take ownership and develop Oyster’s global network of external payroll partners and primary compliance providers.

• Act as the subject matter expert and main operational and commercial lead for strategic multi-country payroll partnerships.

• Manage the complete payroll delivery processes, including cut-off calendars, variance analysis, GTN calculations, statutory filings, and failure modes.

• Supervise partner SLA compliance, data payload delivery, payroll cut-off adherence, capacity, readiness, and processing controls.

• Formulate partner strategy, governance, scorecards, review schedules, escalation thresholds, and improvement initiatives.

• Hold partners accountable for accuracy, timeliness, compliance with regulations, responsiveness, controls, and customer outcomes.

• Oversee the vendor relationship lifecycle, from selection and onboarding to transition, consolidation, or exit.

• Assess partner capabilities, market presence, operational maturity, security/compliance posture, and scalability.

• Establish and track KPIs, SLAs, scorecards, remediation strategies, and performance benchmarks.

• Lead high-level business reviews and performance discussions with partner executives.

• Convert performance data into actionable recommendations for Operations, Product, Finance, Legal, Customer teams, and leadership.

• Conduct vendor compliance audits, risk assessments, operational reviews, regulatory monitoring, and compliance tracking.

• Cultivate relationships with external partner leadership teams and lead negotiations, renewals, pricing, remedies, and service modifications.

• Navigate complex, multi-market payroll escalations through root-cause analysis, recovery strategies, prevention, and executive communication.

• Identify and onboard new partners to enhance global coverage and capabilities.

• Counsel internal teams and guide partner selection based on customer needs and business priorities.

• Maintain secondary oversight of Health & Safety and Compliance vendor relationships.

• Coordinate cross-functional responses to critical operational challenges and drive comprehensive resolutions.

• Review and enhance workflows, documentation, knowledge management, automation, and AI-enabled reporting.

• Analyze ticket trends and inquiries to pinpoint systemic issues and develop preventive resources.

• Lead People Services and cross-functional projects that support Oyster’s mission.

⛳️ Requirements

• Over 5 years of hands-on experience managing multi-country Payroll Vendors and Compliance/Health & Safety partners in a global context.

• Strong technical knowledge of end-to-end payroll processing cycles, Gross-to-Net (GTN) calculations, statutory filings, and payroll controls.

• Significant experience managing strategic payroll and compliance vendor relationships in a global or multi-country setting.

• In-depth understanding of payroll operations, compliance tracking, risk evaluations, statutory controls, regulatory monitoring, and international legal standards.

• Proven track record of enhancing vendor performance and regulatory alignment through KPIs, SLAs, vendor compliance audits, governance, remediation, and executive business reviews.

• Proficient in commercial negotiation and contract management, including pricing, service levels, remedies, renewals, and trade-offs.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

• Commercially astute and solutions-oriented mindset.

• Exceptional relationship-building and influencing abilities.

• Strong sense of ownership and capability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.

• Experience managing complex escalations and facilitating resolutions among multiple stakeholders.

• Excellent written, verbal communication, and presentation skills.

• Experience collaborating with Operations, Legal, Support, Sales, and Customer-facing teams.

• Process-oriented mindset with an emphasis on scalability and operational maturity.

• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and shaping evolving operational functions and frameworks.

• Proven success in proactive business partnerships with HRBPs, Lifecycle Teams, and Pay teams.

• Proficient in English.

• Reliable home internet connection or ability to secure one.

• [BONUS] Experience with global vendors across APAC, EMEA, LATAM, or AMER.

• [BONUS] Experience in developing or scaling vendor governance frameworks and operational structures.

• [BONUS] Proficiency in additional languages.

• [BONUS] Experience in a dynamic, scaling startup or global tech setting.

• [BONUS] Experience with implementing AI tools or automation workflows.

• Must be legally authorized to work in your residing country.

🏝️ Benefits

• Equity.

• Fully remote work from home.

• Work from anywhere, subject to authorization to work where you reside.

• 40 days off annually, including holidays and vacation, or more if required by local laws.

• Mental health support through Plumm.

• Monthly wellbeing allowance via ThanksBen.

• At least three months of paid parental leave with job protection for up to 12 months or as required locally.

• WFH stipend for laptop and home office setup.

• Flexible, asynchronous, collaborative work environment.

• Inclusive workplace and reasonable accommodations provided.

• No office attendance requirement.