Technology Supplier Relationship Manager

Our Technology team continues to go from strength to strength, playing a vital role in firm-wide innovation, operational excellence, and business strategy. Far from being a traditional support function, Technology is central to the firm's growth agenda and is backed by strong leadership engagement and sustained investment across platforms, infrastructure, cyber security, data, AI, and digital transformation initiatives. The Technology organisation supports a global user base across multiple international locations including the UK, UAE, Singapore, and Hong Kong, delivering business-critical services within a highly demanding professional services environment. The estate is substantial and complex, comprising over 350+ services operating across a predominantly cloud-first Microsoft ecosystem, including Azure, Microsoft 365, enterprise platforms, collaboration technologies, identity services, AI-enabled capabilities, and business-critical legal applications. Technology services are delivered through a globally integrated operating model, supported by a broad ecosystem of strategic suppliers, managed service providers, cloud vendors, SaaS platforms, and specialist technology partners. These relationships are critical to ensuring stability, security, scalability, and continuous evolution of the firm's technology landscape. As the firm continues to modernise its technology environment, there is significant focus on improving operational maturity, governance, automation, commercial optimisation, and supplier accountability. This includes increased investment in cloud transformation, AI-enabled technologies, modern workplace services, cyber security, and data platforms, alongside growing emphasis on responsible AI adoption, commercial transparency, and effective management of consumption-based technology services. The Supplier Relationship Manager will play an important role in helping the firm maximize value from its technology investments, ensuring strategic suppliers are aligned to business priorities, operational expectations, commercial objectives, and the firm's evolving technology strategy. The Role We are seeking an experienced and strategic Supplier Relationship Manager to oversee and optimise relationships with third-party Tech and AI service providers. As a key member of the technology function, you will be responsible for developing and executing a supplier relationship strategy, ensuring that all third-party engagements align with business objectives, service level agreements (SLAs), compliance standards, and the firm's AI governance and commercial objectives. Your role will be pivotal in managing the commercial, operational, and consumption-based financial aspects of our technology supplier ecosystem, ensuring that our partners deliver maximum value while mitigating risks. This includes ensuring commercial transparency, effective supplier governance, and appropriate oversight of contractual commitments associated with cloud, SaaS and AI-enabled services and technologies. The successful candidate will play a key role in ensuring the firm achieves sustainable value from its investment in AI and cloud technologies through effective supplier management, commercial oversight, and strategic partnership development., Supplier Strategy & Governance

• Develop and implement a supplier relationship management strategy aligned to the firm's technology and architecture roadmap.
• Ensure suppliers support delivery of strategic objectives, product roadmaps, innovation priorities, and operational outcomes.
• Work closely with Product Owners to ensure supplier capabilities are aligned to product and service requirements.
• Establish and lead strategic supplier governance forums, including executive and quarterly business reviews, ensuring clear accountability, action tracking and value realisation.
Commercial & Contract Management
• Lead commercial negotiations and manage supplier contracts, renewals, and ongoing commercial performance, maintaining financial oversight and identifying opportunities for optimisation.
• Partner closely with Procurement to ensure consistent commercial approaches, governance, and value realisation across supplier engagements.
• Ensure value for money, commercial transparency, and strong cost control across including effective oversight of AI, cost forecasting, and supplier spend optimisation.
• Lead supplier and contract rationalisation initiatives, working with Product Owners, Architecture, Procurement, Finance and Technology teams to consolidate suppliers, remove duplication and optimise the firm's supplier landscape.
Supplier Performance & Operational Integration
• Define and manage KPIs and SLAs to ensure supplier performance meets agreed expectations.
• Work with Product Owners and Technology teams to ensure suppliers are effectively integrated into products, services, and the firm's technology landscape.
• Ensure suppliers support service stability, product delivery, and continuous improvement of user and client outcomes.
Risk, Compliance & Responsible AI Enablement
• Identify, assess and manage risks associated with third-party suppliers, including data security, regulatory compliance, and operational resilience.
• Ensure appropriate governance is applied to AI-enabled services, including transparency of underlying models, oversight of usage, and alignment with firm-wide AI risk frameworks.
• Work alongside Risk, Legal and Procurement teams to ensure supplier onboarding and management reflects a "well-governed by design" approach.
• Support proportionate and practical application of controls, without duplicating second-line risk ownership.
Stakeholder Engagement & Supplier Management
• Act as the primary interface between suppliers and internal stakeholders across Technology, Product, Procurement and the wider business.
• Ensure alignment of priorities across Product Owners, Procurement, and Technology teams when onboarding or managing suppliers.
• Partner with procurement to support onboarding activities for new and renewing supplier engagements.
Issue Resolution & Continuous Improvement
• Lead resolution of supplier-related issues in a timely and proportionate manner, protecting the firm's commercial and operational interests.
• Drive continuous improvement in supplier performance, service quality, cost efficiency, and innovation.
• Identify and deliver opportunities to evolve supplier models, improving supplier performance, service quality, commercial value and efficiency, and strategic alignment.
  
  Experience: 5+ years in supplier management or Tech operations, preferably within a professional services environment having proven experience within a complex environment.
• Commercial Acumen: Strong understanding and experience of contract negotiation, pricing models, and financial management.
• AI & Emerging Technology: Experience working with and managing suppliers providing AI-enabled services, including negotiating AI contracts, associated governance, risk considerations, and future compliance with the upcoming AI act and understanding of AI service models.
• Technology Outsourcing Experience: Proven experience working with technology outsourcing partners and managed services.
• Stakeholder Management: Excellent communication and influencing skills with the ability to engage with senior stakeholders, suppliers, and cross-functional teams.
• Risk & Compliance Awareness: Strong understanding of Tech compliance, risk management, and regulatory requirements (including data residency).
• Analytical Thinking: Ability to assess supplier performance data, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
• Problem-Solving: Proactive approach to resolving supplier issues and optimising service delivery.
  
  The Mishcon de Reya Group is an independent, international professional services business with law at its heart, employing over 1400 people with over 650 lawyers. It includes the law firm Mishcon de Reya LLP and a collection of leading consultancy businesses that complement the firm's legal services.
Mishcon de Reya LLP is based in London, Oxford, Cambridge, Singapore, Hong Kong and UAE. The firm services an international community of clients and provides advice in situations where the constraints of geography often do not apply.The work the firm undertakes is cross-border, multi-jurisdictional and complex, centred around three increasingly entwined and connected sectors: the Innovation Economy, Private Wealth and Capital, and Real Estate. The firm is known as a disputes powerhouse with a formidable capacity firmwide for dispute resolution. The Mishcon de Reya Group includes consultancy businesses MDR Discover,MDR Mayfair(in London, Singapore and Dubai), MDR ONE, and MDRi(in Hong Kong). The Group also includes MDR Lab, which invests in the most promising early stage legaltech companies as well as the Mishcon Academy, its in-house place of learning and platform for thought leadership. In 2024, the Group announced its first strategic acquisition in the alternative legal services market, flexible legal resourcing business Flex Legal. It also acquired a majority stake in Somos, a global group actions management business. We strive to create a fully diverse and inclusive workplace where all our people are empowered to fulfil their potential. We are proud of our agile working culture and are always happy to talk flexible working.