Background information about the job or company (e.g., role context, company overview)

West Indian Ocean Cable Company ( WIOCC)

Qualifications or requirements (e.g., education, skills)

Bachelor’s degree: Supply Chain, Engineering, Business Administration or similar

Experience needed

Minimum 5–7 years in: Vendor management, Supply chain, technical project delivery

Telecom/Pan-African infrastructure experience preferred

Demonstrated ability to lead contract and commercial negotiations

Strong risk, compliance and SLA administration knowledge

Responsibilities or duties

Vendor Strategy and Planning

• Develop and implement the vendor management strategy aligned to business plans
• Identify supplier gaps to match future expansion (network build, POP expansion, fibre access projects)
• Maintain a vendor capacity matrix per region
• Work with PMO to forecast workload and match vendor capacity pipeline to delivery plans
• Work with Hyperscale's Engagement Director to align on the commercial and operation implications of back-to-back deal involving Hyperscale's

Vendor Selection, Sourcing and Onboarding

• Support RFP/RFQ preparation, issuance, evaluation, and vendor shortlisting
• Lead commercial and delivery-related negotiations with shortlisted suppliers
• Manage vendor due diligence checks covering: financial stability, track record and capability, HSSE policies, resource availability & equipment
• Facilitate contract award and onboarding into WIOCC systems

Contracting, Compliance and SLA Governance

• Draft, negotiate and execute supplier contracts with Procurement and Legal oversight
• Ensure SLA terms reflect: delivery timelines, downtime guarantees, workmanship standards, penalties for delay or non-performance
• Monitor adherence to contractual obligations and maintain renewal/expiry calendars
• Implement systematic compliance audits and remedial plans

Vendor Performance Management

• Develop vendor scorecards with KPIs including On-time delivery, Quality pass rates, Rework/defect frequency, Responsiveness and communication, Safety compliance
• Run monthly/quarterly performance reviews with each vendor
• Track and escalate underperformance with corrective action plans
• Recommend vendor expansion or decommissioning based on performance
• Work with Service Management and Network Operations and the Hyperscale's Engagement Director

Project Delivery Support

• Serve as primary vendor escalation point for PMO, Engineering and Operations
• Resolve delays in mobilization, material delivery, site access, installation, testing and invoicing
• Ensure rapid communication to keep projects moving
• Maintain accurate vendor delivery status reporting

Cost Control and Value Optimization

• Benchmark vendor pricing across countries/vendors to ensure competitiveness
• Track spend vs budget by vendor and project category
• Identify opportunities for: aggregated procurement, volume discounts, standard price lists, cost avoidance through planning
• Support Finance with accruals and cost forecasting
• Work with Engineering and Hyperscale Engagement Director to track spending vs budget by vendor and project category

Risk Management and Issue Escalation

• Identify delivery bottlenecks and future risks per vendor
• Maintain a vendor risk register and mitigation plans
• Manage escalation workflows across vendor management, PMO, Engineering, Legal
• Resolve disputes related to delays, quality issues or scope deviation

Relationship and Stakeholder Management

• Maintain strong working relationships with vendor leadership and operations teams
• Engage cross-functional stakeholders (Procurement, PMO, Engineering, Network Ops, Logistics, Finance, Service Management and Hyperscale's Engagement Director)
• Build strong internal partnerships to meet delivery and cost targets
• Represent WIOCC professionally in vendor forums and negotiation sessions

• Develop and implement the vendor management strategy aligned to business plans
• Identify supplier gaps to match future expansion (network build, POP expansion, fibre access projects)
• Maintain a vendor capacity matrix per region
• Work with PMO to forecast workload and match vendor capacity pipeline to delivery plans
• Work with Hyperscale's Engagement Director to align on the commercial and operation implications of back-to-back deal involving Hyperscale's
• Support RFP/RFQ preparation, issuance, evaluation, and vendor shortlisting
• Lead commercial and delivery-related negotiations with shortlisted suppliers
• Manage vendor due diligence checks covering: financial stability, track record and capability, HSSE policies, resource availability & equipment
• Facilitate contract award and onboarding into WIOCC systems
• Draft, negotiate and execute supplier contracts with Procurement and Legal oversight
• Ensure SLA terms reflect: delivery timelines, downtime guarantees, workmanship standards, penalties for delay or non-performance
• Monitor adherence to contractual obligations and maintain renewal/expiry calendars
• Implement systematic compliance audits and remedial plans
• Develop vendor scorecards with KPIs including On-time delivery, Quality pass rates, Rework/defect frequency, Responsiveness and communication, Safety compliance
• Run monthly/quarterly performance reviews with each vendor
• Track and escalate underperformance with corrective action plans
• Recommend vendor expansion or decommissioning based on performance
• Work with Service Management and Network Operations and the Hyperscale's Engagement Director
• Serve as primary vendor escalation point for PMO, Engineering and Operations
• Resolve delays in mobilization, material delivery, site access, installation, testing and invoicing
• Ensure rapid communication to keep projects moving
• Maintain accurate vendor delivery status reporting
• Benchmark vendor pricing across countries/vendors to ensure competitiveness
• Track spend vs budget by vendor and project category
• Identify opportunities for: aggregated procurement, volume discounts, standard price lists, cost avoidance through planning
• Support Finance with accruals and cost forecasting
• Work with Engineering and Hyperscale Engagement Director to track spending vs budget by vendor and project category
• Identify delivery bottlenecks and future risks per vendor
• Maintain a vendor risk register and mitigation plans
• Manage escalation workflows across vendor management, PMO, Engineering, Legal
• Resolve disputes related to delays, quality issues or scope deviation
• Maintain strong working relationships with vendor leadership and operations teams
• Engage cross-functional stakeholders (Procurement, PMO, Engineering, Network Ops, Logistics, Finance, Service Management and Hyperscale's Engagement Director)
• Build strong internal partnerships to meet delivery and cost targets
• Represent WIOCC professionally in vendor forums and negotiation sessions

• Vendor management
• Supply chain
• Technical project delivery
• Contract negotiation
• Commercial negotiation
• Risk management
• Compliance administration
• SLA administration
• RFP/RFQ preparation
• Due diligence
• HSSE policies
• Contract drafting
• Contract negotiation
• Performance management
• KPI development
• Cost control
• Value optimization
• Stakeholder management
• Relationship management

• Bachelor’s degree: Supply Chain, Engineering, Business Administration or similar
• Minimum 5–7 years in: Vendor management, Supply chain, technical project delivery
• Telecom/Pan-African infrastructure experience preferred
• Demonstrated ability to lead contract and commercial negotiations
• Strong risk, compliance and SLA administration knowledge