Global Partner Manager

About the Role We are seeking a highly experienced, commercially aggressive Global Partner Manager to serve as the procurement authority and strategic sourcing engine for our massive distributed workforce. You will be the absolute owner of all external commercial agreements, rate negotiations, and vendor RFPs. This role requires a unique combination of strategic foresight to build a global talent ecosystem, the operational agility to pivot with fast-moving project demands, and the rigorous discipline to strictly enforce commercial boundaries across the organization. What You'll Do

• Act as the sole owner of all external commercial negotiations and enforce internal boundaries to keep Operations and Program teams focused on delivery and shield them from rate discussions and contracting.
• Drive aggressive, sustainable rate negotiations across all domains and global geographies; lock in rates that remain valid for 3+ years, incorporating Economic Cost Adjustments (ECA) to ensure long-term cost stability.
• Draft, negotiate, finalize, and enforce all Master Services Agreements (MSAs) and Statements of Work (SOWs) with our partner network.
• Lead end-to-end RFP management: creation, distribution, and rigorous evaluation of RFPs across the global network. Analyze proposals to ensure technical capabilities, cultural fit, and transparent commercial scoring aligned with project needs.
• Partner with internal Operations and Program Management teams to translate upcoming project scopes and complex technical requirements into executable vendor sourcing strategies.
• Drive a highly efficient rapid down-selection process to identify best-fit partners for complex, fast-moving AI data projects.
• Develop, own, and maintain a centralized "Partner 360" ecosystem—the single source of truth for all active partners, supported domains, language capabilities, geographic footprints, and headcount/capacity.
• Continuously identify, vet, and onboard new partners across critical global geographies (e.g., SEA, IND, USA, EU) to ensure scalable capacity.
• Establish and manage a "Preferred Partner" program. Segment partners by capability, historical performance, and operational agility to streamline future vendor selections.
• Act as a strategic collaborator for Frontier Ops teams, surfacing new capabilities from the partner community to unlock opportunities and revenue streams.
• Serve as the integration point for feedback from Operations, Talent Acquisition, and Product teams, consolidating vendor performance and quality metrics into actionable vendor scorecards. What We're Looking For
• 5+ years of experience in global procurement, strategic sourcing, or vendor management, specifically handling complex BPO, staffing, or outsourced operational partnerships.
• Master Negotiator with a proven track record of securing highly favorable commercial terms and maintaining strong, mutually beneficial long-term partner relationships.
• Process discipline: ability to establish firm rules of engagement and tell internal teams to step back from commercial discussions and trust the process.
• Agility & speed: understands that in the AI space, speed is a feature and moves at the speed of a hyper-growth startup.
• Risk & Compliance acumen: deep understanding of global labor laws, data privacy standards, and vendor compliance frameworks to protect the business.
• Cost efficiency mindset: capable of achieving a 10%+ reduction in blended partner rates through strategic rate cards, market testing, and rigorous RFP negotiations.