Lead, Vendor Governance (Canada)

Lead, Vendor Governance (Canada)

08 Nov
|
Shopify
|
Canada

08 Nov

Shopify

Canada

Shopify exists to make commerce better for everyone. Our global vendor and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) partners help us deliver on that mission for merchants around the world.

We're looking for someone who knows what excellent vendor governance looks like, and wants to build it. You'll bring commercial depth, sound judgment and the ability to turn a good idea into a working solution. You'll own complex contracts, financial oversight and partner accountability, while finding better ways to do the work with data and AI.

This is not about maintaining a playbook simply because it exists. It's about understanding the problem, challenging assumptions and creating governance that makes great work easier: explicit expectations, trusted information, strong safeguards and fewer unnecessary obstacles.

You'll have clear objectives, trust and room to shape the approach. In return, we'll expect you to take ownership, seek feedback, ask for help when needed and follow through. Success is measured by stronger vendor outcomes and merchant experiences, not the number of meetings, reports or approval steps you introduce.

This is an individual contributor role. You'll lead through expertise, influence and ownership of outcomes, not through direct reports.

What you'll do

Own commercial governance. Lead RFPs, contract reviews, Statements of Work and change orders. Improve rates, service commitments and bonus/penalty structures, working within agreed Legal and financial approvals.

Make financial performance clear. Own BPO OPEX planning, forecasting and invoice oversight. Understand the drivers, challenge discrepancies and surface risks early, with a recommendation (not just a spreadsheet).

Turn evidence into accountability. Develop clear metric definitions,



baselines and scorecards. Partner with Delivery leaders on approved targets and consistent enforcement, connecting commercial commitments to the outcomes that matter.

Protect trust and enable progress. Work with Information Security, IT and Third-Party Risk on privacy, vendor tools and incidents. Make risks explicit and proportionate; preserve essential controls while removing steps that do not improve the outcome.

Lead change through to delivery. Turn cross-functional priorities into changes that work across BPO partners. Clarify owners and decisions, test an approach, learn from the results and finish the work.

Strengthen workforce governance. Use WFP planning evidence to guide staffing decisions and govern vendor hiring and cohort readiness. Audit staffing efficiency, attendance, attrition and training standards, working with Delivery on follow-through and respecting agreed decision rights.

Build better systems, not more administration. Use approved AI tools, automation and analysis to reduce manual work, improve audits and make information easier to find. Validate outputs, protect sensitive data and measure whether the change actually helps.

Build direct, productive partnerships. Work confidently with vendor executives and internal teams. Communicate context clearly,



have difficult conversations constructively and resolve governance escalations without becoming an unnecessary gatekeeper.

You’ll work alongside our Delivery teams, who manage vendor performance and coaching day to day. Your focus is the framework behind that work: governance, commercial discipline and clear ways of operating.

What success looks like: Vendor commitments are clear and consistently enforced, and financial and operational risks surface early. Useful changes make it into day-to-day work, and manual effort and avoidable handoffs decrease without weakening safeguards. Our partners and internal teams know what matters, who owns each decision and how to move forward, and merchants benefit as a result.

How you'll thrive here

Take responsibility, not just an assignment. You notice what needs improving, help shape the direction and move it forward within your decision rights. You don’t wait for a complete playbook, and you raise a blocker with options and a recommendation.

Care about the craft and the result. You can tell the difference between a well-run process and a meaningful improvement. You bring a high bar for quality, along with the judgment to test, learn and iterate rather than wait for perfection.

Be direct with the facts. You surface bad news early, make trade-offs visible and challenge ideas respectfully. You would rather help solve an uncomfortable problem than make a status update look better.

Rethink the solution. You stay attached to the problem, not the existing tool or process. You use AI in real work and are willing to redesign a workflow—not simply automate every step it already contains.

Make others better. You seek feedback, share what you learn and give peo

📌 Lead, Vendor Governance (Canada)
🏢 Shopify
📍 Canada

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