Supplier Assurance & Vendor Risk Practice Lead

Senior Supplier Assurance & Vendor Risk Lead Enterprise Security Questionnaires, Trust Programs & Third-Party Risk Management We are seeking an experienced Supplier Assurance and Vendor Risk professional to lead complex customer assurance, security questionnaire, and third-party risk engagements for technology, healthtech, fintech, and regulated industry clients. This is a senior advisory role requiring someone who can operate independently, engage directly with executive stakeholders, and deliver practical outcomes under commercial and regulatory pressure. The successful candidate will be responsible for helping clients navigate enterprise procurement reviews, customer security assessments, trust program development, and supplier risk management initiatives. About the Role Many growing organisations face significant challenges when enterprise customers, hospitals, government agencies, or regulated partners request detailed security and privacy assessments before approving a commercial relationship. At the same time, organisations must demonstrate that their own suppliers and service providers are appropriately governed and monitored. You will lead engagements across both customer assurance and vendor risk management domains, helping clients establish credible, evidence-based assurance practices while maintaining commercial momentum. Key Responsibilities Customer Assurance & Security Questionnaires Lead responses to enterprise security questionnaires, vendor assessments, due diligence reviews, and procurement requests. Review and interpret customer requirements. Coordinate evidence collection across security, engineering, product, legal, privacy, and executive teams. Develop accurate, defensible, and commercially effective responses. Support customer follow-up reviews and audit requests. Build repeatable processes that reduce future response effort. Trust Programs & Assurance Operations Design and maintain trust packs, customer assurance materials, and security evidence repositories. Develop reusable response libraries and standardised assurance content. Support trust centre operations and customer-facing assurance initiatives. Establish governance processes for ongoing maintenance and quality control. Vendor Risk & Third-Party Risk Management Design and improve vendor risk management frameworks. Develop supplier onboarding, assessment, monitoring, and offboarding processes. Conduct vendor security and privacy assessments. Build vendor registers, tiering methodologies, risk scoring models, and reporting frameworks. Support supplier governance, operational resilience, and compliance initiatives. Required Experience Applicants should demonstrate: 10+ years of experience in supplier assurance, third-party risk, information security, GRC, technology risk, privacy, compliance, or related fields. Proven experience responding to enterprise security questionnaires and customer assurance reviews. Experience with vendor risk programs, supplier due diligence, and third-party governance. Strong knowledge of ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIST CSF, Essential Eight, and related frameworks. Ability to engage with technical, legal, privacy, sales, and executive stakeholders. Experience in SaaS, healthtech, fintech, enterprise technology, or regulated industries. Preferred Qualifications Relevant certifications may include: CISSP CISM CISA CRISC ISO 27001 Lead Auditor or Lead Implementer Privacy certifications (CIPP, CIPM, CIPT) Shared Assessments certifications Other risk, audit, security, or governance credentials What Success Looks Like The successful candidate will help clients accelerate procurement approvals, improve customer trust, establish scalable assurance capabilities, strengthen supplier governance, and create practical risk management processes that support sustainable growth. We are looking for a trusted senior operator who combines commercial awareness, technical understanding, risk discipline, and exceptional written communication skills to deliver measurable outcomes for clients.