Advanced Specialist, BPO Management

Advanced Specialist - Vendor Operations

Role Purpose

The Advanced Specialist, Vendor Operations plays a critical role in supporting vendor operational management, financial reconciliation, reporting, rate card governance, and administrative processes across Pearson's Content Services Center (CSC).

This role is responsible for maintaining accurate supplier operational and financial records, managing reconciliations across multiple systems, administering vendor data and rate cards, supporting governance activities, and ensuring the integrity of reporting and operational processes.

The successful candidate will partner closely with CSC Leadership, Procurement, Finance, Technology teams, Business stakeholders, and Suppliers to ensure operational excellence, compliance and reporting accuracy,

Key Responsibilities

Vendor Operations & Administration

Support day-to-day operational management of CSC suppliers and vendor engagements.

Maintain supplier information, operational records, and governance documentation.

Administer vendor-related processes, ensuring compliance with established policies and procedures.

Support supplier onboarding, offboarding, access management, and operational governance activities.

Coordinate and track operational requests, approvals, and vendor-related actions.

Maintain accurate records of supplier contracts, rate cards, and supporting documentation.

R&P Financial Reconciliation & Reporting

Perform financial and operational reconciliations across supplier spend, purchase orders, invoices, commitments, and operational activity.

Validate supplier financial data and ensure alignment between contracts, systems, and reporting.

Investigate and resolve discrepancies through structured problem solving and stakeholder collaboration.

Produce recurring reports and dashboards to support CSC operational management.

Participate as an active stakeholder in the weekly R&P reconciliation cadence.

Co-ordinate with Business stakeholders to get Project accounting codes on mis-aligned asset transactions

Rate Card & Commercial Governance

Support administration and governance of supplier rate cards and pricing information.

Coordinate rate changes through established approval processes.

Ensure pricing information remains aligned across contracts, systems, and operational reporting.

Support preparation and validation of data required for system and ERP updates.

Assist with supplier commercial reconciliations and pricing maintenance activities.

Process Improvement & Data Quality

Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency and reduce manual effort.

Support reporting automation and data quality improvement initiatives.

Create and maintain SOPs, process maps, user guides, and operational documentation.

Promote consistent data standards and governance practices across CSC processes.

Support implementation of new tools, workflows, and operational enhancements.

Stakeholder & Supplier Support

Build effective working relationships across Finance, Procurement, Technology, Operations, Business teams, and Suppliers.

Serve as a key operational point of contact for vendor-related processes and inquiries.

Clearly communicate issues, risks, recommendations, and status updates to stakeholders.

Support resolution of operational, commercial, and financial issues requiring cross-functional collaboration.

Required Knowledge & Experience

Essential

Experience in Vendor Operations, Business Operations, Procurement Operations, Financial Administration, or a similar operational support role.

Strong reconciliation experience involving financial, operational, or supplier data.

Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including Pivot Tables, XLOOKUP, Power Query, and data validation techniques.

Experience working with large datasets and multiple information sources.

Experience producing operational reports, dashboards, and KPI reporting.

Strong attention to detail and data accuracy.

Experience investigating and resolving discrepancies.

Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.

Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

Demonstrated ability to learn new systems, processes, and technologies quickly.

Preferred

Vendor or supplier management experience.

Procurement, PO, and invoice management knowledge.

Experience with Power BI, OBIA, OBIEE, or equivalent reporting tools.

Experience supporting rate card administration and commercial governance.

Experience creating SOPs and operational documentation.

Experience supporting process improvement or automation initiatives.

Technical Skills

Advanced Skills

Microsoft Excel (Advanced)

Data reconciliation and validation

Reporting and dashboard administration

Financial record management

Data cleansing and quality control

Process documentation

Operational reporting

Root-cause investigation

SharePoint and Microsoft 365 applications

Exposure To or Willingness to Learn

Oracle (TEP)

OBIA / OBIEE

Power BI

LiveOps / Axis

Vendor management platforms

Procurement and supplier governance systems

Skills & Competencies

Operational Excellence

Consistently delivers accurate, timely, and compliant operational support while maintaining strong attention to detail.

Reconciliation & Data Integrity

Maintains high-quality financial and operational records through effective validation, reconciliation, and issue resolution.

Problem Solving

Identifies root causes and implements practical, sustainable solutions.

Stakeholder Management

Builds productive relationships with internal teams and external suppliers to support effective operational delivery.

Communication

Communicates operational and financial information clearly to a variety of audiences.

Ownership & Accountability

Takes responsibility for outcomes and follows issues through to completion.

Continuous Improvement

Actively seeks opportunities to streamline processes, improve reporting, and enhance operational efficiency.

Adaptability

Learns new tools, systems,