carrier relations manager - infrastructure UK, Ireland

Why we need this role

Reporting to the director of infrastructure management, this role oversees a diverse portfolio of infrastructure suppliers across EMEA. The senior CRM – infrastructure is responsible for sourcing and onboarding new providers for Dark Fibre and Space & Power, negotiating key agreements, and managing vendor relationships throughout the lifecycle. They collaborate with internal teams to drive cost-effective procurement, lead bids for network expansion projects, and deliver measurable savings. The role also shapes 3–5-year procurement strategies, identifies cost optimisation opportunities, and supports junior team members through mentoring and guidance.

What you will do

• Select and on-board vendors – Identify potential vendors and manage the on-boarding of new vendors for dark fibre, co-location space and power in support of infrastructure projects.
• Develop Master Service Agreement, Contracts and Purchase Order terms and conditions – Develop, negotiate and arrange necessary inputs and approvals for Master Service Agreements, Contracts or Purchase Order terms and conditions, as appropriate in support of dark fibre, co-location space and power acquisitions.
• Develop and negotiate complex solutions – Work with Sales, Strategy and CRM to develop bespoke infrastructure solutions, obtain sourcing quotations from vendors for dark fibre, duct, co-location space and power acquisitions.
• Negotiating costs and placing contracts or purchase orders – Negotiating costs and arranging approvals and triggering the placement of orders for dark fibre, backbone, space and power acquisitions
• Project managing the bidding process for network expansion projects. Identifying, project managing, and delivering cost saving opportunities. Contract and cost management during lifecycle of acquisitions – Managing costs during the life cycle of dark fibre, co-location space and power through negotiating revised costs at breakpoints in contracts or as contracts terms expire. Collaborate cross functionally to identify further cost optimisation opportunities. Effective management of assigned contract estate and full understanding of ongoing cost liabilities
• Escalations - Deal with thematic escalations for service delivery, fault management and payments.
• Invoice & Inventory Validation – Supporting the Accounts Payable, Finance and operations functions with invoice and inventory validation from vendors off dark fibre, co-location space and power acquisitions. Furthermore, own term and cost management.
• Vendor Management - Build and maintain strong relationships at exec level with our key suppliers of infrastructure services. Hold regular reviews and keep vendors performance accountable to contractual SLA’s
• Market Development Intelligence – Liaise with carrier Relations Managers and Pricing Analysts to maintain a broad knowledge of the market, suppliers, regulatory, technology and pricing trends.
• Vendor Strategy – Define 3-5-year supplier and regional strategy.
• Liaising with Industry Forums on regulated product Key shared accountabilities: RoW: Provide in region support for Rights of Way to the EMEA RoW manager
• Communication with businesses in German & English language.

What we're looking for

Experience:

• Extensive experience in telecoms infrastructure (bandwidth, SubSea, fibre, duct & RoW) as well as knowledge of DF & WDM technologies
• Experience delivering large RFP’s and network build projects, as well as managing suppliers and customers
• Experience large data sets to identify, develop and create complex business case models
• Contract negotiation experience
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with and influence internal and external stakeholders across multiple geographies

Skills:

• Professional and self-motivated; ability to work productively and effectively with little guidance 
• Detail oriented, ability to analyse large data sets 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills – English & German
• Strong data analysis and Excel skills
• Strong knowledge of Outlook, MS Excel, Word & TEAMs
• Fluent in English
• Ability to travel 0%-20% and attend supplier meetings & conferences

In addition we're looking for you to have:

• Ability to prioritise and plan time effectively
• Able to communicate clearly and succinctly, including the ability to deliver difficult messages in a positive way
• Strong interpersonal skills and able to build a positive team culture in a global team and cross-cultural environment as well as a customer focused culture
• Results-focused mentality, be efficient and pragmatic
• Ability to identify bottlenecks and work to resolve conflicts or remove duplication in a way that creates maximum benefit for the business