Vendor Operations Manager - Colombo
Sales / Marketing / Business Development / Merchandising
About the Employer
Job Description
Vendor Operations Manager Colombo, Sri Lanka
We are recruiting on behalf of a confidential client who is building a new premium multi vendor clothing platform for the Sri Lankan market, currently in active development and on track to launch within the next two to three months. This is a pre launch venture and the client's identity will be shared with shortlisted candidates.
What You'll Do
- Research and map the Sri Lankan clothing and fashion retail landscape to identify vendors who fit the platform's premium positioning.
- Build a pipeline of prospective vendors across apparel, accessories, footwear and lifestyle categories, and lead outreach, pitching and negotiation.
- Guide vendors through registration, documentation, catalogue uploads, pricing and inventory setup, working closely with the development team.
- Own the vendor relationship post onboarding, including performance monitoring, communication and issue resolution.
- Draft and manage vendor agreements, commission structures and TOS in coordination with the client.
- Ensure vendors comply with platform policies on quality, fulfilment timelines, returns, customer service.
- Handle escalations between vendors and the platform, disputes over payments, returns or listings.
- Coordinate with the development and logistics teams, relay vendor feedback, and report directly on pipeline and onboarding progress.
What We're Looking For
- 3 to 5 years of experience in vendor management, retail buying, merchandising, business development or account management.
- Strong preference for candidates with a background in fashion, apparel or clothing retail specifically.
- Comfort operating with a high degree of autonomy and ambiguity in a startup environment with no ready made playbook.
- Strong negotiation and relationship building skills, with the confidence to represent a confidential, pre launch venture to external partners.
- Good commercial judgement and attention to detail, particularly around contracts, compliance and performance tracking.
- Fluency in English and Sinhala mandatory, working knowledge of Tamil a strong advantage.
- A degree or professional qualification is preferred but not essential, relevant experience will be given equal weight.
- Discretion and the ability to maintain confidentiality around an unannounced business venture.
To Apply
Send your covering letter and CV to [email protected] with the subject line "Vendor Operations Manager" by 30th August 2026. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and the position may be filled before the closing date.
