Richemont Strategic Vendors Contract Lead
- Location
- MeyrinGenevaSwitzerland
- Seniority
- Lead
- Department
- Supply Chain, Logistics & Inventory
- Industry
- Fine Watches & Horology
- Posted
- May 13, 2026
About Richemont
Richemont is a leading luxury goods Groupe whose maisons are renowned for exceptional watches, high jewelry, leather goods and accessories. With a strong presence in heritage craftsmanship and premium retail, the group operates a portfolio of prestigious maisons and maintains corporate headquarters in the Geneva region. As an employer, Richemont offers an international, matrixed environment that balances commercial rigour with respect for artisanal tradition.
Richemont — Meyrin: Strategic Vendors Contract Lead to direct contracting strategy and negotiations for key suppliers at the group level.
Role & Responsibilities
- Define and lead the end-to-end contract strategy for strategic vendors, ensuring alignment with commercial objectives and group procurement policies.
- Negotiate, draft and finalise complex commercial and service agreements with strategic suppliers, including terms on pricing, SLAs, IP, confidentiality and liability.
- Manage the contract lifecycle: onboarding, execution, renewals, amendments, performance monitoring and dispute resolution.
- Partner with Legal, Finance, Procurement, Operations and business stakeholders to mitigate contractual and commercial risk and to embed governance controls.
- Establish and maintain contract templates, playbooks and standard operating procedures to accelerate contracting and ensure consistency.
- Drive supplier performance management and continuous improvement initiatives tied to contractual KPIs and cost-optimisation targets.
- Coach and mentor junior contract specialists and act as the escalation point for high-risk or high-value negotiations.
- Lead cross-functional projects to implement CLM best practices and improve contracting cycle-times and compliance.
Qualifications
- Proven track record of leading negotiation and drafting of complex commercial contracts with strategic suppliers.
- Deep understanding of commercial clauses, risk allocation, service levels, warranties and indemnities.
- Strong stakeholder management skills with experience working in a matrixed, multinational environment.
- Ability to translate commercial objectives into pragmatic contractual frameworks and governance.
- Professional certifications in procurement or contract management (e.g., CIPS, NCMA/CLM) are advantageous.
Skills
Experience
Typically 8+ years of progressively responsible experience in supplier contracting, procurement or commercial contract management, including several years leading negotiations for strategic or high-value suppliers; experience in luxury goods, retail, manufacturing or a similarly complex supply environment is preferred.
Education
Bachelor's degree in Law, Business Administration, Supply Chain Management or related discipline; a master's degree or equivalent professional qualification is preferred.
Workplace
The successful candidate will be located in Meyrin, Geneva, Switzerland, with easy access to Geneva.
Culture
Richemont cultivates a collaborative, cross-disciplinary culture that values craftsmanship, integrity and long-term relationships with partners. The workplace is international and matrixed, combining commercial discipline with an appreciation for artisanal excellence and sustainability initiatives.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Richemont, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Vendor Contract Manager — Strategic Suppliers», «Head of Strategic Vendor Contracts», «Senior Contracts Lead, Supplier Relations», «Contracts & Vendor Relationship Lead», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.