UX Research Operations Program Manager

• Vendor operations (end-to-end): Own the full vendor lifecycle - SOW scoping and negotiation, PO creation and amendments, invoice reconciliation, contract renewals - across multiple concurrent research vendors and markets. Serve as primary ops point of contact for vendor PMs.
• Budget management: Maintain rolling forecasts and burn-rate tracking across all active workstreams. Flag risk early, propose reallocation plans, and produce leadership-ready budget status reporting on a regular cadence.
• Procurement & compliance: Navigate internal procurement systems (Guided Buying) and sourcing processes to stand up new vendor engagements, ensure contracts are compliant, and coordinate with sourcing managers on competitive bids.
• Program infrastructure: Build and maintain the operational scaffolding - canonicals, trackers, intake systems, status dashboards - that researchers, vendors, and XFN partners rely on as source of truth. Continuously improve these systems as programs scale.
• Multi-market coordination: Manage complex interdependent timelines across markets, vendors, and internal stakeholders simultaneously. Identify dependencies and sequencing risks before they become blockers. This includes international markets across various time zones.
• Stakeholder communication: Synthesize program health, risks, and decisions into clear, stakeholder-ready artifacts for senior leadership and XFN partners. No one should have to ask you for status - it’’s proactively surfaced.
• Knowledge transfer & continuity: Document processes, decision rationale, and institutional knowledge so the program doesn’‘t break when people rotate. Maintain living documentation others can onboard from independently.
• Operational problem-solving: When something breaks - a vendor misses an SLA, a budget line is over, a recruitment pipeline stalls - you diagnose, propose options, and drive resolution without waiting to be told.

Hard skills needed:

• Vendor lifecycle management (SOW scoping/negotiation, PO creation, invoice reconciliation, renewals)
• Budget ownership - forecasting, burn tracking, risk flagging, and reporting status to leadership (not just logging spend)
• Procurement system experience (Buy@, Coupa, or equivalent)
• Managing complex interdependent timelines across multiple vendors, markets, and internal XFN stakeholders simultaneously
• Building and maintaining operational infrastructure from scratch (canonicals, trackers, intake systems) that multiple teams depend on as source of truth
• Stakeholder-ready communication - synthesizing program health for senior audiences

We are seeking an experienced Research Program Manager IV to own end-to-end operational execution for high-visibility research programs. The ideal candidate will be highly autonomous, comfortable working in ambiguity, and capable of building and managing the operational infrastructure needed to scale complex research programs across multiple vendors, markets, and cross-functional teams.

This role is ideal for someone with strong Research Operations, Program Management, Vendor Management, Procurement, Budget Management, and Advanced Excel/Google Sheets experience., * 7-8+ years in program/operations management, ideally in UX research ops,

• 7-8+ consulting, or a similarly fast-paced XFN environment
• Comfortable in ambiguity - can take a loose brief and stand up the scaffolding independently Advanced Sheets/Excel (financial modeling, dashboards, not just data entry) Familiarity with using AI tools to streamline and scale work

PROLIM is a leading provider of end-to-end IT, PLM, and Engineering Services and Solutions for Global 1000 companies. We understand business as much as technology and help our customers improve profitability and efficiency through high-value consulting, staffing, engineering, and project management services.

Our offerings include Advisory Services, PLM Software & Services, Program Management, Solution Architecture, Training & Staffing, Cloud Solutions, Infrastructure Services, ERP Practices, Quality Assurance Services, and Engineering Services across a wide range of industries.