Contracts Manager

About the Opportunity

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.

The Contracts Manager will report to the Director of Contract Management to support a team responsible for managing a newly created, centralized contracting center of expertise to support faculty and staff purchases of goods and services from third-party suppliers. Today, the university processes approximately 5,000+ supplier contracts per year in a highly decentralized environment. In this role, the Contracts Manager will have an opportunity to leverage technology, including artificial intelligence, to design and implement processes aimed at streamlining contract cycle times while mitigating business, reputational, and legal risk to the university.

The primary roles and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Supporting the overall contract management lifecycle for US-based agreements, including processes for:
  Triaging pre-approved contract requests from university stakeholders; authoring contracts using university approved legal templates and clause libraries; reviewing contracts to ensure legal and business terms adequately mitigate reputational and financial risk to the university; negotiating legal and business terms by collaborating with P2P colleagues and other relevant university stakeholders; and facilitating the signature delegation process to ensure contracts are executed by authorized university signatories.
• Using contract lifecycle management and other supporting SaaS-based technologies, including Jaggaer and Docusign, to drive improved outcomes.
• Coordinating additional legal review of contracts with the Office of General Counsel (OGC), when required.
• Maintaining the University’s standard contracting templates and clause libraries (in conjunction with OGC), as well as interfacing with suppliers and campus schools, colleges, and departments.
• Coordinating with P2P team members, including category management, on strategic sourcing initiatives, including category planning, contacting as part of a competitive bid process, or future bid opportunities based on new contract requests and/or contract expirations.

In this role, you will be part of an exciting new team in a fast-paced, global environment which will require a self-starter mindset, flexibility, agility, and willingness to multi-task and pivot as business needs change and emerge. The Contracts Manager may also have authority to sign contracts based on approved risk criteria and dollar thresholds, which may change over time.

• Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years of relevant professional contracting experience, including any relevant exposure to the higher education and/or healthcare industries.
• Prior experience with supply-side contracting at a large-scale, global institution.
• Prior experience drafting and negotiating business and legal terms across a diverse number of spend categories to support education and research, including but not limited to technology hardware and software, enterprise SaaS, research equipment and consumables, professional services, marketing and advertising, staffing and placement services, design and construction, facilities management, and public safety.
• Self-motivated and agile professional able to prioritize, multi-task, and work horizontally and vertically across a decentralized organization to drive value.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to influence and build trusted advisor relationships by delivering compelling business cases, customer empathy, and data-driven decision-making.
• Proficiency with Microsoft business programs (e.g., Outlook, Excel, Word, Power Point).

• Professional contracting certification and/or credentials (e.g. Juris Doctor/JD, CPCM certification).
• Prior experience with contract management technology (e.g. Jaggaer Contracts, Docusign), including the development of in-application clause libraries.
• Proficiency with using…