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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Contract Coordinator

💰 $50,000 - $75,000

Contract ManagementProcurementLegalAdministration

🎯 Role Definition

The Contract Coordinator is responsible for day-to-day contract administration and contract lifecycle management (CLM). This role coordinates contract formation, execution, requests for change, renewals and reporting, enforces compliance with contractual terms and internal policy, and acts as a central point of contact for vendors, internal business owners, legal and finance. The ideal candidate combines strong contract drafting/review skills with attention to detail, excellent stakeholder management, and experience using CLM or e-signature platforms (e.g., DocuSign, Icertis, SAP Ariba).

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Contract Administrator
  • Legal Assistant
  • Procurement Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Contract Manager
  • Senior Contracts Analyst
  • Vendor Management Lead
  • Procurement Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Procurement Specialist
  • Project Coordinator
  • Compliance Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage the full contract lifecycle for assigned portfolios: intake, drafting, internal review routing, negotiation support, approvals, execution (electronic and wet signatures), and long-term storage in the contract repository or CLM system.
  • Draft, edit and standardize commercial and procurement agreements (MSAs, SOWs, NDAs, vendor agreements, amendments, renewal letters, service contracts) using approved templates and negotiating playbooks.
  • Review incoming contracts and change orders for completeness, business/financial terms, key clauses (scope, pricing, deliverables, milestones, warranties, indemnities, limitation of liability, termination), and flag non-standard language for legal review.
  • Coordinate cross-functional review cycles with Legal, Finance, Procurement, IT, Security and business stakeholders; track comments, approvals and version control to ensure timely execution.
  • Maintain an accurate, searchable contract repository with metadata, executed copies, key dates (effective/expiration/renewal/milestone dates), and retention classifications to support audits and reporting.
  • Track and proactively manage renewals, expirations, notice periods and required actions; notify business owners and negotiate renewals or transitions in advance of deadlines.
  • Operate and optimize Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) tools and e-signature platforms (e.g., DocuSign, Icertis, Coupa, SAP Ariba) including template management, workflow configuration and user training.
  • Ensure contract compliance and adherence to corporate policies, regulatory requirements and internal approval thresholds; escalate compliance risks or variances to Legal and Procurement leads.
  • Support negotiation strategies by preparing redlines, rationale summaries, risk assessments and concession recommendations for commercial and legal teams.
  • Reconcile contract terms with procurement orders and invoices; collaborate with Finance to resolve billing, payment and pricing discrepancies.
  • Facilitate onboarding and offboarding processes tied to contract obligations (e.g., access provisioning, security assessments, insurance certificates, vendor onboarding).
  • Monitor vendor performance against SLAs and deliverables; document and escalate issues, manage dispute resolution steps, and track remediation actions.
  • Prepare and deliver regular contract management reports and KPIs (e.g., turnaround time, cycle time, risk exposures, renewal pipeline) to leadership and spend managers.
  • Support audits and compliance reviews by preparing contract packages, evidence of approvals, and access to executed documents and change history.
  • Implement and maintain contract templates, clause libraries and playbooks; partner with Legal to update standard language and streamline approval matrices.
  • Administer confidentiality and data protection provisions; coordinate with Privacy and Security teams to ensure regulatory clauses (e.g., GDPR, data processing) are incorporated where required.
  • Assist with RFx processes and SOW scoping interactions: capture contract requirements, ensure contractual alignment with RFP/RFI responses and supplier proposals.
  • Manage signature execution logistics including routing, witnessing, and archiving executed originals when required; maintain audit trails for electronic signatures.
  • Support ad-hoc contract reporting, contract clean-up projects, and data integrity initiatives to improve searchability and governance.
  • Provide operational support for contract change management: prepare amendments, variations and change orders, track approval status and ensure updated terms are communicated to stakeholders.
  • Serve as a key point of contact for vendors and internal business units for contract status updates, interpretation of contract clauses, and escalation of contractual issues.
  • Lead or participate in continuous improvement initiatives to reduce review cycles, automate repetitive tasks, and increase contract throughput while reducing legal risk.

Secondary Functions

  • Provide training and onboarding to business users on contract submission processes, CLM tool usage, and basic contract awareness.
  • Support procurement and sourcing teams during supplier selection, due diligence, and commercial onboarding activities.
  • Assist with contract-related invoicing, PO matching and financial reconciliation to support accounts payable.
  • Help design and maintain dashboards and automated alerts for critical dates, renewals, and high-risk terms.
  • Participate in cross-functional projects that touch contracting processes, such as M&A integrations, product launches, or new supplier programs.
  • Contribute to policy and procedure updates related to contract governance and acceptable risk tolerances.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Contract lifecycle management (CLM) systems: hands-on experience with tools such as DocuSign, Icertis, SAP Ariba, Coupa, Agiloft or similar.
  • Contract drafting and redlining: strong ability to prepare, edit and present redlines and negotiated language for commercial contracts (MSAs, SOWs, NDAs).
  • Knowledge of procurement and sourcing processes, PO/Invoice reconciliation and basic finance alignment.
  • Familiarity with legal/commercial clauses: indemnity, limitation of liability, termination rights, warranties, IP, confidentiality and data protection clauses.
  • E-signature and document management: configuring and managing execution workflows, audit trails and archival.
  • Template and clause library management: building reusable templates and standard clause playbooks.
  • Contract metadata management and reporting: extracting, maintaining and analyzing key contract data fields for KPI reporting.
  • Basic risk assessment and contract compliance review: identifying non-standard terms and quantifying contractual risk.
  • Microsoft Office (Excel for reporting and tracking, Word for redlines, PowerPoint for stakeholder presentations).
  • Experience with audit preparation, contract retention policies and regulatory record-keeping.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent written and verbal communication; able to translate legal and commercial risks into clear recommendations for non-legal stakeholders.
  • Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy across contract terms and metadata.
  • Stakeholder management and collaboration skills; effective at coordinating multiple reviewers and managing expectations across functions.
  • Time management, prioritization, and ability to manage high volumes of concurrent contracts and deadlines.
  • Negotiation support mindset: pragmatic, solutions-oriented and able to balance business needs with risk controls.
  • Problem solving and analytical thinking; able to surface root causes of process bottlenecks and propose improvements.
  • Confidentiality and professionalism when handling sensitive commercial and legal information.
  • Adaptability: comfortable working in fast-paced environments and supporting evolving contract processes.
  • Initiative and continuous improvement orientation; experience driving small projects to automate or streamline contracting.
  • Customer-service orientation with internal vendors and supplier relationships.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Associate degree or Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) in Business Administration, Legal Studies, Supply Chain, Finance, or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Legal Studies, Supply Chain Management, Contract Management, or Paralegal studies.
  • Certifications such as NCMA (CPCM), IACCM, or procurement/contract management certificates are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Legal Studies / Paralegal
  • Supply Chain / Procurement
  • Finance / Accounting
  • Public Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of contract administration or procurement experience supporting commercial contracts, vendor relations, or legal teams.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years of experience managing or administering contracts in corporate, government, IT services, construction, healthcare or professional services settings.
  • Direct experience with CLM platforms and e-signature tools, and exposure to negotiating standard commercial terms and SLA management.
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