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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Contract Manager

💰 $85,000 - $140,000

LegalContractsProcurementVendor ManagementOperations

🎯 Role Definition

The Contract Manager owns and drives the contract lifecycle from request intake and drafting through negotiation, execution, and post-award administration. This role partners with legal, procurement, sales, finance, and business stakeholders to ensure contracts are commercially sound, compliant with company policies, and structured to mitigate risk while enabling business outcomes. Strong emphasis on negotiation, contract interpretation, obligations tracking, and continuous improvement of contract processes and CLM tooling.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Contract Administrator / Contract Coordinator
  • Procurement Specialist / Sourcing Analyst
  • Paralegal or Legal Assistant with commercial contract exposure

Advancement To:

  • Senior Contract Manager / Lead Contract Manager
  • Head of Contracts / Director of Commercial Contracts
  • Director of Procurement or Legal Operations

Lateral Moves:

  • Procurement Manager / Vendor Manager
  • Compliance Manager / Risk Manager
  • Commercial Counsel / Legal Operations Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead end-to-end contract lifecycle management for commercial, vendor, partner, and customer agreements, including drafting, redlines, negotiation, approval routing, signature, and archival to ensure consistent, auditable contract practices.
  • Draft, review and revise complex commercial contracts (master agreements, MSAs, statements of work, NDAs, licensing agreements, reseller/distribution agreements) to protect company interests and align with commercial objectives.
  • Negotiate commercial and legal terms with external counterparts and internal stakeholders to secure favorable pricing, liability, indemnity, warranty, termination and IP clauses while balancing speed-to-revenue considerations.
  • Evaluate contract risk and recommend mitigation strategies by applying company policies, playbooks, and precedent language; escalate novel or high-risk provisions to legal counsel and senior leadership as needed.
  • Maintain and administer the Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system (e.g., Icertis, Conga, DocuSign CLM, SAP Ariba) including template management, clause libraries, workflow configuration, and user access controls.
  • Manage the contract intake and approval workflow, ensuring SLA adherence, timely executive approvals, and accurate contract metadata capture for reporting and auditability.
  • Collaborate with Sales and Finance to translate commercial deals into executable contract terms, optimize revenue recognition timelines, and ensure alignment with billing and invoicing requirements.
  • Monitor and enforce contractual obligations and deliverables (service levels, milestones, renewal windows, change order processes), coordinating cross-functional remediation and remediation plans for non-compliance.
  • Implement and maintain standard contract templates, playbooks, clause libraries, and negotiation playbooks to streamline contract throughput and reduce legal review cycles.
  • Conduct contractual due diligence and vendor risk assessments during onboarding and renewals, including financial stability checks, insurance, regulatory compliance, and third-party audit requirements.
  • Manage contract renewals, extensions, and terminations proactively; analyze contract expirations and create renewal strategies to maximize retention or re-negotiation leverage.
  • Support dispute resolution and claims management by compiling contract evidence, drafting position statements, and coordinating with legal and commercial teams to resolve contract-related issues.
  • Lead cross-functional contract review meetings and provide guidance on contract interpretation, change orders, and scope adjustments to avoid scope creep and ensure contractual alignment.
  • Prepare, analyze, and present contract metrics and KPIs (cycle times, risk exposure, renewal pipeline, savings, vendor performance) to stakeholders and senior management to inform strategic decisions.
  • Train and advise business teams on contracting best practices, red flags, contract templates, and the use of CLM and e-signature tools to increase self-service maturity and reduce legal touches.
  • Negotiate and document pricing, discounts, incentives, and service credits within contractual frameworks to protect margins and align with commercial objectives.
  • Coordinate with Procurement and Legal on complex supplier agreements, including subcontracts, master services agreements, and procurement schedules to ensure compliance with procurement policies.
  • Oversee contract version control, record retention, and audit readiness by ensuring executed contracts are stored in the CLM/document repository with full metadata and signature certification.
  • Drive continuous improvement projects to reduce contract cycle times, increase automation in approval routing, and expand use of standard terms through data-driven analysis and stakeholder feedback.
  • Provide contractual input for RFPs, bids, and tender responses to ensure the company’s legal and commercial positions are reflected in proposals and pricing models.
  • Support mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, or strategic partnerships by leading contract transition workstreams, assignment and novation processes, and post-close contract remediation.
  • Manage relationships with external counsel where specialized legal analysis or litigation support is required; coordinate scope, pricing and deliverables for efficient use of outside legal spend.

Secondary Functions

  • Act as a subject matter expert for the CLM and e-signature stack; partner with IT or vendor partners to test and roll out new features, integrations (ERP/CRM), and automation rules.
  • Build and maintain contract playbooks, training materials, and “how-to” guides to scale contracting capabilities across regional and global teams.
  • Support internal and external audits by preparing contract evidence packs, remediation plans, and responses to auditor queries about contractual compliance and controls.
  • Assist Procurement in supplier performance reviews and contract compliance scorecards, feeding results into supplier development or remediation plans.
  • Participate in cross-functional process improvement initiatives, agile sprints, and transformation programs to modernize contract workflows and reduce manual work.
  • Maintain a prioritized risk register for active contracts and present escalation recommendations to senior leadership for high-risk or high-value agreements.
  • Conduct ad-hoc legal and commercial research to support negotiation strategy, market benchmarking, and updates to standard clauses based on regulatory changes.
  • Support global contracting needs by coordinating localization of templates, local law review, and regional approval matrices for international contract execution.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Contract drafting and redlining: advanced ability to create and modify MSAs, SOWs, NDAs, licensing and distribution agreements.
  • Commercial negotiation: proven track record negotiating pricing, liability, indemnity, termination rights, and service levels.
  • Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) systems: hands-on experience with tools such as Icertis, Conga, Apttus, SAP Ariba, or commercial CLM platforms.
  • E-signature and document management: expertise with DocuSign, Adobe Sign, SharePoint, or similar systems for secure signature and storage.
  • Legal and regulatory compliance: knowledge of data privacy (GDPR, CCPA), export controls, anti-bribery and anti-corruption requirements as they affect contracting.
  • Procurement and Sourcing processes: familiarity with supplier onboarding, RFPs, PO/contract alignment, and procurement policy enforcement.
  • Risk assessment and mitigation: ability to analyze contractual risks, draft mitigations, and escalate appropriately.
  • Financial acumen: understanding of pricing models, revenue recognition impacts, penalties/credits, and basic budgeting implications of contract terms.
  • Change control and SOW management: experience managing scope changes, amendments, and change order processes.
  • Reporting and analytics: competency with Excel, Power BI/Tableau, or CLM reporting tools to produce KPI dashboards and contract analytics.
  • Project management: ability to coordinate cross-functional stakeholders, timelines, and deliverables in contract-heavy projects.
  • Familiarity with industry-specific contract constructs (e.g., SaaS subscription terms, professional services engagement models, manufacturing supply agreements).

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional written and verbal communication tailored for legal and non-legal stakeholders.
  • Strong stakeholder management and influence across sales, legal, finance, procurement, and operations.
  • High attention to detail coupled with the ability to see the commercial big picture.
  • Negotiation and persuasion skills underpinned by business judgment and ethical responsibility.
  • Time management and prioritization in high-volume contract environments.
  • Problem-solving mindset with a focus on pragmatic, commercial solutions.
  • Collaborative team player who can facilitate consensus across diverse functional teams.
  • Resilience and adaptability when dealing with changing priorities and tight deadlines.
  • Confidentiality and integrity handling sensitive commercial and legal information.
  • Coaching and training ability to elevate contracting maturity of business partners.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Law, Supply Chain, or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Juris Doctor (JD) or Master’s degree in Business/Contract Management, or relevant professional certifications (CCCM, CPCM, NCMA, CIPS).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Law
  • Business Administration
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Finance / Accounting

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–8 years of progressive experience in contract management, commercial procurement, or legal operations; may vary by industry and company size.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years managing commercial contracts and vendor agreements in an enterprise environment, experience with CLM platforms and cross-functional negotiation, and exposure to international or regulated contracts.
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