Torchora
Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Contract Specialist

💰 $60,000 - $110,000

ContractsProcurementLegalSupply ChainCompliance

🎯 Role Definition

The Contract Specialist partners with procurement, legal, finance, program managers, and external vendors to deliver legally compliant, cost-effective, and timely contracts that enable organizational objectives. This role owns contract drafting, negotiation, administration, and closeout while driving continuous process improvement across contracting activities. Strong emphasis on risk assessment, pricing analysis, regulatory adherence, and vendor performance management.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Contract Administrator / Contract Coordinator
  • Procurement Specialist / Buyer
  • Paralegal or Legal Assistant with contracting exposure

Advancement To:

  • Senior Contract Specialist / Lead Contract Specialist
  • Contract Manager / Procurement Manager
  • Commercial Contracts Lead or Contracts Counsel

Lateral Moves:

  • Procurement Analyst / Sourcing Specialist
  • Compliance or Risk Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  1. Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of contract types — including fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, time-and-materials, IDIQ/Blanket Purchase Agreements, NDAs, MSAs, SOWs, and subcontracts — ensuring terms protect company interests while enabling business objectives.

  2. Manage the full contract lifecycle from solicitation and proposal evaluation through award, administration, modification, performance monitoring, and closeout, maintaining version control and audit-ready documentation.

  3. Lead solicitation activities: prepare RFPs/IFBs/RFQs and SOWs, develop evaluation criteria, coordinate bidder questions, organize proposal reviews and debriefs, and document source selection decisions.

  4. Conduct comprehensive cost and price analyses, audit vendor/subcontractor cost proposals for reasonableness and compliance, and recommend negotiation strategies to achieve best value.

  5. Negotiate commercial and technical contract terms with vendors and internal stakeholders, including pricing, delivery schedules, acceptance criteria, warranties, indemnities, liability caps, payment terms, and intellectual property rights.

  6. Ensure regulatory compliance with federal and state procurement rules where applicable (e.g., FAR, DFARS, GSA schedules), export control requirements (ITAR/EAR), and internal policy directives; escalate issues to legal counsel when necessary.

  7. Prepare, review, and process contract modifications, change orders, options, and extensions; assess downstream impacts on budgets, schedules, and deliverables and obtain proper approvals.

  8. Maintain proactive supplier performance monitoring: track milestones, invoice reconciliation, delivery/quality deviations, corrective actions, KPIs, and conduct vendor performance reviews.

  9. Serve as primary point of contact for audits and compliance reviews; assemble required documentation, explain contracting rationale, and implement corrective action plans for audit findings.

  10. Develop and maintain a centralized contract repository and metadata (key dates, renewal options, notice periods, SLA metrics) using contract management systems (e.g., SAP Ariba, Coupa, DocuSign CLM, Icertis) to enable transparency and reporting.

  11. Partner with finance to ensure contract provisions align with accounting, invoicing, and budget controls; validate billing, milestones, retainages, and ensure compliant payment processing.

  12. Collaborate with program managers and technical teams to translate business requirements into contract terms and SOWs; advise on contractual risk allocation and mitigation strategies.

  13. Advise on and implement contract risk assessments, including insurance requirements, performance bonds, liquidated damages, and contingency plans for supplier defaults.

  14. Draft executive-level contract summaries and decision memos for leadership reviews and approvals, highlighting commercial terms, risks, and recommended negotiation positions.

  15. Support dispute resolution and claims management by preparing factual summaries, supporting documentation, and coordinating with legal counsel to negotiate settlements or respond to claims.

  16. Administer subcontractor flow-down clauses and monitor prime/subcontractor compliance with contract obligations and reporting requirements.

  17. Implement and improve contracting processes, templates, and playbooks to accelerate cycle times, reduce legal review burden, and standardize risk-based contracting practices.

  18. Maintain awareness of industry benchmarks, market pricing, and supplier landscape to provide market intelligence that informs sourcing and contract strategy.

  19. Provide training and contracting guidance to internal stakeholders on contracting best practices, signatory authority, and change control processes to reduce risk and non-compliance.

  20. Produce regular reports and dashboards on contract pipeline, expirations, obligations, savings opportunities, and supplier performance to support executive decision-making.

  21. Coordinate cross-functional teams during complex procurements—facilitating legal, technical, cybersecurity, and export control input—and manage stakeholder communications throughout the procurement lifecycle.

  22. Review and enforce data protection and confidentiality clauses, ensuring contractual alignment with internal privacy policies, SOC/ISO requirements, and customer security expectations.

  23. Support onboarding and offboarding of suppliers by validating certificates, compliance evidence (insurance, W9, SAM.gov registration/GSA where applicable), and ensuring contractual prerequisites are met before work commences.

  24. Monitor contract expirations and renewal options, proactively managing renegotiation strategies or transition plans to avoid service gaps or unplanned expense exposure.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc reporting, analytics, and executive briefings on contract performance and risk exposure.
  • Assist in periodic RFP process improvements and strategic sourcing initiatives to identify cost savings and supply chain resilience opportunities.
  • Act as system administrator for contract lifecycle management tools—configuring workflows, user roles, and alerts to enforce approval gates and contract milestones.
  • Participate in cross-functional continuous improvement and change-management projects to refine contracting templates and accelerate time-to-signature.
  • Provide subject matter expertise for internal training, compliance workshops, and procurement policy updates.
  • Support special projects such as mergers & acquisitions diligence, transition of contracts, and integration of third-party vendors.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Contract drafting and negotiation (commercial and government contracts)
  • Knowledge of procurement regulations and contract law basics (FAR, DFARS, GSA where applicable)
  • Cost/price analysis and budgeting for contract proposals and modifications
  • Statement of Work (SOW), RFP/RFQ/RFI development and evaluation
  • Contract lifecycle management systems (e.g., SAP Ariba, Icertis, Coupa, DocuSign CLM)
  • Subcontract administration and prime/subcontract flow-down management
  • Familiarity with export controls and security regulations (ITAR/EAR) — when applicable
  • Vendor performance management and KPI tracking
  • Familiarity with accounting/invoicing processes and procurement-to-pay workflows
  • Risk assessment and mitigation, insurance and bonding requirements
  • Experience preparing documentation for audits and regulatory reviews
  • Microsoft Office suite (advanced Excel for reporting/dashboards, PowerPoint for executive summaries)

Soft Skills

  • Strong negotiation and influencing ability across organizational levels
  • Clear and concise written communication with attention to legal/technical detail
  • Stakeholder management and ability to build consensus cross-functionally
  • Analytical problem-solving and structured decision-making
  • Time management and ability to manage multiple contracting streams simultaneously
  • High ethical standards and discretion when handling confidential commercial information
  • Adaptability and continuous improvement mindset
  • Customer service orientation to internal business partners and external suppliers

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Supply Chain, Legal Studies, or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • JD, Master's in Business/Procurement, or advanced certification in contract management (NCMA CPCM, CFCM, DAWIA).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Contract Management / Procurement
  • Legal Studies / Paralegal
  • Finance or Accounting
  • Supply Chain Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of progressive contract management or procurement experience.

Preferred: 5+ years managing complex commercial or government contracts, demonstrated experience with formal procurement processes, contract negotiation, and use of CLM/eProcurement platforms; prior exposure to FAR/DFARS or regulated contracting environments preferred.

Explore More Careers