Contracts Manager I

Job Summary

Join our team in Mentor, OH, a vibrant city known for its excellent schools, beautiful parks, and thriving business community. This role involves leading a functional team in Mentor, OH, and Moncks Corner, SC, responsible for developing, negotiating, and administering contracts of moderate scope and complexity. The position supports the contract management function by aligning and implementing effective goals, policies, and procedures while ensuring contractual and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Manage and oversee the performance of assigned contracts and programs.
• Lead negotiations and ensure coordination within and across internal teams, potentially leading multi-divisional contract negotiations.
• Apply thorough knowledge of products and services, understanding division goals and strategies in developing contracts and proposals.
• Guide the team in performing analysis, interpretation, investigation, and research of critical contractual information and data.
• Provide guidance on contract interpretations and develop recommendations and negotiation alternatives.
• Evaluate the company's contractual risk in terms of cost exposure and work with the team to mitigate risk during contract performance.
• Manage the contractual change control process in accordance with program management change control procedures.
• Oversee and approve task planning on assigned contracts, including resource requirements and effort estimates.
• Establish direction for the functional team and direct reports; develop and mentor others.
• Champion professional certification and career development for the contracts administration/management community.
• Potentially execute duties associated with Export Compliance and act as the Division's Export Administrator.
• Investigate and resolve compliance problems; respond to questions from internal or customer sources and government regulatory agencies.
• Coordinate training and business meetings to facilitate information exchange on contract reviews.
• Develop and implement programs to increase cross-functional knowledge and awareness of contracting requirements and policies.
• Maintain and coordinate contacts with domestic and foreign civilian and military representatives, as well as customers and government agency officials.
• Analyze problem/opportunity areas, structure data-gathering and evaluation of internal processes, and coordinate responses.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or a related discipline; contracts management certification preferred.
• Advanced degree (MS/MBA/JD) may be preferred.
• 7 or more years of related experience, including 2 years in a project lead role.
• Demonstrated experience with multiple contracts of varying complexity and scope.
• Requires contract management certification; may require Program Management certification or other certifications as appropriate.
• Ability to facilitate work within and across teams and varied levels of leadership and customer contacts.
• Ability to quickly identify and address critical issues of complex programs and lead the team to develop action plans to improve performance.
• Broad understanding and knowledge of contract management processes and various contract types.
• Thorough knowledge of regulations and laws applicable to contracts; may require in-depth knowledge in a broad range of export regulatory requirements and certification as an ECoP or equivalent.
• Able to lead process improvements; able to oversee/conduct training and rollout efforts to institutionalize process improvements.
• Proficient in contract management concepts, tools, techniques, and risk management.
• Strong negotiation skills and thorough knowledge of legal principles; ability to identify high-risk contractual terms.
• Ability to create partnerships with contract customers, end-use customers, and suppliers.
• Detailed knowledge of product lines and marketplace associated with fielded products in assigned contracts.
• Demonstrated application of business concepts and accounting principles associated with project cost and budgetary planning/control.
• Thorough understanding of the relationships between basic product, program, and operational information related to contracting.
• Solid understanding of estimation methods, critical path analysis, and earned value techniques.
• Ability to effectively communicate and present status, actions, recommendations, and other technical information with clarity and precision.
• Effectively use current information technology, systems, and business applications related to contracting and customer/supplier interface; proficient with standard software (e.g., Microsoft Office, Lotus Notes), project management, and database analysis tools.