Senior Contracts Manager

Senior Contracts Manager

Hybrid Remote/ Redwood City, CA

Legal - Legal /

Full-time /

Hybrid

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About Zm:

Zm is revolutionizing mass mobility with its Connected Mobility Experience (Zm CMX) system that connects and coordinates people, vehicles, and operations in real time. In the $50 billion student mobility market - the largest segment of the mass mobility industry - Zm CMX is transforming a daily source of anxiety and disruption into a reliable, transparent, and efficient mobility experience for students and families. Today, more than 6,500 schools rely on Zm CMX. Recognized globally for its innovative approach and operational execution, Zm has been named to Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies, CNBC Disruptor 50 and Changemakers, the World Economic Forum, and the Financial Times' Fastest Growing Companies lists. Zm is backed by leading investors including Sequoia Capital, GIC, TPG, and Softbank.

The Role

We're looking for a Senior Contracts Manager who's ready to own our contract lifecycle from the ground up. This isn't a "maintain the status quo" position - it's a builder's role. You'll take full ownership of our Linksquares CLM platform, design and implement the processes and workflows that scale with our growth, and serve as a trusted commercial contracts negotiator across the business. You'll work cross-functionally, move fast, and have a direct hand in shaping how Zum operates.

Fair warning: This is a high-volume, fast-paced environment. If you require heavy hand-holding or prefer to move slowly, this one isn't for you. But if you're energized by building something meaningful with speed and autonomy, like to roll up your sleeves and make a big impact, keep reading!

This role is required to be in-office Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at our headquarters in Redwood City, CA. We will only consider candidates currently living and within a reasonable commuting distance to our Bay Area HQ.

Key Responsibilities

• Sales & Commercial Support: Support the commercial legal team in responding to RFPs and other client-facing due diligence requests.
• CLM Ownership: Own the Linksquares CLM platform end-to-end, including implementation, administration, configuration, user management, reporting, and ongoing optimization. You are the go-to expert and internal champion for the system.
• Process & Systems Building: Design, implement, and continuously improve contract processes, workflows, playbooks, AI integrations, and operational tools within the CLM. Build the infrastructure that lets the team scale.
• Contract Negotiation: Independently draft, review, redline, and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts, including government contracts, vendor agreements, customer contracts, NDAs, SaaS agreements, partnership deals, and more.
• Stakeholder Partnership: Build deep trust with key stakeholders across Legal, Finance, Procurement, Sales, and Operations. Be the person teams rely on to get deals done right and done fast.
• Playbook & Template Development: Create and maintain contract playbooks, cheat sheets, clause libraries, templates, and negotiation guides that drive consistency and speed.
• Risk Management: Identify and escalate contractual risks, ensuring the business is protected while deals keep moving forward.
• Training & Enablement: Educate internal teams on contract processes, CLM tools, and best practices so the organization operates with confidence and efficiency.
• Knowledge & Records Management: Oversee the maintenance of legal records, templates, and document repositories. Ensure executed vendor agreements, NDAs, and union-related documents are logged and accessible. Lead annual reviews and refresh of legal templates.
• Legal Operations & Process Optimization: Develop and execute legal operations strategies. Evaluate and implement legal tech tools (e.g., CLM, matter management, ticketing systems, entity management). Build and maintain workflows for intake, contract lifecycle management, and cross-functional support across Sales, Operations and Compliance.
• Document & Knowledge Management: Maintain shared drives and systems to ensure executed contracts, NDAs, and key legal documents are organized and easily accessible. Own the management of self-service resources.
• Cross-Functional Project Management: Serve as the first point of contact for business teams seeking legal support: triage requests, assign work, and track progress. Collaborate with Sales to support client diligence (e.g., RFPs, questionnaires, contract approvals). Provide practice support as needed.

Required Qualifications

• 5-10 years of experience in contracts management, commercial legal operations, or a related field
• Hands-on experience administering and configuring a CLM platform (Linksquares strongly preferred)
• Proven track record as a commercial contracts negotiator, you can independently handle deals from kickoff through execution
• Demonstrated ability to build contract processes, workflows, and systems from scratch
• Strong interpersonal skills with a track record of building trust and credibility with cross-functional stakeholders
• Self-starter mentality: you're comfortable with ambiguity, take initiative, and don't wait to be told what to do
• Excellent organizational skills and the ability to manage a high volume of contracts simultaneously while maintaining great consistent work product
• Bachelor's degree required; JD or paralegal certification a plus

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct, hands-on experience with Linksquares (administration, reporting, workflow configuration
• Experience implementing AI-powered tools or integrations within a CLM environment
• Background in a high-growth technology or startup environment

Familiarity with public sector, transportation, or education-related contracts

• Experience building and scaling a contracts function at a growth-stage company
• Knowledge of data privacy frameworks and compliance requirements

Why Zum

• Mission that matters: Your work directly supports safer, greener, more reliable transportation for students across the country.
• Build something real: This is a ground-floor opportunity to shape how contracts work at a company that's scaling fast.
• Growth-stage energy: We move quickly, think big, and give our people real ownership and autonomy.
• Competitive compensation: We offer competitive salary, equity, benefits, and the chance to grow with the company.

The targeted base salary range for this role is listed in the compensation section below. Actual salary may be above or below this range based on factors such as location, skills, and relevant experience. In addition, this position may include additional compensation in the form of equity or commissions. If you are a full-time salaried or hourly worker, we offer the following benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Holidays, Wellness, Vacation, and more. The targeted pay range for this role in CA, USA is: $185,000 - $200,000 plus stock options.

Zm Services, Inc. and all its subsidiaries provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

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