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The Senior Contract Manager serves as a strategic contracting advisor responsible for leading complex contract negotiations, managing high-value and high-risk supplier agreements, and driving contracting excellence across assigned business categories. This role partners closely with Category Management, Strategic Sourcing, Legal, Compliance, Risk Management, Finance, and business stakeholders to develop commercial contracting strategies that balance risk, speed, value, and operational needs. The Senior Contract Manager provides leadership for contract management activities within assigned categories and serves as a mentor and subject matter expert for Contract Managers, associates, and outsourced contract management partners. This role is expected to independently manage the most complex and strategically significant supplier agreements while helping drive continuous improvement, standardization, and operational excellence across the contract management function.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Contract Leadership Lead negotiation and execution of highly complex agreements, including:
Master Service Agreements (MSAs)
Statements of Work (SOWs)
Software and SaaS agreements
Technology licensing agreements
Business process outsourcing agreements
Professional services contracts
Healthcare-related supplier agreements
Amendments, renewals, and terminations
Develop and execute contracting strategies aligned with enterprise business objectives.
Serve as lead negotiator on high-value, high-risk, and executive-level supplier engagements.
Advise stakeholders on contractual, commercial, operational, and risk implications of supplier relationships.
Balance business objectives with legal, compliance, operational, and financial requirements.
Contract Lifecycle Management Manage contracts through the full lifecycle, including intake, drafting, negotiation, execution, governance, renewal, amendment, and termination.
Ensure adherence to enterprise contracting policies, approval requirements, and Delegation of Authority guidelines.
Drive timely contract execution while maintaining appropriate risk controls.
Identify and mitigate contractual risks, obligations, and performance gaps.
Stakeholder Engagement Serve as the primary contract management advisor for assigned categories and business functions.
Build trusted relationships with senior leaders, category managers, sourcing professionals, legal counsel, and suppliers.
Participate in supplier strategy discussions and complex sourcing initiatives.
Translate business requirements into practical contractual solutions.
Risk Management and Governance Partner with Legal, Privacy, Compliance, Information Protection, Cybersecurity, and Risk teams to address regulatory and contractual requirements.
Identify emerging contractual risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
Support audits, regulatory reviews, and internal governance activities.
Promote consistent contract governance practices across the organization.
Leadership and Team Development Provide guidance and mentoring to Contract Managers and contract management associates.
Support onboarding, knowledge sharing, and capability development initiatives.
Assist the Associate Director in establishing best practices and operating procedures.
Lead special projects and enterprise-wide process improvement efforts.
Vendor Partner Oversight Provide day-to-day guidance and quality oversight for outsourced contract management resources.
Review work product for quality, consistency, and policy compliance.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives with vendor partners.
Support operational governance and performance management activities.
Operational Excellence Leverage contracting technologies and workflow tools to improve efficiency and visibility.
Identify opportunities to automate or standardize contracting activities.
Track and report on key operational metrics such as:
Contract cycle time
Renewal completion
Stakeholder…