Contract Manager – Commercial Transactions (compliance)

Job description

**Contract Manager** **– Commercial Transactions**

**About the Role**

We are seeking an experienced **Contract Manager** to support senior attorneys in our high-volume commercial transaction practice.

This role is central to managing contracts across the corporate operational environment—including technology, services, supply chain, and other corporate functions.

The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, pragmatic, and thrives in a fast-paced environment while balancing business efficiency with legal risk.

The Contract Manager will be responsible for reviewing, organizing, and managing contracts, while also exercising independent judgment to support business operations.

The position requires someone who is comfortable redlining agreements, identifying risk, conducting due diligence, running intake and triage of requests, interacting with outside counsel and internal stakeholders, and driving efficiency through technology, process improvement, and training initiatives.

**Key Responsibilities**

+ **Contract Drafting & Review:**
+ Perform initial review, redlining, and coordination of agreements (e.g., SaaS, NDAs, SOWs, vendor and service agreements, consulting, staff augmentation, **amendments, and terminations** ).
+ Support negotiations under attorney supervision, escalating key risks as appropriate.
+ **Produce redline packages, issue lists, and clear “decision points” for attorney escalation** to ensure efficient, informed legal review.
+ **Identify potential legal, business, and operational risks in contracts and propose effective mitigation strategies aligned with company priorities.**
+ Assist with **contract-related due diligence** in support of business initiatives, audits, and transactions.
+ **Contract Administration & Organization:**
+ Maintain centralized contract files, templates, and clause libraries.
+ Track deadlines, **renewals, and obligations** to ensure compliance and reduce business risk.
+ Support contract lifecycle management processes across the organization.
+ **Run intake and triage of contract requests** , ensuring matters are prioritized, routed, and addressed efficiently.
+ **Simplify intake forms, SLA expectations, and routing rules** to improve transparency and speed.
+ **Ensure data quality** so every agreement is findable, reportable, and tied to correct metadata (counterparty, spend band, risk flags).
+ **Playbooks, Clause Libraries & Standards:**
+ Develop, maintain, and update **contract playbooks** and **clause libraries** to support consistent, efficient negotiations.
+ **Convert intangible knowledge into repeatable playbooks and guidance** to shorten cycle time, reduce variance, and minimize single-point-of-failure risk.
+ **Enforce contracting standards, policies, and guidelines** to drive compliance and reduce business risk.
+ **Cross-Functional Support:**
+ Provide contract management support across **all operational areas** of the company, ensuring consistency and efficiency.
+ **Coordinate inputs from InfoSec, Privacy, Finance, and Procurement when needed — you orchestrate; they advise.**
+ Serve as a trusted point of contact for internal stakeholders across business units.
+ **Training & Knowledge Sharing:**
+ Develop and deliver training sessions on **basic contract principles** and **contract management tools** to business stakeholders.
+ **Teach the business how to self-serve the easy stuff** , reserving attorney time for higher-value issues.
+ Promote best practices and increase organizational familiarity with contract processes and technologies.
+ **Collaboration & Professionalism:**
+ Interact professionally with outside counsel, vendors, and internal teams at all levels.
+ Build strong working relationships to facilitate efficient contract turnaround.
+ **Innovation & Efficiency:**
+ Identify opportunities to streamline contracting processes and embrace new technologies (CLM systems, AI-enabled workflows, automation).
+ Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives across the contract management function.
+ **Stay informed on trends and developments in commercial law and contracting practices, applying insights to improve processes and anticipate emerging risks.**

**Qualifications**

+ Bachelor’s degree required; paralegal certification or JD a plus.
+ 5+ years of contract management experience in a **corporate legal department or law firm** with exposure to a wide variety of commercial agreements.
+ Strong familiarity with contract drafting, review, negotiation, **renewals, amendments, terminations** , intake/triage, and due diligence processes.
+ Demonstrated ability to review and redline contracts, balancing efficiency with risk awareness.
+ Expertise in the **Microsoft Office Suite** (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), including **advanced functionality** such as redlining, tracked changes, templates, document comparison, spreadsheet management, and presentation creation.
+ Proficiency with **legal and contract research tools** such as Westlaw, Lexis/Nexis, Practical Law, and contract execution platforms like DocuSign.
+ Experience developing and maintaining **contract playbooks, clause libraries, and converting intangible knowledge into repeatable frameworks** .
+ Experience managing a **high-volume contract pipeline** .
+ Strong written and verbal communication skills; professional presence with internal and external stakeholders.
+ Ability to exercise **independent judgment** while recognizing when to escalate issues.
+ Experience **training and mentoring non-legal colleagues** on contracts or tools preferred.
+ Embraces technology and innovation; prior experience with CLM systems or contract automation tools strongly preferred.
+ **Desire to continually advance skills in current technologies and curiosity in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, chatbots, and intelligent agents.**

**Ideal Candidate Profile**

You are proactive, adaptable, and thrive in a fast-paced environment.

You bring both discipline and creativity to the contracting process, balancing business pragmatism with legal precision.

You understand that strong contract management goes beyond drafting and redlining—it includes **intake and triage of requests** , simplifying **intake forms, SLA expectations, and routing rules** , maintaining **data quality and metadata integrity** , tracking **renewals, obligations, amendments, and terminations** , preparing **clear redline packages and decision points for escalation** , developing and **enforcing playbooks, clause libraries, standards, and policies** , and **orchestrating cross-functional inputs** from InfoSec, Privacy, Finance, and Procurement.

You know how to **capture intangible knowledge and convert it into repeatable playbooks** that shorten cycle times, reduce variance, and prevent single points of failure.

You keep an eye on **emerging trends in commercial law and contracting practices** , ensuring the organization anticipates risks and opportunities.

At the same time, you embrace innovation, with a genuine curiosity for **new technologies** like AI, chatbots, and intelligent agents where they can be applied responsibly.

You are energized by **process improvement, teaching the business to self-serve where appropriate, and building organizational capability** , enabling the legal team to operate with greater speed, consistency, and impact across the business.

Full time

500 Volvo Parkway,Chesapeake,Virginia 23320

Compliance

Dollar Tree

Required Skill Profession

Other General