Contract Specialist

As a key member of the General Counsel's office, the Contract Specialist will be responsible for management and oversight of the contract lifecycle for licenses or service contracts for the support, operations and maintenance of the Company's contracts and procurement needs. Following CSBS policy, the Contract Specialist will provide advice to business units and project/program teams on contract management, competition and vendor selection processes, and policy compliance and be responsible for initiating, tracking and monitoring contract performance, changes, and any associated documentation. The Contract Specialist will utilize their strong program management, contract management, business analysis and administration, and communication skills to develop and lead acquisition strategies and related acquisition planning documents, draft and help negotiate contracts and resolve outstanding contracts issues.

Essential Functions

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty and responsibility satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable an individual with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Other duties may be assigned to meet business needs.

Contract Management

• Manage complete contract lifecycle from strategy development to completion/expiration of the contract or license including but not limited to advising on and managing/leading solicitation development, contract structure, source selection, award/negotiation, and close out.
• Work closely with business units and project teams as the main Company contact/lead for contract planning (e.g. market research/market analysis, statement/scope of work preparation), solicitation preparation and evaluation (e.g. preparing requests for proposals; managing source selection teams/processes; cost/price analysis), negotiation, award and administration of active contracts.
• Prepare reporting on contract status, modifications, compliance, budgets/spend and other relevant matters to the appropriate individuals.
• Identify, mitigate and resolve contract risks and issues; suggest alternatives and opportunities for efficiency to reach the best solution for the company.
• Collaborate vertically and horizontally across the organization to ensure all contractual matters are addressed efficiently and promptly.

Vendor Management

• Manage vendor contract review and deal with any contract related issues or disptutes with third party vendors (e.g. service, support and license providers).
• Manage and build key relationships with third party vendors to ensure appropriate business goals and objectives are met.
• Review and manage contractual obligations with third party vendors and provide continual review to ensure all terms and conditions are met.

Additional Responsibilities

• Utilize, manage and provide oversight and support of the contract management system.
• Coordinate and facilitate positive relationships with internal and external groups.
• Represent the Company in meetings and discussions with third party vendors and other organizational units.
• Provide leadership or support on other assigned projects including potentially support needed to establish or mature the Company procurement office, and further development and management of strategic sourcing initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual should possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed and meet the amount of education, training and/or work experience required.

• Bachelor's degree in business/management/information technology.
• 5- 7 years of contract management experience in commercial sector and/or federal government including negotiation and management of medium to large IT contracts.
• Project management experience including completion of formal training required for certification and/or completed and active PMP certification with emphasis on agile project management.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong knowledge of IT concepts and systems; knowledge and experience with agile contracting a plus.
• Familiarity and experience managing industry best practices in contracts/procurement including competitive source selection, strategic sourcing, and procurement ethics and integrity.

• Customer Focused: Dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; establishes and maintains effective relationships to gain business trust and respect.
• Analytical: Provide meaningful analyses of information; approach problems logically from a legal perspective.
• Sound Judgment: must have judgment sufficient to handle and resolve issues relating to sensitive and confidential legal matters; understand, appreciate and uphold procurement integrity principles.
• Results Oriented: ability to simply complex issues and work in results-oriented manner.
• Strong Legal Writing Skills: drafting and editing contracts.
• Organizational Skills and Attention to Detail: keeps accurate records; review documents for discrepancies; maximize workload through prioritization and utilization of departmental staff.
• Organizational Agility: Strong ability to collaborate vertically and horizontally across the organization; knowledge about how organizations work and ability to navigate formal and information channels; understand impact and importance of culture in the organization.
• Composure: Can effectively and efficiently manage situations with minimal definition; draft recommendations and solutions with minimal requirements and facilitate collaboration to reach resolution and obtain all necessary information.
• Priority Setting: Ability to prioritize multiple tasks, demands and work under pressure in a fast-paced environment.

Requirements

• Must be eligible to obtain or currently possess a U.S. Government clearance at the Public Trust (NACI) moderate level or higher.
• Must be an authorized United States citizen.
• Due to the nature of CSBS's business in support of state financial services supervision, all CSBS employees have the potential of interacting with confidential information related to the supervision of financial services companies ("Confidential Supervisory Information"). As a result, in addition to general business conflicts of interest, all CSBS employees are expected to disclose conflicts of interest in financial services companies on at least an annual basis and to proactively avoid such conflicts.
• Protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of CSBS information and information systems in accordance with CSBS policies and procedures.

Values Instilled Behaviors for Excellence

Member/ Customer Service

• Builds and values relationships.
• Prioritizes work.
• Advocates and advances member's goals.

Teamwork

• Gives credit to others.
• Has a "pitch in" attitude.
• Learns from successes and setbacks.

Respect/Trust

• Listens and learns from others.
• Speaks the truth even when uncomfortable.
• Honors the expertise of others.

Collaboration

• Recognizes the contributions of others.
• Consults and communicates effectively.
• Desires to make others successful.

Ownership/Engagement

• Perseveres through adversity.
• Experiments and takes risks.
• Plans ahead and is forward-thinking.

Leadership Competencies

Achievement Oriented Thinking

• Is a solutions-oriented thinker.
• Has good time management skills.
• Manages expectations of what is achievable.

Change Management

• Actively engage and participate during change.
• Asks questions and takes ownership for understanding why the change is happening and the risk of not changing actively.
• Adopts the new habits, monitors own performance and checks self against the objectives and seeks help when they don't match.
• Identifies and communicates obstacles and resistance.

Emotional Intelligence

• Manages own emotions productively to stay in role.
• Handles emotionally charged situations productively and with empathy.
• Asks for and openly accepts feedback; looks for opportunities to grow.
• Conducts conversations courageously - hitting difficult issues head-on with an eye on maintaining relationships.

Working Conditions

• General office.