Contracts Manager

WHO WE ARE:

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society mobilizes people and resources to drive research for a cure and to address the challenges of everyone affected by MS. To fulfill this mission, the Society funds cutting-edge research, drives change through advocacy, facilitates professional education, collaborates with MS organizations around the world, and provides programs and services designed to help people with MS and their families move their lives forward. We partner with volunteers to accomplish our work. Staff members engage volunteers through effective and timely communications, facilitating meaningful opportunities, and continually seeking and providing feedback for reciprocal growth and learning.

Job Summary:

The Contract Manager plays an integral role in the Legal & Risk Management Department by reviewing, redlining, and managing a high volume of contracts, ensuring legal compliance, risk mitigation, and adherence to internal policies. This position provides direct support to inhouse attorneys, assists with issue spotting, and supports the contract lifecycle from intake through execution.

This position owns the daytoday contract workflow, ensuring that requests move efficiently from intake through negotiation, approval, and execution while meeting internal deadlines and service expectations. The Contract Manager is a selfstarter who can operate independently in a fully remote, highvolume environment and collaborate closely with a small, specialized Legal & Risk team.

Main Responsibilities:

Legal Review & Risk Mitigation

• Review, analyze, and redline a high volume of contracts including vendor agreements, professional services agreements, licenses, MOUs, grant agreements, and datarelated agreements and engage directly with third parties to discuss and negotiate revisions, focusing on business, operational, and riskrelated terms in accordance with established legal standards and playbooks.

• Identify and flag legal, compliance, insurance, privacy, and reputational risks.

• Recommend revisions consistent with the organization's legal standards and risk tolerance.

• Draft contract language for attorney review based on approved templates, policies, and clause libraries.

• Distinguish between business/operational issues and legal determinations and escalate questions of law or nonstandard legal positions or highrisk terms to inhouse counsel with clear summaries for resolution.

Attorney & Stakeholder Support

• Work closely with inhouse counsel to support legal review, research, and workflow prioritization.

• Prepare contract summaries, comparison charts, and risk analyses to assist attorneys and internal clients.

• Serve as a subjectmatter resource for organizational policies, legal requirements, and contract practice standards.

• Provide guidance to internal teams on contract processes, expectations, and legal requirements.

Contract Lifecycle Management

• Manage contract intake, tracking, routing, and signature through the organization's contract management system.

• Own contract workflows and timelines, proactively managing queues, prioritizing requests, and communicating with stakeholders to ensure deadlines are met.

• Maintain accurate contract records, templates, and clause libraries.

• Working with legal operations, leverage contract management system(s) to build and refine workflows, dashboards, and reports that support transparency, compliance, and workload management.

• Monitor contract expiration/renewal timelines and ensure timely updates and amendments.

• Ensure completed contracts comply with internal approval procedures and legal standards.

Compliance & Policy Support

• Maintain policies related to contract review and update relevant training as needed.

• Ensure contracts comply with federal, state, and local requirements applicable to nonprofit organizations.

• Support audits, monitoring, and reporting related to contracts and records management.

• Contribute to the development and rollout of updated contract procedures, templates, and training materials.

• Develop and deliver training and job aids for business staff on contract intake, approval pathways, and use of the contract management system, as well as on key contracting policies

What We're Looking For:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

• At least 5 years' experience in contract management, paralegal work, legal department support, or similar role

• Strong working knowledge of contract law principles, risk management, and standard legal terminology.

• Demonstrated experience reviewing, redlining, and interpreting complex contract provisions.

• Exceptional communication, writing, and analytical skills

• Proven ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment in a fully-remote legal-driven, highvolume environment with shifting priorities.

• Experience with contract management systems and workflow tools.

• Must have working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite.

• Excellent organizational, project management, and technological skills to maintain records and systems.

• Experience using and, ideally, administering or optimizing a contract lifecycle management (CLM) or similar workflow tool, including creating templates, fields, or standardized processes

We're committed to supporting the growth of every employee through a structured and transparent approach to career development. We use Talent Portraits to define clear expectations, development opportunities, and advancement paths - whether you're growing as a people leader or deepening your expertise as an individual contributor. Each role is thoughtfully placed within one of these pathways (Leadership or Partner) to help you understand how it fits into our broader organization and your potential career journey.

This position is classified as Partner - Knowledge Expert.

The National MS Society is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We strive to create a workforce that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. We need you and your unique talents and perspectives to help us write the last chapter on MS.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

We appreciate your consideration of our job opportunities and strive to make it as effortless as possible to apply for our positions. With only a few required sections and the option to use our resume parsing tool, we aim to streamline the application experience, saving you time and effort. Additionally, if you wish to include a cover letter with your application, please feel free to attach it along with your resume, and any other documents required, to the Resume/CV document upload section at the bottom of the My Experience page. We appreciate your interest in joining our team and look forward to receiving your application!

Important: You will not be able to modify your application after you submit it. The "My Experience" page is the only opportunity to add your cover letter and supporting document attachments. If you experience any trouble submitting your materials, please check out our FAQ & Contact Us page.