Contracts Manager

Come join our Goddard Systems, LLC (GSL) corporate team! We are a great place to work and offer many employee-friendly perks and benefits. GSL is the manager of the Goddard School franchise system that supports over 600 schools which delivers a high-quality, play-based learning program to families all over the United States. Our successful franchise business model supports franchisees through partnerships with teams of seasoned professionals who draw over 30 years of business, marketing, IT, franchise, finance, and education experience. Because of this, The Goddard School has grown into an institution that parents and families trust, reaching more than 80,000 students in 38 states – and growing.

Summary
As a Contracts Manager in Goddard’s Legal Department, the successful candidate will be responsible for end-to-end contract lifecycle management, contract drafting and negotiation, and reporting.

Responsibilities
• Manages the contract lifecycle for each vendor agreement.
• Coordinate internal review and approval of all agreements with the business units, IT, and Legal, as applicable.
• Supports business units in reviewing and negotiating business terms.
• Maintains library of contract templates, provisions and terms meeting company’s business needs.
• Drafts NDAs and scopes of work as well as prepares contracts for review by counsel, as directed by and under supervision of counsel.
• Key contact for contract authoring, editing, and negotiation.
• Negotiates and drafts new agreements and/or amendments to existing contracts, interacting with the business, in-house and outside counsel, as appropriate.
• Acts as initial point of contact for internal teams concerning legal aspects and interpretation of contracts
• Communicates new and/or modified contract terms to all affected internal teams (i.e. operations, sales, finance, accounting, IT, HR) for their incorporation into and/or adaptation of their departmental processes.
• Tracks, organizes, and retains electronic files of the fully executed agreements in accordance with company processes; maintains approvals related to established contracts and those in progress.
• Develop and provide internal training plans to business units on contracting processes and best practices.
• Provides reporting on vendor contracts as needed.
• Performs legal research and provides opinions or memoranda regarding contract liability and on general corporate issues.
• Manages projects as assigned.
• Works to establish processes that will create efficiencies.
• Creates, updates and preserves important corporate records.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Minimum Requirements
• Bachelor’s Degree or Equivalent work experience.
• A minimum of 7 years cumulative experience in contract negotiation and drafting .
• Experience in contract life cycle management with various types of contracts.
• Excellent communication skills at all levels – clearly articulate position with clarity at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to handle multiple projects in a dynamic and fast paced environment
• Must be proactive, detailed/results oriented in a semi-structured environment

Highly Desired
• Preferred, demonstrated experience working in an ERP environment
• Preferred, paralegal or equivalent experience in corporate environment

Here’s some highlights of what we have to offer:
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) volunteer employee resource group
• Remote-work flexibility
• Childcare discount at Goddard Schools (you will want to hear more about this!)
• Paid Time Off/11 Paid Company Holidays/2 Floating Holidays
• Multiple Choices of Medical Insurance Coverage
• Dental Insurance/Vision Insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Company-paid Life Insurance
• Flex Spending Programs
• Tuition Reimbursement Program
• Gym Membership Reimbursement Program
• TSA precheck discounts, transportation benefits, and more!

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