Associate Sr Principal - Contract

Uniti

About The Position

Leads end-to-end contracting governance and execution for External Partner Statements of Work (SOWs) and MDU (multi-dwelling unit) agreements. This role sets the contracting operating model, translates business objectives into scalable contractual frameworks, and drives cross-functional alignment across Legal, Procurement, Finance, and Operations. Accountable for ensuring agreements align to approved deal economics, enterprise risk posture, and delegation of authority requirements, while delivering executive visibility to pipeline health, contract cycle time, and portfolio-level risk. Owns standardization of templates, playbooks, and controls to improve throughput, reduce risk, and strengthen partner outcomes.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in contracts management, commercial negotiations, and partnering with Legal/Procurement/Finance; demonstrated success leading complex SOWs and service agreements.
Proven ability to lead high-stakes negotiations, balance risk and commercial objectives, and influence outcomes with senior leaders and external partners.
Strong command of commercial contract terms and enterprise risk concepts (liability, indemnity, insurance, confidentiality, data/security, IP, and dispute resolution).
Executive-ready communication and presence, with strong stakeholder management, organization, and attention to detail.
Strong analytical and reporting skills to drive KPI discipline, pipeline visibility, and process improvement; advanced Excel skills preferred.
Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of progressive, related professional experience; or an equivalent combination of education and related experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading contracting in telecom, OSP, construction/services, and/or MDU environments, including partner ecosystems and field/implementation commitments.
Ownership of CLM and e-signature tools (selection, configuration, workflow design, user adoption, and reporting) and demonstrated contracting process transformation.
Experience developing contracting playbooks/guardrails and training programs for business stakeholders at scale.
Background in infrastructure, telecom, real estate, and/or MDU underwriting; strong commercial acumen.
Experience with Power BI, Tableau, and/or SQL to enable portfolio analytics and executive dashboards.

Responsibilities

Own the contracting operating model for external partner SOWs and MDU agreements, including intake governance, negotiation strategy, approval workflows, and execution standards.
Lead complex, high-value negotiations and redlines on scope, deliverables, milestones, SLAs, rate cards/pricing, acceptance criteria, invoicing, change control, and remedies; align positions with enterprise risk and commercial guardrails.
Establish and maintain portfolio-level governance for MDU agreements and amendments, ensuring exhibits/attachments, construction or implementation obligations, and service commitments are complete, consistent, and enforceable.
Partner with business leaders to validate alignment to approved deal economics and business cases; drive disciplined adherence to commercial terms, term/termination, responsibilities, and performance requirements.
Serve as the escalation point for contractual risk (liability, indemnity, insurance, confidentiality, data/security, IP, regulatory considerations, and dispute resolution), driving resolution with Legal and senior stakeholders.
Define and track contracting KPIs (cycle time, aging, bottlenecks, renewal exposure, red-flag terms, and risk themes); provide executive-ready reporting and recommendations to improve performance.
Own and continuously improve the contracting toolkit (templates, clause library, negotiation playbooks, training), enabling consistent decision-making and scalable contracting across the organization.
Ensure audit-ready documentation and controls; coordinate with Procurement/Vendor Management on onboarding requirements and adherence to policy and delegation of authority.