Commercial Contracts Specialist III

Smiths Group • Edgewood, MD

21d • $105,600 - $158,400

About The Position

The Commercial Contracts Specialist serves as the primary liaison between Sales and the Law Department, helping ensure contracts and agreements are negotiated and executed efficiently, accurately, and in compliance with applicable requirements. The role leads commercial review and negotiation of large, complex contracts and solicitation terms, partnering with Legal on contractual language and legal matters. It also supports compliant and competitive proposals and commercially sound outcomes.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; preferred fields include business/finance, legal studies, or contract management.
• Understanding of contract law, risk management, and negotiation strategies.
• Strong contract negotiation skills, especially with complex, high-value agreements.
• Excellent communication, organization, and analytical abilities.
• Ability to identify risks and recommend effective mitigation strategies.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Highly collaborative, with ability to work across diverse teams.
• Skilled in stakeholder communication and relationship management.
• Ability to maintain accurate, auditable commercial records.
• Ability to plan and execute assigned contract activities independently, make timely decisions within delegated authority, and escalate issues appropriately while working with legal subject matter experts when needed.

Nice To Haves

• Professional qualification in contract management is desirable.
• Experience with federal, state, and local government contracting is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with contract lifecycle management tools.
• Experience with contract management or CRM systems.

Responsibilities

• Bring Sales, Legal, and other stakeholders together to resolve issues and advance customer and subcontractor agreements from review through execution.
• Lead commercial review and negotiation of large, complex contracts, including pricing terms, deliverables, compliance requirements, and allocation of risk; partner with Legal on contractual language and matters requiring legal review.
• Lead review and negotiation of solicitation terms and conditions in support of compliant and competitive proposals.
• Manage contracts through internal review and approval workflows, track open items, follow up with decision-makers, and escalate issues that could delay proposals, awards, or execution.
• Maintain complete contract records and a central view of active agreements, obligations, milestones, expiration dates, and renewal opportunities.
• Partner with the Aftermarket team to identify upcoming renewals, coordinate customer engagement, resolve outstanding terms, and complete extensions before agreements expire.
• Work with Legal, Sales Operations, Procurement, Finance, Intellectual Property, and other teams to develop negotiation positions, address contract issues, and reach commercially sound outcomes.
• Define and communicate stakeholder roles in negotiations, RFP reviews, and renewals using the company’s RACIX framework, keeping responsibilities and approval paths clear.
• Ensure contract activities comply with applicable federal requirements, customer obligations, and internal policies.
• Support contract audits, internal reviews, and reporting related to contract compliance and performance.
• Identify recurring bottlenecks and lessons learned, and improve contract templates, playbooks, approval workflows, and cross-functional practices.
• Apply lessons learned to strengthen contract operations and commercial practices.

Benefits

• Career training and growth opportunities across the business, locally and globally.
• A range of benefits supporting health and wellbeing, financial needs, and lifestyle.
• Competitive Business Profit Plan.
• Medical insurance.
• Dental insurance.
• Vision insurance.
• 401(k) with company match.
• Paid time off.
• Other benefits included in the company benefits package.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level