Manager, Deal Desk & Contracts Exceptions | Hybrid | Reston, VA

Ellucian•Reston, VA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Deal Desk & Contract Exceptions Manager leads and owns a team that works cross-functionally with Revenue Operations, Contracts, Finance, and Legal to provide strategic deal structuring, pricing governance, and contract exception management in support of the Global Revenue organization. This role serves as the escalation point for complex, high-value, or non-standard deals and contract exceptions, ensuring alignment with Ellucian’s pricing policies, financial controls, and risk standards while enabling revenue growth. The Manager supports the deal and exception lifecycle by partnering with internal teams on opportunity packaging and pricing strategy; advising on deal economics and risk; and communicating decisions clearly to internal stakeholders and, when appropriate, external customers. Successful candidates demonstrate strong issue identification and resolution skills, an extremely high bar for customer service, and the ability to balance commercial flexibility with discipline and compliance in a fast-paced, fluid environment.

Requirements

7–10+ years of experience in Deal Desk, Sales Finance, Revenue Operations, or Commercial Finance within an enterprise environment
3+ years of experience leading or mentoring teams in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment
Strong experience supporting transactions of varying complexity using CRM and CPQ/ERP systems
Proven ability to analyze and recommend courses of action for complex pricing, licensing, and contract exception scenarios
Strong understanding of SaaS, cloud-based solutions, and subscription commercial models
Expert knowledge in Microsoft Excel, including financial modeling and deal scenario analysis
Experience drafting and reviewing customer proposals, amendments, and non-standard commercial terms
Resolved complex customer issues efficiently by identifying root causes, coordinating cross-functional teams, and delivering timely, customer-focused solutions
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders
Highly organized, proactive, creative, and results-oriented with strong judgment and attention to detail
Service-minded approach to internal and external customer support, delivering excellence with consistency
Flexibility to work varied hours to support sales cycles, seasonal volume fluctuations, and time-sensitive escalations
Willingness to go the extra mile with a strong work ethic; self-directed and resourceful

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary escalation point and decision-making authority for deal support and contract exception requests from Sales and Customer Success
Analyze & investigate existing contracts to understand the full picture before making a recommendation for an exception resolution
Drive resolution of high-impact customer challenges by aligning stakeholders, mitigating risk, and delivering solutions that strengthened long-term customer relationships
Review, approve, and edit sales quotes involving custom pricing, non-standard terms, and complex commercial structures
Partner with Revenue Leadership, Legal, Finance, Revenue Accounting, and Customer Success to ensure negotiated deals and contract exceptions are properly documented, auditable, and aligned with Ellucian policies
Create and oversee quotes, schedules, and contract amendments reflecting product upgrades, renewals, and add-ons, including cumulative and enterprise-level discounting structures
Develop and maintain deep expertise in Ellucian’s pricing models, approval frameworks, and contract exception practices, identifying trends and opportunities for policy or process improvement
Lead, coach, and develop team members; establish standards, training, and best practices
Track and report on deal metrics including cycle time, exception volume, margin impact, and risk exposure to inform leadership decision-making
Identify and propose process and workflow changes and identify areas where we can better use Technology and AI to improve all processes, deliverables and metrics

Benefits

Comprehensive health coverage: medical, dental, and vision
Flexible time off
Thrive Flex Lifestyle Account (LSA) that allows you to contribute towards your health, financial or learning interests
401k w/ match & BrightPlan - to help you save for the future
Parental Leave
5 charitable days to support the community that supports us
Telemedicine
Wellness
Headspace Care (mental health)
Wellbeats (virtual fitness classes)
RethinkCare & Wellthy– caregiver supporq
Diversity and inclusion programs which provide access to internal employee resource groups
Employee referral bonuses to encourage the addition of great new people to the team
Education Assistance Program
Professional development opportunities