Senior Legal Contracts Manager

Premier Inc.

19h•$113,000 - $188,000•Remote

About The Position

At Premier, we take pride in the business of serving patients by serving the healthcare providers who meet the needs of those patients, in every area of their care. As a group purchasing organization (GPO), we negotiate contracts for the goods and services our members use every day, and those contracts are where our commitments to members and suppliers become real. This role exists because that paper has to be accurate, readable and defensible — often on a short clock. Reporting to the [Associate General Counsel or Senior Corporate Counsel], the Senior Contract Specialist is a senior, hands-on contracting professional who works alongside Premier’s attorneys to support the day-to-day contracting needs of Premier’s supply chain service lines. In this role you will draft and revise straightforward commercial agreements, amendments, statements of work, confidentiality agreements, legal correspondence and internal policy documents; review and disposition contract redlines returned from negotiations across all Premier supply chain service lines; and lead or participate in negotiations directly with business counterparts and counterparties. You will also help maintain the templates, fallback language and playbooks that make the team faster over time. The person in this role works independently on routine and moderately complex contracting matters with limited direction, escalating novel, high-risk or ambiguous issues to counsel with a clear summary and a recommended path. This position requires work in a fast-paced and business-competitive GPO environment and interacts with business unit leaders and their management, sourcing and field teams, Premier members, and suppliers of goods and services to Premier’s members. Success in this role depends as much on business fluency as on drafting skill: you will be expected to learn Premier’s supply chain service lines well enough to articulate the business case behind each contractual engagement and to discuss legal risk with business leaders in their own language. In this role, you may choose to work from our Charlotte, NC office according to your preferred schedule, or remotely. We will consider candidates whose experience may not align perfectly with every qualification listed below as a combination of relevant skills, experience, and potential for success may be equally valuable. If this role interests you and you believe you can make a meaningful contribution, we encourage you to apply. Current Premier employees with sourcing, contracting or field operations experience are also encouraged to apply. This position does not practice law or provide legal advice; all work is performed under the supervision of licensed Premier attorneys.

Requirements

5 or more years of applicable work experience
Bachelors (Required)
Drafting, redlining and interpreting commercial contracts and other legal documents
Leading and participating in contract negotiations
Business and professional writing — clear, precise, plain-English prose (writing samples will be requested)
Ability to work collaboratively with professionals having various backgrounds, including attorneys, sourcing professionals and representatives of large health systems and corporations.
Ability to articulate the business case driving a contractual engagement and to present information effectively to senior management and contracting staff, individually and in group settings.
Good business and financial acumen; working knowledge of commercial contract law concepts and of healthcare regulatory considerations affecting GPO contracting.
8 years applicable experience in contract drafting, review and negotiation — in-house, in a law firm, or in a sourcing, procurement or contract management function.
Bachelor’s Degree
Remain in a stationary position for prolonged periods of time
Be adaptive and change priorities quickly; meet deadlines
Attention to detail
Operate computer programs and software
Ability to communicate effectively with audiences in person and in electronic formats.
Day-to-day contact with others (co-workers and/or the public)
Making independent decisions
Ability to work in a collaborative business environment in close quarters with peers and varying interruptions

Responsibilities

Draft and revise straightforward commercial contracts, amendments, order forms, statements of work, confidentiality agreements, legal letters and internal policy documents, working from approved templates and from scratch, for Premier’s supply chain service lines and our member-facing contracting.
Read, interpret and explain contracts and other legal documents independently, including identifying obligations, termination and renewal mechanics, pricing and fee terms, and inconsistencies across a document set.
Prepare clear written summaries and recommendations for counsel and business owners; escalate novel, high-risk or ambiguous issues with a proposed resolution.
Review contract redlines returned from negotiations across all Premier supply chain service lines; identify substantive changes, departures from Premier’s approved positions and unacceptable risk shifts; and recommend or apply responsive language.
Lead negotiations directly with business counterparts and counterparty representatives on assigned agreements, and participate in more complex negotiations alongside attorneys and business owners.
Track open issues, deal status and turnaround commitments so that matters move to closure and nothing stalls; communicate status proactively to business owners and counsel.
Serve as a responsive point of contact for internal clients in sourcing, operations and member field teams, translating business objectives into workable contract language and legal risk into business terms.
Develop, maintain and improve contract templates, clause libraries, fallback positions and negotiation playbooks; contribute to improvement of contracting processes and intake.
Maintain accurate contract records in Premier’s contract lifecycle management system; respond to inquiries from Premier members and suppliers; support special projects as needed.