Sr Dir - Contracts Management

SSA Marine•Seattle, WA

86d

About The Position

The Sr. Director, Contracts & Relationship Management is responsible for overseeing the governance of commercial agreements, driving margin improvement, and ensuring customer delivery tracking. This role ensures contractual frameworks support strategic goals, drive value creation and foster strong, long-term customer relationships. The position plays a key role in enabling disciplined commercial practices and aligning customer commitments with operational capabilities. The manager will lead 1 professional direct report, fostering high engagement, collaboration, and growth. The role also includes implementing standard work practices, customer contact mapping, and establishing a centralized contract repository using Ironclad.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Logistics, Maritime, or related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
10+ years of experience in commercial contract management, customer relationship management, or related fields.
Strong understanding of contract lifecycle management and performance tracking.
Experience with contract repository systems such as Ironclad or similar platforms.
Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams,
Proven ability to develop and present business models and strategic plans.
Ability to lead initiatives from concept to execution with clear milestones and stakeholder alignment
Strong analytical and communication skills.
Fluent in English (written and verbal). Spanish is a plus
Experience working in multicultural and cross-functional teams.
Entrepreneurial mindset with a bias for action preferred.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with container terminal systems and logistics platforms preferred.
Ability to travel internationally preferred.

Responsibilities

Govern the lifecycle of commercial contracts, ensuring alignment with SSA’s strategic goals.
Lead, support and influence strategic account teams in managing customer relationships, ensuring contractual obligations are met and partnerships are strengthened.
Monitor and report on customer performance against contractual commitments and SLAs.
Identify and implement margin improvement opportunities through contract optimization.
Design, Develop and execute customer relationship management programs across all levels of engagement for strategic accounts.
Lead the creation and maintenance of customer contact maps to support strategic relationship management.
Implement and manage Ironclad contract repository to centralize contract data and enhance value extraction.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams including legal, finance, operations, and IT to ensure contract compliance and performance.
Analyze legacy contracts and propose renegotiation strategies to improve commercial outcomes.
Collaborate with commercial teams to integrate contract & relationship management into client interactions and standard work.
Monitor performance metrics and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
Define KPIs for contract and relationship management and track their contribution to revenue, margin, and customer satisfaction.
Enable best practices sharing across SSA portfolio. Facilitate knowledge sharing and training across commercial teams on contract and relationship management.
Support the commercial strategy through contract and relationship management.
Enable best practice sharing across SSA portfolio for contract and relationship management.
Represent SSA Marine in customer meetings and industry forums to strengthen commercial relationships.
Lead, promote and manage fostering a high-engagement culture through regular feedback, coaching, and development planning.
Perform other duties or tasks as requested.