Contract Manager - North America

South Pole is an energetic, global company offering comprehensive sustainability solutions and services. With offices spanning all continents across the globe, we strive to create a sustainable society and economy that positively impacts our climate, ecosystems and developing communities. With our solutions we inspire and enable our customers to create value from sustainability-related activities.

Our Corporate Functions team is the “enablement engine” of South Pole. Behind the scenes, we provide the business with world-class solutions and best practices that sustain business growth and success. We cover key areas such as Finance, HR, Office Management, Legal, IT, Operations, etc. If you are a smart, ambitious and dynamic professional with a strong passion to make a real difference in the fight against climate change, the below position may be right for you!

Job summary:

We are looking for an enthusiastic Contracts Manager and team leader to ensure consistent drafting and negotiation of our contracts in North America, showing pragmatic judgments on specific contract terms and being agile both in contract drafting or redlining and during counterpart facing negotiations. In this broad and challenging role you are working as part of the wider Global Legal and Compliance team and you will be instrumental in supporting the day to day review and negotiation of agreements with South Pole’s clients and partners, as well as supporting the further development of our negotiation acumen from a business partner’s perspective and to give feedback to improve our contractual practice. 

Main tasks & responsibilities:

• Review a variety of contacts (including NDAs, Service Agreements, Subcontracting Agreements, Sale and Purchase Agreements) mostly based on our defined standards
• Act as a lead in negotiation of such contracts with relevant counterparties, both clients and suppliers, with support from key business stakeholders where required
• Perform risk assessments of proposed contractual terms and conditions, and develop recommendations to minimize their potential risk  for the company, while smoothing and adding value to the business activities
• Act as a trusted advisor to the business on all contractual matters, providing sound legal advice
• Identify and highlight relevant contractual risks and deviations from the corporate position for the management to make decisions
• Identify and highlight the need to review contractual positions or to develop new alternate positions for your area of responsibility
• Train and provide guidance to business personnel on contracting policies and procedures
• Lead and develop a small team of contract specialists

Requirements:

Essential 

• A Master’s degree in Law obtained in a good standing US university
• Relevant years of experience as a legal counsel, contract manager or related position
• Commercial contract negotiation and drafting experience
• Experience of leading and developing a small team
• Excellent written and oral command in English
• Ability to multitask, prioritize and manage time efficiently
• Ability to work on own initiative  while following the process in place in the department and in the wider company
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills and desire to make legal processes more efficient
• Outstanding contract negotiation and drafting skills, with the ability to discuss complex issues in a clear and simple manner both in writing and verbally
• Excellent verbal and communication skills
• Good judgment in balancing business and commercial needs and potential risks/exposures with counterparty requirements
• Accurate and precise attention to details
• Business-centric approach, demonstrating a positive attitude and ability to be creative and propose alternatives under all circumstances

Desirable 

• Additional language skills is of advantage
• Additional relevant industry or product specific experience is of advantage

What we offer:

At South Pole, we care about our employees as much as we care about the planet. South Pole is not just an employer, we are a Team. South Pole does not just offer people a job, we offer you a career. By joining our team, you will find strong purpose and deep meaning in everything you do. You will have the chance to make a real difference for our clients and for the planet, working alongside a passionate team of like-minded colleagues, while building your knowledge/skills and developing your career in a fun, dynamic, international and fast-growing organisation. 

We’re a planet of 7.5 billion unique and different people. We all have a contribution to make and South Pole is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status or disability. Our recruitment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.