Contract Specialist, Senior Manager, Agile Sourcing - Chester

Working with Us
Challenging. Meaningful. Life-changing. Those aren't words that are usually associated with a job. But working at Bristol Myers Squibb is anything but usual. Here, uniquely interesting work happens every day, in every department. From optimizing a production line to the latest breakthroughs in cell therapy, this is work that transforms the lives of patients and the careers of those who do it. You'll get the chance to grow and thrive through opportunities uncommon in scale and scope, alongside high-achieving teams rich in diversity. Take your career farther than you thought possible.

Position Purpose
The Contract Specialist, Senior Manager, Agile Sourcing will be part of a team that delivers an industry-leading contracting capability across the functions through efficient contract review, issue identification and analysis, redlining, negotiation and management of escalations to the legal department. It will be key for this individual to manage effective collaboration across multiple international markets (APAC and EMEA) with cross-functional stakeholders, including Legal, Global Process Owners, and other important cross-functional teams. The candidate will need to be able to handle a workload that sometimes has short and/or expedited deadlines. The individual must have excellent communication skills and must work quickly, diligently, independently, and efficiently. The individual in this role must also be able to resolve complex negotiation issues in a timely manner and push a deal through to execution. This individual must be able to build strong relationships of mutual trust and accountability with the internal business clients, contracting teams, and legal department. The Contract Specialist will ensure effective negotiating and contracting activities to achieve desired procurement outcomes in support of our company's goals. This position will report to the Director, Agile Sourcing.

Key Competencies

• Procurement and Contracting Fundamentals
• People Management
• Project and Stakeholder Management
• Strategic Planning & Organization
• Future Oriented Growth Mindset
• Change Management & Communications
• Business Process & Performance Management
• Strong Mission & Values Alignment
• Company & Industry Expertise
• International (EMEA/APAC) contracting expertise
• Problem solving
• Critical thinking

Key Responsibilities

• Drive and manage the end-to-end contracting process in support of operations across multiple markets with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Perform appropriate due diligence by issue spotting and assessing risk mitigating options.
• Execute contracts in a timely manner with appropriate legal support to ensure compliance with company standards.
• Coordinate and perform contract analysis to negotiate business/commercial terms to advance BMS' interests and goals.
• Understand the contractual terms and be able to explain their risks and implications to the internal business stakeholders to help drive appropriate decision-making.
• Manage multiple, complex projects independently.
• Ensure applicable written guidelines and company policy are followed and required SME input is obtained where necessary.
• Maintain awareness of pre-contracting steps, including underlying BMS policies and procedures related to the contracts and the contracted activities within scope.
• Partner directly with adjacent stakeholders and deliver on complex, high-risk issues or projects.
• Act as a trusted advisor to international category managers and their leadership to ensure procurement strategies can be delivered against the expectations of the business.
• Act as an expert facilitator to fully manage and lead complex contract negotiations in partnership with business stakeholders, international procurement category managers, legal, and other participants in the contracting process.
• Coordinate with cross-functional stakeholders to ensure timely, compliant, and efficient facilitation of contracts.
• Identify points of escalation for Agile Sourcing to interface with relevant stakeholders regarding contracting and procurement policy and related operational questions.
• Performance Management & Continuous Improvement for Source to Contract.
• Partner and share best practices and learnings with Agile Sourcing team to ensure business needs are proactively met in an aligned, consistent, and collaborative manner.
• Work with procurement and legal to develop and maintain contracting guidance documents to continually improve on an efficient and effective contracting function.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives towards an industry-leading contracting capability within Agile Sourcing.
• Explore new procurement technologies with a focus on AI/ML opportunities.

Qualifications and Experience

• LLB is required.
• Significant procurement, sourcing, and contracting experience, including drafting, redlining, reviewing, and negotiating procurement/business contracts.
• Proven ability to manage a cross-functional contracting team, providing leadership and support to large groups of cross-functional, multi-cultural professionals.
• Experience collaborating with and participating on cross-functional and international teams.
• Expertise in procurement processes, agreement management, financial analysis, market analysis, supplier analysis, supplier diversity, supplier management, technology utilization, strategic planning, and integrated supply chain operations.
• Strong knowledge of contract construction, terms, and conditions, with a preference for experience in facilitating, drafting, and negotiating buy-side and other in-scope contracts in the pharma/biotech industry.
• Familiarity with contracting in international markets.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with diplomacy to convey information and influence others.
• Demonstrates a high level of adaptability in navigating ambiguous and complex work environments.
• Experience with Contract Lifecycle Management technology (e.g., Icertis) to automate and streamline processes.