International Legal Ops • Governance • Global Contract Management • Digital transformation 🌐
GLOBAL COMMERCIAL CONTRACT MANAGEMENT & GOVERNANCE
Contract Management well organized function + Contract Lifecycle Management tooling (CLM) is no longer a "nice to have" but "a must have"
According to Gartner, contract lifecycle management is no longer “nice to have” but a "must have" business practice. Clearly, effective contract management has profound impacts across an organization—improving efficiencies, lowering costs, reducing risks, and helping you close deals and recognize revenue faster.
I know that for Legal & contracts teams things are getting more challenging daily, We have seen more CLM vendors in the past 5 years than in the previous 30 years where it all started, and the rate of technology change keeps increasing with solutions rapidly obsolete. Companies can no longer cope with having teams dealing with both fronts of in-house heavy daily business challenges and simultaneously agile operations teams for agile technology change, this is a role of specialist with experience, otherwise you will have to arbitrate in favor of one or the others and surely performance will be lost. This why consultancy like mine is the key to support you with both (a) proven experience and (b) continuous awareness of the Contract Management field latest trends (AI revolution) as a passionate member of leading WorldCC institution for 21 years.
Contract Management + Governance passion committed to Excellence
Since day one, I have been recognized as a top contributor for contract management and digitalization when I started 3 decades ago to approach sensitive contracts (French military and public defense Gendarmerie Nationale) . I named myself contract manager in 2004 when the title was still not in use in my company and while the industry was only beginning building the role, I moved 2007 full time Contract Manager with progressively global landscape. In parallel I spend all possible energy to support digitalization and the integration of the 1st CLM solution worldwide, then later a swap to another CLM vendor.
I was exposed to hundreds of complex, large scale Contract management and governance in ultra competitive contexts, in what is the most complex landscape of large contracts of any industry, I named ICT = non standards (a mix of FIDIC, NEC,, long term, huge LDs, huge LOL, huge Risks & Claims, huge commercial considerations, huge landscape of services from BOT to product to licensing, huge financial consideration and correlation of multi-contracts, multi-parties contracts, global impact and regulations..... (not enough space here to discuss all) In short: you mix into one single contract all the most complex IT contracts and on top of it you add the concerns of the Radio part, from civil work to regulations, to complex technology, SW licensing and release, Government frequency band allocation mechanics and so on.... ( Lead institution WorldCC survey provide are a very good overview of Contracting across various industries and you can instantly spot ICT) I dealt with this extreme variety of contracts worldwide parties, and contracted various deliveries for both the "clients front "with hundreds of large scale contracts (200M€ contracts, 500M€ accounts) and the internal front to help secure back-to-back with Vendors + secure best possible legal operations. Another critical aspect not yet realized by most companies is that the Programs governance belongs in the first place to the Contract Management because this function is orchestrating the entire Legal & Contracts continuous adaptation.
The entire lifecycle takes various forms depending on the context, and my ultra-adaptation to ever changing (a) contractual objects, and (b) technology tooling (c) continuous adaptation of Governance is my force at your service.
I’m here to ease the load off your shoulders from day one and provide wise advice on how to deal with continuous change. If you’d like to learn more about how my consulting services can help you or your business grow, book an introductory meeting today in few sec hereafter


Senior Contract Management role - Director
This is one of my typical capacity I have developed during my career with Global500 companies, what is it ?
Job Purpose :
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The Senior Contract Manager, mobilized on project delivery, is a key people of the Project Management Team.
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The Senior Contract Manager advises the Project Director on contract strategy (prime contract with the client, after award) and ensures contract management activities all along projects. He/she :
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Ensures compliance with internal policies, standards, processes and the like.
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Prepares and consolidates highly complex analysis of contract conditions, issues, as well as risks and opportunities, and develop associated Contractual strategy.
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Aligns contract management plan to the project plan.
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Functions as a business partner for Project Director.
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Manages relations with external partners and stakeholders.
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Ensures contract management all along the projects on all topics.
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Monitors and analyze issues when they arise and deal with them, anticipate risks and grasp opportunities.
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Manages a small team: depending on assignment and profile, the function may include management of one or more Contract Engineers.
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Manages the interface between the Project and the other legal functions.
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The Senior Contract Manager is responsible for the delivery of Contract services and strategy from early projects phase until contract close outs, including but not limited to the following:
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Provide the principal contract support and lead all contract management activities for the Project, including Client contracts, Partnership arrangements (JV, Consortium).
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Protect and pursue company's interests and contractual rights.
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Maintain company’s liability exposure under strict control.
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The Senior Contract Manager is fully assigned to a project or may assist in number of projects in parallel, depending on size and complexity. The Senior Contract Manager shall be mobilized either in Paris area office or at site where the work is being conducted.
Reporting lines and interactions:
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Functionally reports to the Head of Contract Management Department.
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Operationally reports to the Project Director.
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Directly supervises contract engineers, as appropriate
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Internal key interactions: All functions/departments (engineering, procurement, planning, cost control, finance, legal, compliance, insurances…)
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External key interactions: Clients, partners (joint venture/consortium), external advisors, project third parties
Job Accountabilities :
At the early phase of the project (after contract award), the Senior Contract Manager shall:
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Prepare a consolidated analysis of the Contract Terms and Conditions of the prime contract with the Client to highlight the areas of risks and opportunities to be pursued. As the work proceeds, the Project Contract Manager shall assist the Project Director in the management of these risks as they arise.
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Develop and/or review critical project specific procedures .
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Ensure relevant back-to-back between the prime contract and the supply chain (both Procurement and Subcontract) in developing a flow-down plan and assisting the Procurement and Subcontracting teams in the preparation of the Particular Terms & Conditions and subsequent negotiation of critical terms with Vendors/Subcontractors thereafter.
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Monitor timely adherence by company and by the Client to contract provisions (insurances, bonds, certifications, operational, etc) s and coordinate any actions required in this regards with other company departments.
During the project development, the Senior Contract manager shall:
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Provide appropriate support and guidance to the Project Director and leadership within the Project team in the management and administration of the contract, consistently with the relevant policies, standards and processes.
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Participate in all project meetings (internal or with Client/Partners/Major Subcontractors and Vendors) when the agenda relates to the project status, cost and schedule issues in order to be aware of project activities, which may affect company in respect of contractual positions and exposure to risks. The Senior Contract Manager shall issue recommendations to the Project Director for taking appropriate and timely actions to protect company interests.
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Initiate, draft and/or review, as the case may be, all incoming and outgoing correspondence with Clients, Partners and, where applicable, with third parties.
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Initiate and coordinate the preparation, negotiation and settlement of change orders and claims towards the client.
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Work closely with the project control manager to monitor schedule performance and cost trends in order to identify risks and opportunities for revenue enhancement, schedule relief and risks mitigation.
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Track any risks and track/pursue opportunities in view of consolidating and increasing the project profit margin.
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Assist the subcontracting and procurement teams on critical matters (amendment, claims, etc…).
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Administer and protect company contractual and commercial interests vis-à-vis project partners (when applicable).
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Liaise and obtain when required legal expertise from the Legal Team (corporate, compliance, Intellectual property, insurance, litigation, general legal advice), from other functions (treasury, tax, etc.) or from external advisors with the purpose of providing the project team with a comprehensive set of legal and contractual services.
Important requirements:
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Engineering school, Master’s Degree, MS/MSc, or equivalent.
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Proven minimum 15 years relevant experience in contracting within an international company.
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Proven knowledge and experience in Contract Management in industry.
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Field experience in IT and ICT premises.
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Prominent written and verbal communication in English.
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Experience in working on complex project execution scheme (mutli-centers, including Consortium or Joint Venture partnership).
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Hands on knowledge and experience in schedule analysis methodologies and claim and litigation management .
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Good understanding of Project Management, Planning, Risk Management and Cost.
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Ability to hold open and direct dialogue with stakeholders.
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Interpersonal skills:
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Strong communication and presentation skills.
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Strong negotiation skills and capacity to influence.
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Proactive, committed and solution/results driven.
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Autonomous and organizational skills/time management.
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Ability to adapt and manage change.
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Deliver high quality work in a professional manner.
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High level of integrity and ethics.
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Good team player
