Contract Manager

Location: Toronto, Canada

Thales people architect solutions that support 85 million mainline and suburban passenger journeys, worldwide, every day. Our Rail Signalling and Communication systems are used on metro lines across major cities, and 72,000 kms of route, 52,000 trains per day in 16 countries are controlled by our Traffic Management Systems. Together We deployed the first-ever nationwide ticketing system which processes over 50 million ticketing transactions in 100 cities daily.

We are looking for a Contract Manager to join our Legal and Contracts team.

The Contracts Manager ensures that proper contract procedures are implemented, administered and maintained in accordance with the company’s policies and procedures and the specific project requirements.

You will provide support to Project Managers, Project Director, Commercial Directors, Legal Counsel/Contracts Director and other corporate departments in all areas of contracts administration, claims, risk and para-legal matters relating to active projects and bid proposals.

Key Responsibilities:
- Support project delivery team and manage issues- Monitor and foster compliance to contractual requirements by liaising with the project delivery team (i.e., Project Manager, Scheduler, Procurement, Technical Leads, etc.) in order to provide clarity on the company’s contractual obligations and to manage issues arising out of potentially noncompliant areas of delivery- Contribute in the development and implementation of any risk mitigation plan, including the drafting of formal project communications- Review, draft, and negotiate end customer & supplier agreements- Lead, in tandem with other colleagues (e.g., Sales, Procurement, etc.), the development of contractual arrangements between Thales and its customers or suppliers- Advise on contractual structures and risks emanating from the envisioned transaction- Ensure that project delivery interests are being advanced and coordinate inputs from support functions within company (e.g., Finance, Insurance, etc.) with emphasis on infrastructure-type and technology contracts- Manage contract change order process- Proactively work to ensure that contract requirements for realizing change orders are submitted in a timely fashion and contain all required information, including sufficient supporting documentation

Claims management- Lead the management of claims, including but not limited to those associated with out-of-scope work and extension of time, in consort with internal stakeholders (e.g., Project Manager, executive management, etc.) by ensuring that all required contractual steps are professionally managed- Direct involvement with negotiation of claims

Risk and compliance assessments- Assess, at all stages of the bid/project lifecycle, key risks arising from the contract- Work with the bid or project delivery team, as applicable, to contextualize such risks and to implement appropriate mitigation measures

Report and present to executive management- Regular presentation to senior management on key elements of contract and bid files; presentations will require written support materials (i.e., Word, PowerPoint, Excel)- Routine (less formal) reporting to management of the Legal and Contracts Department also required

Formal dispute resolution process- Manage claim files as they progress into more formal forum for resolution (e.g., litigation, arbitration, mediation)- Liaise with in-house and external counsel in the development of the claim file

Required Skills and Experience:
- Post-graduate degree in law and/or have significant experience in contract management- Minimum of 2-3 years’ experience administering / negotiating / managing contracts, both client and supplier, in an international environment- Fluent in English

Preferred Skills and Experience:
- Strong interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills, including the ability to deal professionally with difficult individuals and problematic situations- Excellent written skills, to ensure a proper level of professionalism with respect to correspondence to clients- Knowledge of FIDIC/NEC contracts is an asset- Engineering background is a plus- Self-motivated individual capable of working independently with mínimal supervision, who is also a team player- Strong organizational ability and problem solving capability- Ability to understand requirements and company policies particularly pertaining to contracts, insurance, bonding and risk management- Fluency in other languages will be an asset

This position requires direct or indirect access to hardware, software, technology or technical data controlled under the Canadian Export Control List and/or the US the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). All applicants must be eligible, or able to obtain authorization, for such access.

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