Contract Manager Operations

The Contract Manager - Operations will provide ongoing contract, performance and vendor management for a dedicated portfolio of services, products and licenses within the Operations Cluster This position will ensure that operational results of the portfolio are strategically aligned with the requirements of the business and the overall objectives of the organization.

This position is responsible for developing and maintaining effective relationships with contracted vendors and includes monitoring and assessing overall performance against established standards, performance targets and/or service level agreements.

The individual would also provide advice, direction, recommendations and consultation to staff and management relating to contracted services, including performance gaps and mitigations, and make recommendations on changes in business methods or processes related to contracted services to support service delivery functions and improve their efficiency and effectiveness.

The role requires working with both internal partners and external vendors to recognize and keep abreast of emerging trends, and foster and reinforce the need for continued collaboration on innovative technology and business solutions.

**Major Duties & Responsibilities**

1. Develop and manage vendor relationships for services, products and licenses within assigned portfolio to ensure positive working relationships and effective delivery of contracted products and services by (50%)
- Managing disputes regarding contract interpretation, conditions or compliance with legal requirements and working on the effective resolution of the dispute.
- Maintaining the executed contract as well as the change order process. This includes ensuring internal partners are involved and aware of any planned and executed changes/amendments to the contract
- Ensuring established meeting and reporting requirements are met, including frequency, appropriate stakeholder involvement, inputs and outputs and follow-ups/escalations
- Ensuring that billings/payments, milestones, are accurate, timely and reflect the goods or services rendered; this may include spot checks or regular risk-based reviews/audits as well as reviewing and analyzing data to identify any trends or anomalies in billing, service timelines, utilization and qualitative and quantitative measures
- Responding and managing any issues identified in spot checks and/or regular based audit reviews to resolution
- Identifying all risks, mitigation strategies and/or corrective action (includes service and delivery risk from vendor)
- Ensure continuity and alignment of business requirements across related contracts to optimize business outcomes for the WSIB
- Ensure a successful operationalization of contracts and a seamless transition from current to new service providers for both internal and external stakeholders

2. Manage the delivery of performance metrics associated with the assigned portfolio of contracts; support quantitative and qualitative analysis of value provided by WSIB’s vendors by (20%):

- Developing contract terms and conditions to form the framework around which a good vendor relationship grows; This includes among others developing performance standards, contract compliance and Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Key performance indicators (KPIs), and performance reporting (scorecards)
- Evaluate and report on vendor performance, including quality, cost, capacities, and responsiveness. Ensure that vendors comply with contractual terms and conditions and meet assigned performance metrics for all services. Identify quality improvement opportunities, develop recommendations as appropriate and execute strategies to improve vendor performance.
- Preparing metrics and reports on the effectiveness and key measurements of vendor performance.
- Perform regular analysis of vendor contracts and addenda to provide financial information for budget management in order to support appropriate fiscal management of the contracts and WSIB budgets
- Developing templates and ensuring regular and accurate operational reporting by the vendor.
- Ensuring action items and responses are recorded, and contentious issues are investigated and resolved
- Leading the contract development process for contract renewals and amendments
- Developing strategies for negotiation in alignment with WSIB/Ops objectives and providing expert advice in negotiations for complex contracts;
- Preparing descriptions of services, scope and requirements
- Reviewing and evaluating submissions including collaborating with Strategic Procurement, Operations Quality, Legal and other key LOBs if required

4. Continuous Improvement Activities by (15%):

- Working in consultation with other Operations teams and internal partners (e.g. Strategic Procurement) to research, monitor, track, analyze leverage strategically/tactically helpful trends, information, and best practices;
- Leading regular account management meetings with key internal