Senior Contracts Manager

Senior Contracts Manager

Location – UK - Windsor/ Edinburgh / Ireland - Dublin  

Type of Work - Office

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced and proactive Senior Contracts Manager to join the UKI Legal team. The role will support business growth and financial objectives by managing legal and commercial risk and enabling effective delivery of software and services to the NHS, and other UK & Ireland (UKI) healthcare and non-healthcare customers.

The Senior Contracts Manager will play a key role in managing contracts across their full lifecycle, working closely with the Legal, Sales, Delivery and Leadership teams to ensure contractual arrangements align with business objectives, governance requirements and public sector procurement norms.

As the senior contracts role in the UKI Legal team, the Senior Contracts Manager will generally be assigned the most complex, high-value and strategically significant matters. They must also operate with substantial autonomy within an agreed mandate, and help set standards, draft regional and global processes, and develop capability across the contracts function.

This role will be based in either InterSystems’ Windsor, Edinburgh, or Dublin offices and may require occasional domestic and international travel. Office location will be determined based on the successful candidate’s location. An office location that is not Windsor will require periodic attendance at the Windsor office.

Key Responsibilities – The role encompasses end-to-end contract lifecycle management, including pre-contract support, post-contract management, and risk and governance oversight.

Pre-Contract Activities

• Lead legal team input into assigned tender and bid responses, particularly for NHS and other public sector procurements.
• Draft, review and negotiate a range of customer and supplier contracts, ensuring alignment with business objectives, legal and commercial risk appetite, and applicable NHS and public sector requirements.
• Provide pragmatic and commercially focused contractual advice to support sales and project mobilisation activities.

Post-Contract Management

• Take named, end-to-end ownership of a defined portfolio of client contracts, including high-value and complex contracts, holding accountability for commercial outcomes across the contract lifecycle.
• Manage contracts following signature, including business adherence to contractual obligations, change control processes and contract variations.
• Support the delivery and operations teams in the practical application and management of contractual obligations throughout the contract lifecycle.
• Monitor contractual performance, compliance and key post-signature obligations.
• Support the management of third-party vendors/sub-contractors and suppliers, both local and global, as required.

Risk and Governance

• Support the implementation, day-to-day governance, administration and continuous improvement of regional and global AI-enabled legal support technologies, ensuring effective, compliant and business-aligned usage across the legal function.
• Identify, assess and escalate legal and commercial risks to appropriate internal stakeholders and, where necessary, internal or external legal counsel.
• Implement and ensure adherence to internal contract management and governance processes.
• Manage ambiguity and develop practical, proportionate solutions to contractual and risk management challenges.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Provide clear, practical guidance on contractual matters to colleagues at all levels, including the Legal, Sales, Delivery and Leadership teams.
• Mentor and develop contract managers and other colleagues, setting standards and sharing best contract management practice across the global legal team.
• Coordinate with local and international colleagues to resolve contractual issues efficiently.

Experience/Qualification Required

• A minimum of 7-9 years proven, hands-on experience in high-value contract management, ideally within healthcare, IT, and/or the public sector. As a guide to applicants, evidence of a directly accountable portfolio TCV over £100M is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrable experience of operating with autonomy on high-value, complex and strategically significant contracts, and of leading negotiations through to conclusion.
• Strong drafting, negotiation and analytical skills, with a pragmatic and commercially focused approach.
• Comfortable working with digital workflow tools, document automation systems, and AI enabled legal support technologies to improve contract review speed, accuracy, consistency, and compliance.
• Demonstrable experience of legal operations processes, contract lifecycle management platforms and AI-enabled legal technologies is highly desirable.
• Demonstrable experience of using UKI model form contracts and frameworks, with an understanding of government and NHS procurement laws and public sector contracting norms.
• Ability to identify, define and articulate key commercial principles to support sound legal and business outcomes.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to explain complex contractual issues to non-specialists.
• Sound judgment, strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively within cross-functional teams.
• Degree and/or postgraduate qualifications with a legal or commercial focus are preferred; relevant professional qualifications are welcomed.
• Experience with AI-related regulatory environments such as the EU AI Act is an advantage.