Senior IT Contract Administrator

DESCRIPTION

THIS POSITION IS POSSIBLE TEMP TO PERM.

Education and Experience:
B.S. degree in business, IT, operations, computer science or related technical field, or equivalent IT experience, and/or business or law degree with substantial IT contracting experience.
4-8 years related experience, with 3+ years managing contracts in large, complex organizations, particularly with respect to governing external hardware or software suppliers to deliver IT products and services at the scales commensurate with the scope of this position (eg, a budget of ~$50M/yr or higher)
Knowledge of IBM products, services, and support offerings
Knowledge of contract management including processes, methodologies, change management, and legal terms and conditions
Understanding of IT contracts and value drivers, with ability to work with procurement and legal teams to negotiate contracts
Understanding of contract financial implications and processes (review contract to determine budget, increase caps, escalators, discounting, pro-rated credits, etc.)
Understanding and awareness of IT outsourcing industry and healthcare peer group contractual benchmarking
Knowledge of Client's commercial standards, procedures and procurement processes (preferred)
Previous experience in IT asset management within the healthcare industry
Knowledge of ITIL framework, Total Quality Management or other operations frameworks

Critical Competencies or Capabilities:
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Ability to develop, monitor and report against supplier contracts and other third party agreements
Strong knowledge and analytical skills in assessing the financial implications of contract changes
EXPOSURE TO COMMERCIAL SOURCING AND CONTRACT LIFECYCLE AND NEGOTIATIONS WITH SUPPLIERS

Knowledge/Experience:
Experience around reporting and tracking complex supplier contracts (eg, infrastructure, software, servers, mainframes, outsourced data centers, and help desk operations); in-depth technical understanding of IT and data center operations will be a valuable asset
Analytical, decision analysis and communication skills to frame, appraise and recommend decision options to senior leadership and analytical, situational and personal skills to negotiate most favorable outcomes with the suppliers while strengthening the Client-supplier relationship
Understanding of sourcing and service management objectives, principles and practices with a focus on metric-based supplier governance and decision frameworks predicated on statistically representative data

Background:
In 2009, Client established the Supplier Service Management department. Led by a Vice President, the team is responsible for governing IT supplier agreements and relationships. Within the Supplier Service Management organization, an Executive Director in the Supplier Management Office (SMO) is responsible for directing IT service and support agreements and establishing a Vendor Management Office (VMO) to monitor risk and supplier performance across IT. The SMO Contract Manager reports to the Executive Director, and leads a team responsible for managing 700+ IT hardware and software supplier agreements.
The Business Consultant position reports to the SMO Contract Manager. The Business Consultant is responsible for assisting with the management of in-scope contracts throughout their lifecycle, including contract updates for service level agreements, inventory, technical standards, scope changes and any other contract modifications as needed. The Business Consultant will ensure accurate tracking of contract deliverables, renewal dates, pricing, schedules, amendments, and revisions.

Contract Management: This position's responsibilities and accountabilities include, but are not limited t

Support the IBM Technology Products Agreement for Software negotiated effective 2012 and Hardware:
Understand the scope agreement for IBM Software and Hardware products
Understand the licensing metrics for Software products
Track and report on Software licensing entitlement and consumption of licenses in the environment
Work across the IT organization to understand demand for new licenses and plan for that demand in license allocations
Work across the IT organization to understand demand for new
Assist with weekly operations meetings with IBM on the TPA Software and Hardware
Assist with monthly governance meetings with IBM on the TPA Software and Hardware
Meet deliverables as agreed upon during plan development including application of KP methodologies (eg Vendor Management, Change Management, Category Management, Supplier Management), and benchmarked best practice spend management
Apply appropriate problem solving, influencing and facilitation techniques to work issues, develop resolutions, and manage corrective actions
Create, manage, and report against the deliverables plan
Track and assess the impacts of contract changes, amendments, schedules and revisions to all in-scope agreements
Track the resolution of contractual disputes and escalate outstanding contract related issues to SMO management
Conduct reviews of procurement requisitions including:
o Provide cost projections of planned acquisitions
o Review specifications, performance terms, and/or acceptance criteria
o Assist with Total Cost of Ownership and Cost Benefit Analysis development
o Create budget information for one year and five year plans
Review contract terms and conditions, usage and inventory with technical owners prior to renewal or invoice processing; discuss and validate any changes
Validate supplier invoices for accuracy and contract compliance, submit to Accounting for processing and track payment progress
Work with Finance to update the monthly budget and forecast, including invoice accruals, payments, amortization and GL reconciliation
Research and assist in selecting potential sources of support and/or services by gathering and analyzing market information and leverage this to make effective sourcing decisions
Contribute to the preparation of competitive bids, quotations and proposals with pertinent specifications, terms and conditions
Analyze proposals in support of the bid evaluation process
Use and offer improvements to templates to ensure organization's interests are protected under the law
Track contractual risks and protect intellectual property
Maintain an appropriate level of administration around contracts and suppliers, updating all relevant contract-management related systems (contract database, asset database, change management database, equipment records and/or specifications, etc.) accurately and on a timely basis
Support the resolution of issues raised in audits
Comply with all regulatory and Client requirements relevant to the role, (eg Sarbanes Oxley, HIPAA, Code of Conduct, Financial Control Framework)

Supplier Relationships: Develops internal and external relationships with IBM and subsidiary suppliers and cross-functional teams with regard to the following:
Maintain a preferred supplier list by sub-category/niche service
Conduct supplier business review meetings for category strategy, support levels and spend
Assist in resolving contract and purchase order differences with suppliers
Assist in resolving payment problems with suppliers and user departments
Assist in reviewing product availability and/or pricing information with suppliers
Track and measure supplier performance using rating systems or predetermined standards
Resolve quality problems with suppliers and user departments and develop measurements for improvement and target setting
Coordinate, review and respond to supplier inquiries, protests and appeals as needed
Support supplier governance forums by ensuring suppliers are adhering to contractual processes

SMO Program Responsibilities: Support SMO/VMO program efforts by developing and participating in the following:
Assist with cost reduction, cost avoidance/containment efforts and track progress
Support department activities surrounding supplier management, compliance, reporting, and risk management processes
Maintain department listings and database tracking of both supplier and technical Subject Matter Expert contact and escalation information and procedures
Map contractually supported assets to their appropriate service agreements
Implement benchmarking and improvement effort and audit outcomes to ensure the contract continues to deliver value

KEY INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS:
Procurement and Supply
Legal
Technical Owners and Business Partners
License Management Center of Excellence
Finance, Compliance, Human Resources, Communications Partners

KEY EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS:
Suppliers, especially IBM