Contracts Administrator 3

JOB SUMMARY

This position will provide daily contracting and sourcing support (request for proposal, negotiations, contract development, risk mitigation, tracking, analysis) to meet the acquisition needs for services and materials. This position will also work closely with our category management strategies in support of contracting requirements.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Duties will include the daily support of all sourcing & contracting activities "from cradle to grave", including advising customers on Request for Information (RFI) and Request for Proposal (RFP) preparation, lead pre-bid meetings, review of offers upon receipt from bidders, cost & price analysis, negotiations, risk assessment, preparing contract documents and agreements; assists in contract administration, incorporation of changes, expediting & follow-up, disposition of claims, and contract closeout.

• Duties will require leading sourcing projects, assisting in developing and implementing strategic programs for the procurement of Equipment and Services.

• Expectations include outstanding oral and written communications with the ability to excel in high-level communications with management at multiple levels.

• Develop the sourcing strategy for low to high-risk services. A typical agent will support ~ (20 - 25) active projects concurrently with defined turnaround parameters (target days) for all contract related documents (RFPs, Master Agreements, Non-Disclosure, Amendments, Statements of Work, etc.) throughout the year.

• Manage relationships with the Company’s vendors and ensure efficient and transparent contracting and negotiation process to reduce costs, improve commercial terms and reduce duplication of efforts.

• Work cross-functionally to improve and streamline processes.

• Ensure that overall risk is properly controlled and mitigated.

• Develop a detailed knowledge of the Southern Company and Operating Company procurement policies/procedures and have the capability to become a Subject Matter Expert (SME).

• Expected to build and maintain a detailed knowledge and understanding of essential legal provisions, contract common law, contract formation issues, data security issues, remedies, liquidated damages, litigation avoidance, and dispute resolution.

• Ensure all required terms and conditions are included in procurement documents and work with legal, risk management and financial services (accounting) to resolve contractor exceptions and issues in a timely manner.

• Draft contract language, including special conditions for complex, non-standard purchases.

• Identify and evaluate new sources of supply, domestic and globally, when necessary to meet customer needs, including performing market research and analysis.

• Build and maintain a fundamental to proficient knowledge of our contracting systems utilized in daily support.

• Conflict Resolution, the ability to engage and fix identified issues.

• Maintain the primary interface with contractors in an ethical and respectful manner while protecting the Company's interests.

ADDITIONAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES SPECIFIC TO TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT

• This position will support technology related procurement activities. Duties will include the negotiation of Software License Agreements, Software as a Service Agreements, Subscription Service Agreements, Master Technology Equipment Purchase Agreements, etc.

• Duties will require leading sourcing projects and assist in developing and implementing strategic decisions for the procurement of Technology Services, Software, Software as a Service, and Hardware.

• Duties will require a strong understanding of IT Security related risks and application of mitigation strategies to address data breaches, malicious and harmful code, security vulnerabilities, etc.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree required

• BS in Business, Management, Finance, or Law is preferred

• Formal education in contract language and law is highly preferred

• Experience with negotiating technology related contracts is highly preferred

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Contract law and drafting of terms and conditions (required)

• Legal and commercial negotiation skills (required)

• Self-motivated and ability to work with minimal supervision

• Customer focused with ability to build and maintain relationships with internal customers, suppliers, contractors and other key stakeholders

• Effectively handle tight deadlines, large workloads, and multiple projects with positive enthusiasm

• Superior written and oral communication, to successfully negotiate contract terms and write such contracts in a clear, logical and concise manner

• Candidate must have the ability and determination to support multiple projects under tight deadlines

• Candidate must have effective influencing and consensus-building skills

• Strategic focus on problem-solving

• Excellent organizational skills are required to plan and manage assigned workload and customer expectations effectively to meet internal business unit requirements

• Ability to think strategically and apply broad seasoned judgment to decisions

• Highly effective communications skills

• Strong customer service skills

• Analytical and interpersonal skills

• Ability to effectively work and participate in cross-functional and cross-company teams at all levels in the organization to ensure buy-in by multiple stakeholders when working on system projects

Behavioral Attributes

• Self-motivated

• Strong work ethic with sense of urgency

• Practices ethical behavior