Overview

Our client, an equipment manufacturer, is seeking an experienced Director, Commercial Contracts to lead its contracts administration function across its Canadian operations, including its affiliates.

This role will partner directly with business leaders and the Sales organization to support the efficient review, negotiation and completion of commercial agreements while maintaining appropriate contract governance and risk management standards.

This is a senior, business-facing contracts role responsible for overseeing the review, negotiation and administration of a diverse portfolio of commercial agreements while working closely with the organization's sales and business teams.

This is a great opportunity for a seasoned Contracts Specialist or a commercial lawyer (perhaps called in another jurisdiction) looking for a legal adjacent role.

Your role will include:

Contracts Oversight

Leading the intake, review, drafting, negotiation and completion of a broad range of customer and commercial agreements.
Managing contracts which include equipment sales, rental and leasing arrangements, service and maintenance programs, automation and
warehouse systems solutions, operator training, and a broad range of racking, storage, engineered solutions and construction-related projects.
Working directly with business stakeholders, sales professionals, customers and other counterparties. Identifying and clearly communicating contractual risk, providing practical and commercially focused guidance, and helping move transactions efficiently from initial contract intake through negotiation and completion.
Reviewing agreements from both a commercial and risk perspective, identifying key legal, operational, and business considerations and providing practical guidance to internal stakeholders.
Drafting, reviewing, editing, and redlining contractual documentation to a high professional and legal standard.
Negotiating contractual terms directly with customers and counterparties, including participating in customer meetings alongside sales and business representatives where appropriate.
Partnering closely with the sales organization to facilitate transactions, address contractual issues, and help to complete deals.
Managing contracts as an end-to-end process, coordinating with relevant stakeholders and ensuring agreements progress efficiently from intake through execution.
Providing guidance on contractual risk across different lines of business.
Working closely with Senior Corporate Counsel and escalating significant legal issues or higher-risk matters as appropriate.
Establishing appropriate standards, processes, and structure across the contracts function.
Supporting the continued development and improvement of contract-management processes, including the effective use of contract review and AI-enabled technology.

Team Leadership

Leading, coaching and developing the contracts and RFP team, setting clear service, quality and performance standards.
Allocating work, managing priorities and providing appropriate guidance and support to team members.
Providing training, mentorship and ongoing development opportunities to build team capability.
Promoting collaboration, accountability, consistency and continuous improvement within the contracts administration function.

Policy Development

Developing, implementing and maintaining effective contract management policies, procedures, protocols and standards.
Maintaining and continuously improving the contracting playbook, including approved positions, fallback language, templates and escalation criteria, subject to the approval of the Senior Corporate Counsel.
Leading the development and improvement of the organization’s contract management framework and governance processes.
Collaborating with Legal, Sales, Finance, Operations and other business functions to promote consistent contracting practices and alignment with organizational objectives.
Monitoring contract volumes, turnaround times, negotiation trends, recurring contractual risks and other key performance indicators.
Analyzing contract management data to identify recurring issues, trends and opportunities for improvement.
Improving contract processes, workflows, tools and reporting capabilities to enhance efficiency, consistency and service delivery.

Risk Management

Identifying, assessing, communicating and mitigating contractual and commercial risks associated with customer, supplier and other commercial agreements.
Ensuring contracts are negotiated and executed in accordance with approved company standards, contracting policies, signing authorities and risk parameters.
Reviewing agreements containing significant deviations from approved templates, commercial standards or established risk positions.
Escalating material legal issues, significant deviations from approved positions, and precedent-setting or higher-risk matters to the Senior Corporate Counsel for review, guidance and approval.
Supporting the resolution of significant commercial, contractual and compliance issues in a manner that protects the organization’s interests while supporting business objectives.

You are the ideal candidate if you have/ are:

An experienced contracts professional with either 5+ years of experience as a Contracts Administrator or Manager or 3+ years as a Lawyer or Legal Counsel including significant experience
independently reviewing, drafting and negotiating complex agreements.
Strong contract negotiation skills and the confidence to participate directly in negotiations with customers and other external parties.
Experience with customer contracts. Procurement experience is an asset.
Experience working across a broad range of commercial agreements rather than within a narrow or
highly specialized contracting area.
Experience advising companies on risk as it pertains specifically to customer agreements.
Experience advising different business lines, including sales, marketing, procurement, and technology.
Strong drafting and document-review skills, with the ability to produce accurate, clear and high-quality work.
The ability to multitask and manage multiple projects, prioritizing and delegating when required.
Experience managing a team: experience leading, supervising, coaching or providing direction to contracts professionals.
Strong organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage a significant volume of work and competing deadlines.
Comfort using contract management technology, automated contract-review tools and AI-enabled solutions.
Experience with construction-related agreements or knowledge of the construction industry would be a significant asset.
Experience with equipment, services, technology, automation, intellectual property or similarly diverse
commercial agreements would be an asset.

This is an active opening for a current role.

The compensation range is: $125,000-130,000 depending on experience and qualifications. Total compensation may include bonuses, benefits, or other incentives.

AI may be used only for initial resume review. All other decisions are human-made.

We appreciate all candidates who take time to apply, however, only candidates with the requisite experience will be contacted.

City

Canada (Remote)

Category

NON-TRADITIONAL / EXECUTIVE / QUASI-LEGAL

Practice Areas

Contracts

Work Type

Permanent / Full Time

Apply Now