Contract managers are involved in every stage of contract negotiations from pre-negotiation to fulfillment. They are the ones who handle the bidding process and they see the contract all the way through to make sure that both sides fulfill their obligations as outlined in the contract. Any contract that a contract manager is in charge of defines what is expected of each party involved in the contract. All the details are spelled out in detail so there is little or no doubt about what each party is expected to do.
With construction jobs, the types of contracts involved include purchasing contracts, trade agreements, ordering agreements, incentive contracts, government contracts, payment agreements, and other types of agreements. Within a given company, there may be more than one contract manager. An entry-level contract manager will deal with smaller or low-risk contracts that are relatively simple. Most of these contract managers have a bachelor's degree and at least two years of experience.
A mid-level contract manager usually has at least seven years of experience post bachelor's degree, and they handle contracts that are bigger or more complicated than an entry-level contract manager. A senior contract manager usually has a decade or more of experience as a contract manager and quite often has an MBA or other advanced degree. These are the contract managers that deal with high profile or very large contracts. Project manager jobs often have very similar job descriptions.
Contract managers in construction jobs make good money: the average is over $65,000 per year. High level or senior contract managers may make over $100,000 per year. An entry-level contract manager will earn $45,000 or so per year. A contract manager may work for a private company, or for a government agency on the federal, state, or local level.
Contract management involves many individual tasks, including the following:
- Writing requests for proposals (RFPs)
- Writing contracts
- Negotiating contracts
- Managing documents
- Ensuring communication between all parties
- Ensuring compliance with contracts
- Writing service agreements
- Noting all contract changes
- Level of service
- Price mechanisms
- Provider incentives
- Timetable
- Measurement of performance
- Escalation procedures
- Change control procedures
- Exit strategy
- Break options
In the United States, contract managers and others in project manager jobs must be well versed in the intricacies of state and federal false claims laws. The Federal False Claims Act applies to any requests to the federal government other than request for tax refunds, and it applies to any contract with the federal government or that receives federal funding. It is very important that contract managers know that they can be charged under the False Claims Act even if they did not submit the claim. For example, if a subcontractor submits a claim and the contractor submits it to the government and it turns out to be a fraudulent claim, the subcontractor can get in trouble too.
A good contract manager that has experience in construction jobs should ideally also have experience in the construction business. Knowing what to expect from different clients and how to protect the interests of the parties to a contract make contract management one of the most challenging jobs in the industry.
