Contracting Specialist, Senior - Procurement

Your Role

We are seeking a skilled contracting professional to lead and support the negotiation and execution of contracts for corporate services, professional advisory engagements, and healthcare-related services. This role will focus on drafting, reviewing, and managing complex agreements that drive value, mitigate risk, and ensure compliance across the organization.

Your Work

In this role, you will:

• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts including MSAs, SOWs, amendments, service agreements, and SaaS agreements
• Interpret legal and business terms to ensure alignment with organizational goals and regulatory requirements
• Collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Finance, IT, and business stakeholders to resolve issues and finalize agreements
• Customize contract templates for clarity, consistency, and risk mitigation; apply redlining best practices and maintain contract hygiene
• Guide stakeholders through the contracting process—from intake to signature—ensuring complete documentation, strong SOWs, and adherence to internal policies and preapproval requirements
• Draft competitive bid documents and manage vendor selection and qualification through a competitive bid process for goods and/or services
• Promote ESG and supplier diversity goals through sourcing and contracting strategies
• Partner cross-functionally to address complex issues (e.g., IP/data rights, privacy, security, regulatory addenda, BAAs/DPAs, SLAs, termination/transition assistance, subcontracting, open source/SBOM, audit/controls)
• Track and report key metrics such as savings/avoidance, cost to serve, cycle time, compliance, and risk via dashboards and scorecards
• Proofread, edit, and fact-check legal documents for accuracy and consistency
• Assist with vendor management, including resolving disputes, performance concerns, and terminations
• Ensure compliance with all Blue Shield contracting and purchasing policies

Your Knowledge and Experience

• Requires a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Required a minimum of 5 years of experience in strategic sourcing or contracting, with a focus on corporate, advisory, or healthcare services
• Healthcare payer experience (Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial) is a plus
• Advanced degree or certifications (e.g., CPSM, CIPP/US) preferred
• Contracting Expertise: Strong grasp of core agreement structures and the interplay between legal and business terms
• Confidently interprets and communicates contract issues with legal teams, aligning supplier edits with client requirements
• Expert redlining & negotiation across complex commercial and risk terms (limitation of liability, indemnities, data/security, privacy, IP, SLAs, benchmarking/most‑favored terms, termination & transition)
• Writes clear and concise contract language aligned with client expectations and culture
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams including Legal, Finance, and Compliance
• Excellent communication, analytical, and organizational skills
• Familiarity with procurement systems and CLM tools (e.g., SMP, Jaggaer, DocuSign)
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Word for contracting, Excel for data analysis and PowerPoint for executive-ready presentations
• Outstanding communication (written/oral), executive presence, and the ability to simplify complex issues