What are the responsibilities and job description for the Contract Specialist position at Northeastern University?
About The Opportunity
The Contracts Specialist will assist the Contracts Management team under the guidance of the Director – Procurement & Contracts Management. This role will support contract administration tasks across the Planning, Real. Estate, and Facilities (“PREF”) division, focusing on agreements such as construction, architect-engineer, service provider, and consultant contracts. The position provides an excellent opportunity to develop contract management skills in a collaborative, fast-paced environment while ensuring compliance with Northeastern policies and procedures.
Minimum Qualifications
Finance
Additional Information
Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.
Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.
Northeastern University is an equal opportunity employer, seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff. Northeastern values and celebrates diversity in all its forms and strives to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
To learn more about Northeastern University’s commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please see www.northeastern.edu/diversity.
The Contracts Specialist will assist the Contracts Management team under the guidance of the Director – Procurement & Contracts Management. This role will support contract administration tasks across the Planning, Real. Estate, and Facilities (“PREF”) division, focusing on agreements such as construction, architect-engineer, service provider, and consultant contracts. The position provides an excellent opportunity to develop contract management skills in a collaborative, fast-paced environment while ensuring compliance with Northeastern policies and procedures.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree (business, legal studies, or related field preferred) with 1–2 years of experience in contracts administration, procurement, or related roles.
- Relevant work experience (6 years) in contract administration may be substituted for the educational requirement.
- Basic understanding of contract management principles; familiarity with construction or design contracts is a plus.
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel, and Adobe Acrobat; experience with contract management systems (CMS), document collaboration platforms, or project management systems is a plus.
- Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work collaboratively.
- Interest in learning Northeastern contract, risk management, and legal policies and requirements.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
- Familiarity with document version controls or redlining contracts (or other legal documents).
- Interest in risk management and legal principles for contracts.
- Commitment to professional growth in contract management fields.
- Assist in drafting, reviewing, and maintaining standard contract templates, task orders, and amendments.
- Administer PREF contracts request process in Microsoft Sharepoint and monitor contract status in internal and external systems.
- Support the administration of contracts in Northeastern’s contract management system (e.g., Jaggaer CMS) and project management information systems (e.g., e-Builder).
- Monitor PREF shared e-mail inbox ensuring timely responses to contract status and contract template inquiries and distributing e-mails to appropriate contracts staff.
- Maintain contracts records including tracking renewals and certificates of insurance.
- Coordinate with PREF staff to ensure compliance with legal and risk management policies.
- Prepare reports and metrics related to contract activities for internal and external stakeholders.
- Provide initial support for PREF staff training on Northeastern and PREF contract review and signature workflows, contract templates, Northeastern insurance requirements, and contracts support and reference materials.
- Develop user-friendly training materials and resources.
- Help onboard part-time staff, co-op students, and new team members with a focus on contract administration processes.
- Work closely with PREF planners, project managers, Operations managers, Project Controls, Fiscal, and other internal stakeholders to ensure smooth contract workflows.
- Collaborate with Northeastern’s legal, compliance, risk management, and procurement teams to address contract-related inquiries.
Finance
Additional Information
Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.
Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.
Northeastern University is an equal opportunity employer, seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff. Northeastern values and celebrates diversity in all its forms and strives to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
To learn more about Northeastern University’s commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please see www.northeastern.edu/diversity.
