Senior Contracts Specialist

**Requisition ID**: req41604

**Job Title**: Senior Contracts Specialist

**Sector**: Awards Management

**Employment Category**: Regular

**Employment Type**: Full-Time

**Compensation**: USD 100,000.00 - 115,000.00 Salary

**Location**: New York, NY HQ USA

**BACKGROUND**

Over the past 80 years, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has developed unparalleled expertise in responding to emergencies and helping uprooted communities to rebuild. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster.

The International Rescue Committee is a global network with its headquarters in New York. The IRC is on the ground in more than 40 countries, providing emergency relief, relocating refugees and rebuilding lives in the wake of disaster.

The IRC is committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships and, most crucially, accountability to those we serve. The IRC is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable.

**The Awards Management Unit (AMU)**

The Awards Management Unit (AMU) is a global department with the responsibility for identifying, securing, and managing all funding from statutory/government donors/client. The department includes the following teams: Program and Award Support, Strategic Partnerships, Compliance and Policy, Business Development, and Training.

The AMU is a bridge between donors and country programs: providing expert technical advice to the country teams, while maintaining portfolio-level visibility to ensure consistency and compliance, and manage risk. This unit ensures that donor compliance policies and procedures are implemented consistently, and supports all staff working across the award management cycle.

**Purpose of the Role**

As Senior Commercial Contracts Specialist you are responsible for providing support and guidance on contract inception, implementation and risk management functions, with a particular focus on supporting cost-effective commercial service delivery. Operating in an advisory, capacity-building, and quality management role, the role participates in review of applicable policies, procedures, and resources to ensure they are conducive to cost-effective and responsible project delivery, and supports the design and delivery of creating these where applicable. The role will be also responsible for project managing assigned contract readiness implementation task group deliverables, working across implementing units of the IRC, and when required, providing direct support to IRC country offices.

This pivotal role will contribute to ensuring that IRC is ready to deliver on our ambitious strategic goals, and significantly increase the scale, reach and effectiveness of our work, whilst reducing the organization’s risk exposure on commercial contracts.

**Scope and Authority**

In this role you provide support and advice autonomously but in line with parameters laid out by the Director, Awards Management, Global and in accordance with IRC and AMU systems and policies.

This position does not have budgetary or line management responsibilities but may have temporary responsibilities when providing surge support in projects.

**Key Working Relationships**

o Reports to Director, Awards Management, Global

o Works as part of the wider Program and Award Support team in AMU with close coordination with:
o Senior Contracts Specialists

o AMU Program & Award Support Teams

o Implementing units (CRRD, Airbel)

o AMU Business Development team

o AMU Compliance & Policy team

o Contract Readiness Director

o Finance

o AMU Strategic Partnerships team

**KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES**

**Contract management**
- Provide effective, relevant and timely advice to teams on systems and processes for managing, delivering and reporting on assigned portfolio of contracts.
- Support the creation of a strong knowledge culture of sound contract and risk management practices, taking a proactive approach to mitigate against future risks.
- Provide support to project teams during contract start-up/inception to help a smooth transition from pre-award to implementation whilst the full project team is recruited, and project management processes are developed.
- In collaboration with the relevant Program & Award Support (PAS) team member, provide effective, relevant, and timely advice to implementing teams on agreed approaches for managing, delivering and reporting on commercial contracts.
- Support project teams with the resolution of contractual challenges such as performance issues, payment disputes, contract amendments, donor, government client, and/or partner negotiations etc., escalating as appropriate to your line manager.
- Support Program & Award Support staff and country delivery teams to identify risks at the project level, establish targeted approaches to mitigate identified risks, and take a proactive approach to mitigate against future c