Senior Contracts Manager

About Multiplier:

Multiplier’s mission is to accelerate impact for initiatives focused on protecting and fostering a healthy, sustainable, resilient, and equitable world. Growing threats to our planet and its people require holistic solutions, both locally and globally. The projects in our portfolio span a broad array of cross-sector strategies in land and ocean conservation, public health, education and leadership, economic development, clean energy, climate resilience, sustainable food systems, energy efficiency, social and environmental equity, and more.

With $150 million in revenue in 2025, Multiplier is seeking a Senior Contracts Manager to join its Legal Affairs department and support operational excellence across more than 40 projects. This role plays a critical part in managing the full contract lifecycle for a diverse portfolio of agreements, including professional services, funding, collaborations, and other miscellaneous agreements such as participation/membership agreements, NDAs, asset transfers and licensing agreements, stipends, and others.

Position Summary:

The Senior Contracts Manager will draft, review, negotiate, and approve a wide range of agreements, applying a flexible, collaborative approach to ensure compliance with organizational policies and applicable regulations, while advancing Multiplier’s evolving equitable contracting practices. The role emphasizes partnership with project teams and internal stakeholders to structure agreements that are fit for purpose, responsive to partner needs, and supportive of project impact, while appropriately managing risk.

Reporting to the Director of Contracts, the Senior Contracts Manager will oversee day-to-day contract operations in close coordination with other Contracts team members and will collaborate across the organization to streamline contract management processes and support timely execution of agreements. The role will also support the Director of Contracts in higher-level initiatives, including policy and template modernization, clause library and negotiation guidance development, and implementation of a new agreements system, ensuring these tools and processes enable flexibility, consistency, and fairness at scale.

Key Accelerator Roles:

• Strategic Contracts Advisor: Acts as trusted thought partner to project teams by translating contractual complexity into clear, risk-informed guidance.
• Equitable Contracting Champion: Advances fair, transparent, and inclusive contracting practices by identifying and addressing structural barriers within contracting processes and templates. Works to ensure agreements are accessible, proportionate to risk, and responsive to the needs of diverse partners and projects.
• Cross-Functional Collaborator and Capacity Builder: Builds strong partnerships across Multiplier and project teams, enhancing contract literacy across the organization, and fostering a collaborative, solutions-oriented contracting culture.

Primary Responsibilities:

Contract Review & Negotiation

• Guide day-to-day contract review processes, serving as the primary reviewer for non-standard or medium- to high-risk services agreements and providing second-level review of standard services agreements.
• Draft and review miscellaneous agreements (e.g. NDAs/licenses, MoUs/Collaboration Agreements, participation/membership agreements, sponsorships, fee for service agreements, stipends, honoraria).
• Serve as approver for certain contracts within a delegation framework that is pre-approved by Multiplier’s Executive Director.
• Provide tactical, relationship-centered support during agreement negotiations with project teams and external parties to reach reasonable and equitable outcomes that advance project objectives while managing organizational risk and ensuring compliance with organizational policies, templates, and standards.
• Advise project teams on agreement structure, interpretation and compliance requirements, balancing programmatic goals with effective risk management and protection of organizational interests.
• Liaise with project teams to clarify scopes of work, resolve inconsistencies, and ensure contract requests meet organizational standards.

Risk Management & Compliance

• Ensure due diligence is completed for agreements, as applicable, including independent contractor assessments in line with applicable laws and regulations (including California AB-5).
• Provide support around the due diligence process for Multiplier’s contractual partners, including collecting and reviewing documentation, and identifying potential legal, financial or compliance risks prior to contracting.
• Proactively identify and assess risks throughout the contracting lifecycle, propose practical mitigation strategies, and escalate more complex issues and questions to the Director of Contracts and/or Head of Legal Affairs based on value, complexity, and risk category.

Innovation & Systems Upgrade

• Manage a library of templates for all contracts and agreements used by Multiplier and project teams.
• Work with the Director of Contracts and Head of Legal Affairs on the drafting of customized templates and alternative language, as needed.
• Support the Director of Contracts in the creation of a clause library, negotiation guidelines and resources on contracting best practices.
• Continuously identify and help develop innovative methods to support project teams, including user-friendly tools, trainings, workshops, etc.
• Contribute to strengthening data tracking and performance metrics.
• Actively participate in the selection and rollout of new technologies (e.g., new agreements system) and propose solutions to improve and optimize existing tools for maximum efficiency.

Stakeholder Engagement & Team Collaboration

• Act as a trusted resource, solutions-oriented to project and Core teams by answering contract related questions and offering practical guidance that supports collaboration and offers options to meet team objectives while maintaining organizational standards and compliance requirements.
• Maintain awareness of funding sources and collaborate closely with Multiplier’s Core team to ensure funder requirements and budget considerations are taken into account in the agreement review process.
• Ensure back-up coverage for contract review and other relevant team tasks during high-volume periods, vacations or other absences.
• Other responsibilities that are reasonable and consistent with this position.

The Ideal Candidate

You are a seasoned contracts professional with strong legal acumen and a demonstrated ability to manage and advise on complex agreements across a growing organization. You have substantial practical experience in contract drafting, negotiation, risk assessment, and contract lifecycle management.

You bring a strategic, solutions-oriented mindset to contracts, pairing technical expertise with sound judgment to guide negotiations, interpret contractual risk, and ensure compliance with organizational policies, templates, and applicable regulations. You are comfortable serving as a second-level reviewer and escalation point for higher-risk or non-standard agreements, and you approach contract issues with both rigor and pragmatism.

Flexibility and collaboration are core strengths in your work. You partner closely with project teams, leadership, and cross-functional stakeholders to co-create contract solutions that are fit for purpose, responsive to diverse partner needs, and aligned with project objectives, while appropriately managing organizational risk. You are a trusted advisor, known for your consultative style, clear communication, and ability to translate contractual complexity into actionable guidance.

You are motivated by the opportunity to improve contracting practices to be more equitable, transparent, and accessible. You bring a thoughtful approach to process design, contributing to policy development, template and clause library enhancements, negotiation guidance, and systems implementation in ways that balance consistency with flexibility and fairness at scale.

You thrive in dynamic, complex environments where priorities evolve and multiple stakeholders are involved. You manage competing demands with organization, discretion, and independence, while also valuing close collaboration within a small, high-impact team. You are energized by strengthening operational systems, mentoring others, and supporting continuous improvement across the contracts function.

Driven by a commitment to the organization’s mission, you are motivated by building contracting systems that enable projects and partners to succeed. You demonstrate care for people and the planet through ethical, inclusive contracting practices and a dedication to advancing organizational impact at scale.

Specific Experience Requested:

We recognize that each applicant for this role will bring unique skills, knowledge, experiences, and background to the Senior Manager, Contracts position. We welcome diverse experiences and perspectives in our applicant pool, and will be looking for candidates who possess many, but not necessarily all, of the following qualifications and experience:

• Progressive experience in contract management or legal operations, including drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a high volume of agreements across varying levels of risk and complexity.
• Leadership or senior-level experience as a reviewer, approver, or escalation point, and contributing to contract policies, procedures, templates, and negotiation guidance.
• A legal background (e.g. law degree or legal training) preferred, but not required.
• Strong advisory skills, with experience in supporting internal stakeholders, such as project teams and senior staff, through practical, risk-informed guidance and collaborative, solutions-oriented negotiations.
• Sound judgment and flexibility in contracting, including adapting templates or processes to support diverse partners, project needs, and equity goals while managing risk appropriately.
• Experience in a mission-driven setting (e.g., nonprofit, public sector, or international organization), ideally with complex or multi-stakeholder programs. Proven cross-functional partnership skills, working effectively with leadership and other teams to align contracts with organizational goals and operations. Experience with contract systems or CLM tools, including implementation, optimization, or stakeholder adoption.
• Strong attention to detail and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities independently.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a clear customer-service and relationship building mindset.

Workplace, Compensation & Application

Workplace: All employees work from home offices with occasional travel (1-2 times per year) for all-team in-person meetings.

Compensation: Multiplier provides a comprehensive compensation package, including competitive salary ($116,000 annual salary), excellent medical and dental benefits, retirement savings, and generous vacation and sick leave policy.