The role of a contract manager is vital to any business. This is the person who understands the needs of a company inside and out, making them most capable of managing processes from requesting proposals to analyzing the risks involved based on obligations met or failed. To help ease the burden of the person in this role, software has been developed to help track and manage a large number of contracts at one time. With the use of this software, the job duties of the person in this role remain the same, but they are made easier and more effective.

The following are some of the main features of any contract manager:

1. Issue bids and requests for proposals.

At the start of any contractual agreement, a request or a bid must be made. The person who manages the contracts must be the one who put in the initial request because they are the ones who know the expectations and will be negotiating the exact needs of the organization. By having this person put out the requests, the overall process is easier and straight forward because expectations are outlined up front.

2. Negotiate the needs of an organization.

Once requests have arrived, the person managing the contracts will need to negotiate the best agreement for the business. This consists not only of price, but also terms and conditions set forth in the agreement. These terms must be reasonable and in line with the overall abilities of each party.

3. Ensure all contractual obligations are being met.

As soon as the agreement is in place, it is the role of the person managing the expectations to ensure all promises that were made are being met. This includes monitoring performance regularly and notifying the appropriate people if there are duties not being performed up to the standards agreed upon.

4. Execute performance under policies.

Another role of this person is to make sure that all job functions are being performed under the policies set forth in the agreement. While work may be completed and results may be delivered on time, if policies are not closely monitored and adhered to a lot can go wrong for an organization increasing their overall risk. By having a single person who is familiar not only with the agreement put in place, but also with the company policies and procedures monitoring job performance, risk is significantly reduced.

5. Manage multiple agreements at one time.

Because there are typically several agreements in place at one time, the person in this role must be able to juggle monitoring multiple contracts.

The role of the contract manager is one that carries a large amount of responsibility. Their function is vital to reduce risk and impact the overall success of the company.

Laura enjoys writing about technology. If you’d like to learn more about contract manager, please visit http://www.contractlogix.com/