Contracts Manager (50073614)

This post is full time and permanent, working 35 hours per week. 

We are seeking an experienced Contracts Manager in a specialist role, to deliver a high quality, competent contract support service covering the full breadth of the University’s Research and Knowledge Exchange portfolio.

The role will be required to review, draft, and negotiate a broad range of Research & Knowledge Exchange contracts (and associated documents and proposals) ensuring that they are put in place in a timely and effective manner, reflecting the needs of the University and other parties, carefully considering and highlighting risk, ensuring compliance across all University policies and regulations including IP, Consultancy, Ethics, Trusted Research and Data Protection, and ensuring full compliance with statutory and legal requirements.

This role represents an exciting opportunity to assist in the development and implementation of new processes, procedures, practices and standards for the delivery of a competent contracts service, ensuring uniformity in the overall administration and negotiation of Research and Knowledge Exchange contracts handled by the University. It will also support the Senior Contracts Manager and the Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange Office to grow institutional knowledge and the University’s profile as a Research and Knowledge Exchange partner of choice by supporting and delivering a fit for purpose contractual service that is both fully compliant and able to adapt and react to changing priorities. Under the direction of senior colleagues, the postholder will build on connections and networks to help build the University’s reputation at the forefront of Research and Knowledge Exchange activities, understanding changing business needs and building trust with external partners.

The postholder will work with academic colleagues, external collaborators (including higher education establishments), industry partners, government organisations, student employers and charities in the UK, Europe and internationally, managing the end-to-end contractual process for their assigned portfolio in a time-effective manner and to a consistently high standard, mitigating risk and ensuring benefit for the University and external funders and collaborators.

This role will be hybrid, with an expectation that the successful candidate will be on site a minimum of one day per month for the RKEO All-Office Team Meetings and ad-hoc when necessary, subject to business need and reasonable request. There will also be an expectation to join other onsite meetings and events as required which on occasion may be out of regular working hours.

At the University of Westminster, diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity are at the core of how we engage with students, colleagues, applicants, visitors and all our stakeholders.

We are fully committed to enabling a supportive and safe learning and working environment which is equitable, diverse and inclusive, is based on mutual respect and trust, and in which harassment and discrimination are neither tolerated nor acceptable.

The University has adopted Smart Working principles to support and further our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion aims of being an inclusive, collaborative and flexible employer. Further details of Smart Working can be discussed at interview stage.

Administrative contact: [email protected]