Merkle is a leading data-driven, technology-enabled, global performance marketing agency that specializes in the delivery of unique, personalized customer experiences across platforms and devices. For more than 30 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. The agency's heritage in data, technology, and analytics forms the foundation for its unmatched skills in understanding consumer insights that drive people-based marketing strategies. Its combined strengths in performance media, customer experience, customer relationship management, loyalty, and enterprise marketing technology drive improved marketing results and competitive advantage. With 9,600 employees, Merkle is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, with 24 additional offices in the US and 29 offices in Europe and APAC. In 2016, the agency joined the Dentsu Aegis Network.

Merkle is looking for looking for an enthusiastic self-motivated Commercial / Contract Manager who thrives in a fast-paced environment. The successful candidate is comfortable performing a wide range of tasks from administrative to strategic. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong organizational skills, excellent grammar, and attention to detail along with the ability to manage multiple projects

Our ideal candidate has previous experience with contracts administration, is familiar with legal requirements for contract drafting and contract reviews, ensures all contracts conform to company standards and requirements, and can manage the contract and commercial management aspects for the various responsibilities, skills, and experiences outlined below.

Responsibilities 

Contract Development and Authoring:

• Apply best practices to develop contracts (Statements of Work, Amendments, Letters of Authorization) for various types of service engagements in the marketing domain include strategy consulting, media buys, marketing campaigns, marketing database builds, marketing analytics, SEO, SEM, advertising, and web development.
• Ensure the identification of opportunities to minimize contract risk and coordinate commercial risk mitigation measures.
• Draft and/or review contracts in compliance with company policy. As appropriate, contribute to or influence company policies.
• Prepare contract/commercial risk assessments and deliver contract briefings to business unit/service line leadership, as required.
• Coordinate the drafting, review and proper execution of all contracts with business units, service lines, IT,HR, Legal and Finance, as applicable.

Contract processing and Tracking:

• Follow contract management process controls to verify contract documents are fully approved and vetted internally before presenting to the client.
• Responsible for timely processing of contract activities against established service levels through Salesforce tool and manage dashboard metrics.
• Develop, implement, and ensure compliance with appropriate strategic commercial approach, based on contract type (i.e. Retainer, Deliverables, T&M).
• Support and become expert in Salesforce, the contract management system of record, for cataloguing and tracking all contracts, approvals, storage of fully executed contracts.

Negotiations:

• Assist in negotiating, structuring, and management of contractual documents that establish the business relationship with clients, subcontractors, vendors and/or partners, as applicable.
• Provide on-demand contractual clarifications / position statements to project team members as required.
• Revise documents for adherence to company policy/position statements, and advise on contractual rights and obligations, and provide interpretation of terms and conditions.

Process and Template Development:

• Collaborate with service lines to fully understand the products and/or services being provided and develop contract document templates.
• Assist in maintaining a centralized repository of legal documents.
• Monitor and recommend adjustments to commercial strategies, position statements, and contractual terms based on audits, market conditions, and changes in law.

Other areas of responsibility:

• Establish positive and productive relationships with contract requestor(s), service lines, and senior leadership involved in contract process.
• Provide a high-quality service level to all internal and external customers ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and interpretations of contract language, as needed.

Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, IT, Paralegal, English, or related field. 
• Experience preferred in Information Technology, Digital Agency, or similar professional services organization
• 5+ years in Contracts development, Procurement, Risk management, Vendor oversight, Negotiation, Finance, Law, Business, or combination thereof.  Paralegal experience a plus.
• Advanced working knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite (e.g. Word, Excel and PowerPoint, including PDF to Word conversions), and with contract management applications (i.e. Salesforce)
• Keen attention to detail, with an ability to spot errors and identify key risk areas in a contract
• Strong verbal and written communication skills including spelling, grammar, and distillation of RFP-like statements into contractual responsibilities/ legal requirements involved with a contract
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate in a professional and timely manner with varying seniority levels, including peers, managers/directors and VP/C-level both internal and external
• Strong ethics, integrity, and values including ability to maintain confidentiality with respect to agreement contents and other highly sensitive business matters and projects required
• Possess the ability to adapt to changes, delays, or unexpected shifts in priorities while maintaining focus and productivity in a high-volume environment required

Merkle fosters a diverse environment that encourages original thinking about our business and empowers us to communicate with a global world of customers. We embrace differences of opinion and diversity of thought as they help us challenge and refine our solutions. Merkle, as a best-in-class marketing agency, welcomes big ideas, and believes they can come from anywhere.