Advisor II, Procurement Contracts - (US Only)

Catholic Relief Services; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Catholic Relief Services is seeking an Advisor II, Procurement Contracts to serve as Global Procurement’s subject matter expert, providing technical advice, capacity building, and guidance on contracting in line with CRS policies and donor requirements.

The role collaborates with global, regional, and country teams to strengthen contracting practices, manage risk, and support high-quality programming across CRS operations.

Qualifications

• Ability to identify, explain, and mitigate complex contractual and compliance risks while enabling timely program implementation.
• Interpret donor, regulatory, policy, and contractual requirements and translate them into practical guidance and contract provisions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for non-specialist audiences.

Responsibilities

• Leads the development, review, and negotiation of complex, high-value, high-risk contracts and framework agreements.
• Advise stakeholders on contract structures, risk allocation, service levels, warranties, indemnities, liability, and data protection.
• Coordinate with OGC and other functions to address specialized legal, compliance, and risk considerations and review decisions.
• Provide capacity strengthening through training and practical tools on contract development, negotiation, and risk management.
• Develop contracting templates, clause libraries, and guidance to improve efficiency and consistency.

Skills

Contract negotiation

Stakeholder management

Risk analysis

Communication

Tools

MS Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

NOTE: The above Pay Range only applies to applicants who perform the job within the US and to applicants classified by CRS as International Assignees. Staff hired on local payroll would follow the respective Country pay range. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your anticipated work location during the candidate selection process.

Job Summary

The Advisor II, Procurement Contracts serves as Global Procurement’s technical subject matter expert providing technical advice, capacity building on procurement contracting in line with CRS procurement policies, procedures, donor requirements, and applicable legal and compliance standards. The Advisor works closely with global, regional, and country stakeholders to strengthen procurement contracting practices across the agency and support high-quality programming through effective risk management and contract administration. The role also contributes to the developmentof complex and strategic agreements and supports the development of agency-wide contracting standards, templates, guidance, tools, and good practices. Through advisory support, knowledge management, and capacity strengthening, the role improves the quality, consistency, efficiency, and risk profile of procurement contracts across CRS global operations.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

Contract Strategy, Development and Negotiation

• Leads the development, review, and negotiation of complex, high-value, high-risk, and strategic procurement-related contracts, including framework agreements and contracts for goods, professional and consulting services, transportation and logistics, construction, technology, and other categories.
• Partner with requestors, procurement teams, technical stakeholders to develop, clear scopes of work, deliverables, performance standards, and contractual requirements.
• Advise stakeholders on appropriate contract structures, risk allocation, service levels, warranties, insurance, indemnities, liability, intellectual property, data protection, remedies, termination rights, and other key commercial terms.
• Support complex procurement activities through review of solicitation documents, evaluation requirements, negotiation strategies, award documentation, and contract modifications, and dispute resolution.
• Serve as technical escalation point for complex contractual concerns while maintaining clear coordination with Office of General Counsel (OGC) on matters requiring legal advice or representation.

Risk Management and Compliance

• Ensure procurement contracts align with CRS policies and procedures, donor requirements, applicable law, and required organizational approvals.
• Determine when approved contract templates are appropriate, and when other subject matter expertise is required. Workclosely with OGC, GRC, Finance, Safeguarding, GKIM, and other functions to address specialized legal, compliance, and risk considerations and clarify roles for review and decision-making.
• Monitor changes in donor, regulatory, and organizational requirements and work with OGC to incorporate them into contracting standards, templates, and guidance.

Contracting System Strengthening

• Contribute to the development, maintenance, and continuous improvement of CRS procurement contracting templates, clause libraries, playbooks, decision tools, and review guidance.
• Serve as a technical advisor and escalation point for complex procurement contracting questions across country programs, regions, and headquarters departments.
• Analyze recurring contractual risks, disputes, exceptions, audit findings, and implementation challenges to identify systemic improvements and strengthen organizational contracting practices.

Capacity Strengthening

• Deliver training, guidance, coaching, and practical tools on contract development, negotiation, risk management, and contract administration.
• Build contracting capability among procurement staff, program teams, budget holders, and other stakeholders, with support tailored to differing operational contexts and risk levels.
• Promote agency-wide understanding of contractual obligations, accountability, and good contract management practices.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to identify, explain, and mitigate complex contractual and compliance risks while enabling timely program implementation.
• Ability to interpret donor, regulatory, policy, and contractual requirements and translate them into practical guidance and contract provisions.
• Excellent analytical skills and sound judgement, including the ability to distinguish commercial, operational, compliance, and legal issues and elevate appropriately.
• Strong facilitation, consultation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build consensus across functions, geographies, and levels of seniority.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex requirements clearly to non-specialist audiences.
• Ability to influence without direct authority and serve as a credible, service-oriented technical advisor.
• Computer proficiency with the ability to utilize MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint as well as other platforms.

Required Languages:Fluent written and spoken English. French, Spanish, or Arabic are preferred but not required.

Travel:Must be willing and able to travel up to 10%.

Supervisory Responsibilities:No