Contract Administrator

Hearst Magazines; Macon Township (MI); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Hearst Magazines seeks an experienced contracts professional to draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of agreements, ensuring compliance with policies and regulations. You will manage contract lifecycles, maintain documentation, and serve as the go-to contact for contract inquiries across legal, finance, and sales teams.

The role requires strong attention to detail, excellent communication, and the ability to work autonomously on routine workflows while supporting complex terms with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent, or related work experience in contracts, legal support, procurement, compliance, finance, or project management.
• 5+ years of experience in contracts, legal support, business operations, procurement, compliance, finance, or project management.
• Strong understanding of legal terminology and contract management best practices.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work autonomously, prioritize deadlines, and exercise sound judgment.
• Track record of assessing risk in commercial agreements and communicating recommendations clearly to non-legal stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate a variety of contracts, including client and vendor agreements.
• Ensure compliance with company policies and industry regulations in all contractual matters.
• Manage the lifecycle of contracts, including renewals, amendments, and terminations.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for contract-related inquiries and issues.
• Collaborate with legal, finance, and sales teams to ensure alignment on business objectives.
• Partner directly with in-house counsel on non-standard, complex, or contested terms while independently owning the routine contract workflow end to end.
• Maintain an organized repository of contracts and related documentation.
• Apply rigorous attention to detail across contract terms, defined terms, dates, dollar amounts, and internal cross-references, catching inconsistencies and drafting errors before execution rather than after.
• Maintain accurate contract data and documentation within Salesforce and Conga.
• Prepare reports and analyses on contract statuses and key metrics.
• Assess both immediate transactional risk and long-tail exposure - auto-renewal and evergreen terms, multi-year commitments, indemnity and liability tails, data and IP obligations that survive termination - and articulate the tradeoffs to business stakeholders in practical terms.
• Assist with audits, reporting, compliance reviews, and other special projects as needed.
• Help identify contract issues and support timely resolution and escalation where appropriate.

Skills

Attention to detail

Communication

Autonomy

Prioritization

Judgment

Risk assessment

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Paralegal certificate or formal legal training

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Salesforce

Conga

AI-assisted contract review tools

Job description

• Draft, review, and negotiate a variety of contracts, including client and vendor agreements.

• Ensure compliance with company policies and industry regulations in all contractual matters.

• Manage the lifecycle of contracts, including renewals, amendments, and terminations.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for contract-related inquiries and issues.

• Collaborate with legal, finance, and sales teams to ensure alignment on business objectives.

• Partner directly with in-house counsel on non-standard, complex, or contested terms while independently owning the routine contract workflow end to end.

• Maintain an organized repository of contracts and related documentation.

• Apply rigorous attention to detail across contract terms, defined terms, dates, dollar amounts, and internal cross-references, catching inconsistencies and drafting errors before execution rather than after.

• Maintain accurate contract data and documentation within Salesforce and Conga.

• Prepare reports and analyses on contract statuses and key metrics.

• Assess both immediate transactional risk and long-tail exposure - auto-renewal and evergreen terms, multi-year commitments, indemnity and liability tails, data and IP obligations that survive termination - and articulate the tradeoffs to business stakeholders in practical terms.

• Assist with audits, reporting, compliance reviews, and other special projects as needed.

• Help identify contract issues and support timely resolution and escalation where appropriate.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent relevant work experience.

• 5+ years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience, in contracts, legal support, business operations, procurement, compliance, finance, or project management.

• Strong understanding of legal terminology and contract management best practices.

• Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel.

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously, prioritize competing deadlines, and exercise sound judgment.

• Track record of assessing risk in commercial agreements and communicating recommendations clearly to non-legal stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a corporate legal department or high-volume business environment.

• Paralegal certificate or formal legal training.

• Certification in contract management (e.g., IACCM or NCMA).

• Salesforce and Conga experience.

• Familiarity with AI-assisted contract review and process improvement tools.

• Familiarity with the automotive or information systems industries.