Contract Lifecycle & Legal Operations Specialist

Erikson Institute; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Erikson Institute is seeking a highly organized Legal Operations and Contracts Specialist to support the General Counsel and the Office of the President. You will manage contract lifecycle, governance, and compliance activities across departments to promote efficiency and accountability.

The role requires strong project management, discretion, and collaboration in a nonprofit higher-ed environment, with direct involvement in contract systems and workflows that influence institutional operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and paralegal certificate or related training preferred.
• At least five years of relevant experience in law firms, in-house legal, higher education, nonprofit, or contracts.
• Experience with contract administration, lifecycle systems, and governance support preferred.
• Strong organizational, project-management, proofreading, recordkeeping, and document-management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and a collaborative service-oriented style.
• Ability to work independently, manage concurrent assignments, and meet deadlines.
• Discretion handling confidential, privileged, and sensitive information.
• Experience with sponsored research, grants, procurement a plus.
• High integrity, ethics, professionalism, and accountability; experience with contract workflows.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day paralegal, administrative, and project support to the General Counsel/Corporate Secretary.
• Coordinate contract lifecycle from intake and review through approval, signature, filing, renewal, amendment, or termination.
• Support launch, administration, and ongoing management of Erikson's contract lifecycle management platform including workflow configuration and data quality.
• Organize and submit agreements for review by the General Counsel.
• Support review and administration of vendor agreements, MOUs, grants, and other contracts.
• Track key dates, deliverables, notice requirements, approvals, insurance documentation, and compliance obligations.
• Coordinate electronic signature and maintain contract records, templates, forms, reports, and dashboards.
• Coordinate cross-functional projects and assist with policy development and governance.

Skills

Legal operations

Contract management

Project management

Stakeholder collaboration

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor's degree in relevant field

Paralegal certificate or related training

Tools

Contract lifecycle management platform

Microsoft 365

Job description

Erikson Institute is seeking a highly organized Legal Operations and Contracts Specialist to support the General Counsel and the Office of the President. You will manage contract lifecycle, governance, and compliance activities across departments to promote efficiency and accountability.

The role requires strong project management, discretion, and collaboration in a nonprofit higher-ed environment, with direct involvement in contract systems and workflows that influence institutional operations.