Contracts Operations Manager

Axle; Rockville (MD); On-site; USD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Axle in Rockville, MD is seeking a Contracts Operations Manager to lead a team responsible for contract administration across government and commercial engagements, ensuring on-time, compliant delivery and cross-functional coordination.

The role builds operations structure, tools, and processes, manages priorities, and collaborates with Business Development, Program Management, Finance, and Legal to prevent gaps.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a related field with strong contract operations knowledge.
• Proven ability to coordinate across Business Development, Program Management, Finance and Legal.
• Experience implementing automation to improve contract processes.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day contract administration to ensure deliverables, deadlines, and compliance.
• Set team KPIs, conduct performance reviews, and support hiring and coaching.
• Escalate and resolve issues that cross functional lines while keeping team accountable.
• Coordinate with Business Units to ensure contract requirements are understood and executed.
• Track contract status, deliverables, and risk, surfacing issues to leadership.
• Ensure compliance with FAR, DFARS, and applicable contract terms; oversee SAM reporting.
• Identify manual processes and implement automation to improve accuracy and scale.
• Evaluate and implement contract management systems and train the team on adoption.

Skills

Team leadership

Cross-functional coordination

Automation implementation

Contract administration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Contract Management, or related field

Tools

Deltek Costpoint

Unanet

GovWin

Job description

We are seeking a Contracts Operations Manager to lead and oversee a team responsible for contract administration across government and commercial engagements. Success will be indicated by the team's work consistently getting done on time, in compliance, and coordinated with every function that touches a contract. The ideal candidate ensures accountability within the team while working closely with Business Development, Program Management, Finance, and Legal so nothing falls through the cracks between functions.

Role Overview

The Contracts Operations Manager will manage a team executing day-to-day contract administration — from post-award through closeout while building the operational structure, tools, and processes that let that work scale as Axle expands. This role oversees the team's output and priorities, escalates and resolves issues that cross functional lines, and is accountable for the team consistently delivering even as priorities shift. This role requires an in-person presence in our Rockville, MD office.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day execution of contract administration work to ensure deliverables, deadlines, and compliance requirements are consistently met
• Set team KPIs, conduct performance reviews and coaching, and support hiring, training, and succession planning
• Serve as the escalation point for complex contract issues, stepping in hands-on when needed while keeping the team accountable for their own work

Cross-Functional Contract Operations

• Coordinate with various Business Units to ensure contract requirements are understood, tracked, and executed across teams
• Act as the operational link between Contracts leadership and other functions, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks between proposal, award, and execution
• Track contract status, deliverables, and risk across the portfolio, surfacing issues to leadership and cross-functional partners before they become problems

Compliance & Process Support

• Ensure the team's work complies with FAR, DFARS, and applicable commercial contract terms
• Oversee subcontracting plan compliance, SAM reporting, and other recurring compliance obligations
• Maintain and enforce standard operating procedures for contract administration across the team
• Identify manual, repetitive, or inconsistent contracts processes and implement automation and digitalization to improve accuracy and scale
• Build and refine operational infrastructure to support Axle's expansion into commercial contracting
• Evaluate and implement contract management systems and tools, training the team on adoption

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Contract Management, or related field
• 5+ years of contracts administration or contracts operations experience, including Government contracting
• At least 2-3 years directly managing or supervising a team
• Working knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and related supplements
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate across functions (Business Development, Program Management, Finance, Legal) to drive contract execution
• Proven track record of implementing automation or new systems to improve team operations
• Comfortable overseeing team output while remaining hands-on on complex or escalated items

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting or transitioning into commercial contracting alongside Government work
• Exposure to GSA Schedules, IDIQs, or other Government contract vehicles
• Experience with contract management systems (e.g., Deltek Costpoint, Unanet, GovWin)

What Success Looks Like

• The contracts team consistently meets deadlines and compliance requirements without last-minute scrambles
• Cross-functional partners view Contracts as a reliable, coordinated partner rather than a bottleneck
• Contract processes are increasingly standardized, automated, and scalable
• The team is well-managed, developing, and equipped to handle shifting priorities

Salary Range

$120,000 - $140,000 USD

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Axle’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.