Senior Contracts Manager

Allison Transmission; Michigan; On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical plans with prescription

Employer HSA contribution

Dental & Vision Insurance

Paid Parental Leave

Disability (Short & Long-Term)

Voluntary benefits including Critical

401K with company match

Paid Time Off

Paid Holidays + Floating Holiday

Wellness program

Tuition assistance

Job summary

Allison Transmission is seeking a seasoned Contracts Manager to lead defense contracting efforts from negotiation to closeout, ensuring regulatory compliance and effective risk mitigation. You will serve as the official liaison with government and international stakeholders, handling complex terms, CLM workflows, and cross-functional collaboration.

The role requires DoW/DFARS knowledge, strong communication, and extensive defense contracting experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Pre-Law, or Equivalent.
• Minimum 7 years’ experience in contracts/defense procurement.
• DoW and International defense contracting experience.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 tools.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage Defense contracting actions from negotiations through closeout.
• Ensure compliance across Defense functions and with regulatory requirements.
• Act as official Defense channel with external stakeholders.
• Assist proposal activities with risk mitigation.
• Be SME in FAR/DFARS, NDAs, Reps & Certs and related topics.
• Review/negotiate T's & C's for multiple contract types (FFP, IDIQ, OTA, T&M).
• Engage with DoW and international customers in Sole Source/Competitive environments.
• Handle international contractual requirements (INCOTERMS, licenses, localization).
• Utilize CLM systems to manage contracts and track metrics.
• Assist Finance with invoicing/receivables and audits.

Skills

Contract management

Regulatory compliance

Negotiation

Communication

Attention to detail

Risk assessment

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Industry knowledge

DoW regulations

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Pre-Law, or Equivalent

MBA or Juris Doctor (Preferred)

CFCM or CPCM (Preferred)

Tools

Microsoft 365 Suite

Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM)

Job description

JOIN THE TEAM THAT’S POWERING PROGRESS Building cities. Driving commerce. Fueling Progress. For over 100 years, Allison has powered the vehicles and technology that move our world forward.

JOIN THE TEAM THAT’S POWERING PROGRESS Building cities. Driving commerce. Fueling Progress. For over 100 years, Allison has powered the vehicles and technology that move our world forward. What powers us? Our employees. From the first person hired by James Allison in 1915 to the thousands across the globe who work for Allison today, we're driving progress everywhere because we employ top talent worldwide. In both the Allison Transmission and Allison Off-Highway Drive and Motion Systems business units, our team strives to Improve the Way the World Works. Learn more about this role and how you can begin driving your career forward!

Benefits

• Choice of medical plans with prescription coverage
• Employer HSA contribution
• Dental & Vision Insurance
• Paid Parental Leave
• Short & Long-Term Disability
• Other voluntary benefits including: Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, Identity Theft Protection and Pet Insurance
• 401K with generous Company match & contribution
• Accrued Paid Time Off
• 12 Paid Holidays + 1 Floating Holiday
• Robust employee wellness program
• Tuition assistance program

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

• Manage all Defense contracting actions from contract negotiations through closeout
• Assist in managing and enforcing company requirements and legal/regulatory compliance across Defense functions
• Act as Defense’s official communication channel with external stakeholders
• Assist proposal function with risk mitigation and proposal activities as necessary
• Subject Matter Expert in FAR/DFARS, Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), and Reps & Certs
• Experience reviewing, negotiating, and managing terms and conditions for several contract/agreement types (e.g., Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO), Cost Plus, Firm Fixed Price (FFP), Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), Labor Hour, Other Transaction Authority (OTA), and Time and Materials (T&M))
• Experience working directly with prime contractors, U.S. Department of War (DoW), and International customers in both Sole Source and Competitive environments
• Experience managing common International contractual requirements (e.g., bank guarantees/letters of credit, CISG, Incoterms, licensees, localization, offsets, royalties)
• Experience with DoW/U.S. Government-related topics including Commercial Item Determination (CID), Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), DoW Business Systems (e.g., Accounting, Estimating, Government Property, Purchasing), DoW contract closeout, DoW data rights, EAR/ITAR, Exostar, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Government Property, Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) Plans, Small Business Subcontracting Plans, Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS), System for Award Management (SAM), Truthful Cost or Pricing Data Act (TINA), U.S. military standard (MIL-STD), and Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF)
• Experience with managing contracts in a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system
• Develop, track, and report on key contractual metrics/deliverables for internal stakeholders
• Assist Finance with monitoring contractual invoicing/receivables
• Support customer/governmental audit requests
• Assist with providing business recommendations on contractual-related items
• Assist fellow Contracts Managers and elevate issues to Contracts Managers leads and management as necessary

Key Performance Measures

• Ability to work independently and proactively under a normal level of oversight
• Significant attention to detail and organization
• Critical thinker who is able to routinely recognize common and upper-level issues, offer recommendations to resolve those issues, and see those issues through resolution
• Strong multitasker who works well under pressure, is responsive, and can meet tight deadlines
• Strong verbal and written communication skills to interact with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders
• Team player who assists fellow Contracts Managers

Competencies and Behavior

• Is widely trusted by others to deliver on what they commit to in a timely manner
• Reflects on mistakes and seeks to proactively address them
• Is transparent in their interactions and intentions
• Takes responsibility to deliver and can be counted on to deliver results in the right way
• Acts with internal and external customers in mind
• Establishes effective relationships with customers and peers
• Gains the trust of others through active engagement
• Thinks through the consequences of actions with different stakeholders
• Effectively copes with change and shifts gears comfortably
• Can identify and implement complex process improvements
• Seeks out the opportunity to work on unfamiliar things and innovate
• Solves problems with peers in a professional and constructive way
• Steps up to either lead or participate in matrix teams to achieve work outcomes

Qualifications

• Required:
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Pre-Law, or Equivalent
• Preferred:
  • Master of Business Administration or Juris Doctor
  • Certified Federal Contract Manager (CFCM) or Certified Professional Contract Manager (CPCM)

Experience

• Required:
  • Minimum of 7 years’ experience
  • Years of experience may be substituted for an advanced degree at Allison’s discretion
  • U.S. Department of War (DoW) and International Defense prime contracting and subcontracting experience with an understanding of their complexities and nuances
  • Cross-functional/matrix organization experience
  • Strong proficiency with Microsoft 365 software (e.g., Copilot, Excel, OneDrive, Outlook, Power BI, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Teams, Word)
• Preferred:
  • Experience working for a large Defense contractor who focused on both engineering and production
  • Defense Wheeled and Tracked vehicle experience
  • Allison Transmission Defense product knowledge
  • National Contract Management Association (NCMA) member
  • National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) member

Scope Factors

• Assigned a specific portfolio of Defense contracts/agreements based upon management’s determination of portfolio risk level, employee’s previous experience, and company need
• Frequently interact with company management and other functions as this position is viewed as an important leader in Defense
• Proactively identify, define, provide guidance on, and solve common and upper-level issues that impact the management and direction of the company
• Decisions and recommendations made by this position will impact cross-functional teams and will be relied upon by all management levels including the Executive Team
• Trusted to work independently and within established guidance under a normal level of oversight
• Expected to proactively raise and address issues as they are discovered without having to be prompted by management
• Comfortable directly working with attorneys on a daily basis as this position reports directly to Legal
• Position will have no employee management responsibilities

Travel

• May be required to travel to customer meetings/events and training seminars/conferences

Allison Transmission is an equal opportunity employer. We have opportunities for all qualified applicants regardless of age, race, color, sex, religion, creed, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or veteran status. Please note that Allison Transmission will make an offer of employment only to individuals who have applied for a position using our official application. Be on alert for possible fraudulent offers of employment. Allison Transmission will not solicit money or banking information from applicants.