Senior Contracts Manager - Government Hardware Programs

Vallum Associates; Franklin (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Vallum Associates is seeking a Contracts Manager to direct the customer-facing administration of prime agreements and key subcontracts. You will guide a small team, own selected matters, and serve as the senior day-to-day contact for contracting officers and customer contracts teams on regulated hardware programs.

Working with program leadership across engineering, manufacturing, quality and supply chain, you will translate contractual commitments into practical execution plans and drive

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, legal studies or a closely related discipline.
• Eight years of seller-side experience administering U.S. Government prime agreements and/or significant subcontracts.
• Hands-on ownership of definitizing customer-directed changes and preparing requests for equitable adjustment.
• Working knowledge of DD Form 250, Contract Data Requirements List, funding limitations including FAR 52.232-22, and final closeout.
• Experience supporting hardware production programs where delivery, inspection and acceptance requirements were central.
• Demonstrable success leading, mentoring or developing contracts professionals.
• Strong knowledge of FAR and DFARS; practical experience with firm-fixed-price, time-and-materials and cost-reimbursement structures.
• Credible negotiation, written communication, organization and decision-making skills.
• Confident use of Microsoft Word and Excel.

Responsibilities

• Set priorities for the contracts team, coach individual performance and provide rigorous review of contractual outputs before release.
• Act as the initial management escalation for disputes, customer concerns, delivery exposure and matters requiring timely executive visibility.
• Work alongside program leadership, engineering, manufacturing, quality and supply chain colleagues to translate contractual commitments into practical execution plans.
• Bring a contracts perspective into captures, bids and governance reviews, identifying commercial exposure early and shaping an appropriate negotiation position.
• Direct the review of solicitations and proposal requirements, including representations and certifications, pricing-volume inputs and compliance matrices.
• Lead or supervise negotiations involving complex development, manufacturing and schedule-driven deliverables.
• Confirm that executed awards have been properly analyzed, established in internal systems and clearly briefed to teams accountable for performance.
• Maintain management oversight of funding, milestones, data submissions, amendments, correspondence and customer approvals throughout performance.
• Resolve difficult issues involving scope evolution, delivery dates, inspection, acceptance, configuration control or production change.
• Ensure contract completion and closeout activities are accurate, prompt and fully supported by the record.
• Maintain governance consistent with FAR, DFARS, relevant agency provisions and internal controls; support audits, organizational conflict reviews and regulatory updates.
• Introduce consistency across the portfolio through improved procedures, communication and team training.

Skills

negotiation

written communication

organization

decision-making

leadership

mentoring

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business/finance/legal studies

Tools

Deltek Costpoint

ServiceNow

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Vallum Associates is seeking a Contracts Manager to direct the customer-facing administration of prime agreements and key subcontracts. You will guide a small team, own selected matters, and serve as the senior day-to-day contact for contracting officers and customer contracts teams on regulated hardware programs.

Working with program leadership across engineering, manufacturing, quality and supply chain, you will translate contractual commitments into practical execution plans and drive