Senior Legal Contracts Manager

At Houston Methodist, the Senior Legal Contracts Manager position is responsible for coordinating and managing high-profile legal projects of considerable complexity for the Department of Legal Services, with a focus on review, drafting, negotiation, and execution of Clinical Trial Agreement ("CTA," which may also include other types of agreements related to clinical research, including but not limited to, Sponsored Research Agreements and Collaboration Agreements). This position takes the lead in assisting the attorneys in the Department of Legal Services with contract review for CTA agreements for the Houston Methodist Research Institute, as well as other projects initiated by the attorneys. The Senior Legal Contracts Manager position is responsible for coordinating, managing, and completing contract review processes with minimal supervision, as well as communicating professionally and persuasively verbally and in writing to internal and external stakeholders. This position manages a complex portfolio of contract documents and is responsible for both organizing the work related to the Senior Legal Contract Manager's assigned internal research clients and for communicating status of CTAs and coordinating the resolution of issues related to CTA negotiations. This position also engages in independent direct and skilled negotiations of the contract language. The Senior Legal Contracts Manager position provides legal document review, drafting, negotiation, and analysis to the attorneys in the Department of Legal Services as well as internal clients; identifies legal and regulatory issues for the attorneys; and makes recommendations on how to proceed to enable clinical research and mitigate organizational risks.

FLSA STATUS
Exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Juris Doctorate Degree

EXPERIENCE

• Five years of experience in managing complex legal document review, creation and analysis OR 2+ years of experience with negotiating CTAs on behalf of life sciences manufacturers, contract research organizations or academic medical centers

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through ongoing skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job
• Ability to effectively communicate with physicians, co-workers, and executives in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
• Strong communication skills. Ability to communicate with senior leadership
• Ability to establish and maintain positive attorney, project team member and internal relationships
• Strong analytical and interpersonal skills
• Intermediate word-processing skills
• Strong project and time management skills
• Experience processing large quantities of file material and quickly discerning key issues and plans for resolution for applicable supervising attorneys
• Adaptable – flexible in handling change, able to juggle multiple high priority demands, able to adapt to new situations with innovative ideas or approaches. Can maintain focus on goals and easily adjust to how they are achieved
• Professional handling of exposure to confidential/sensitive information

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Establishes and maintains clear and concise communication with internal clients, external third parties, co-workers, the attorneys, and Houston Methodist senior leadership. Facilitates communication, managing stakeholder(s) expectations.
• Executes contract management requests from senior leadership and Houston Methodist departments. Serves as an effective liaison between multiple client groups and stakeholders across various levels of management.
• Works creatively and analytically in a problem-solving environment fostering teamwork, innovation and excellence. Actively leads the legal contract review process for identified contracts and manages the life-cycle of each document.
• Establishes and maintains clear and concise communication and status tracking with internal clients, external third parties, co-workers, the attorneys, and Houston Methodist senior leadership regarding CTAs for Senior Legal Contract Manager’s assigned internal research clients. Facilitates communication, managing stakeholder(s) expectations.
• Executes CTA requests from Senior Legal Contract Manager’s assigned internal research clients and Houston Methodist departments. Serves as an effective liaison between multiple client groups and stakeholders across various levels of management.
• Works creatively and analytically in a problem-solving environment fostering teamwork, innovation and excellence. Actively leads the CTA review process for identified contracts and manages the life-cycle of each CTA.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Develops and manages a portfolio of legal contracts, effectively tracking and communicating progress and delivering timely project outputs.
• Works in collaboration with the attorneys in the Department of Legal Services to drive CTA review to successful outcomes, including by identifying needs, making assessments, and problem solving.
• Works with leadership across multiple departments to support finalization of CTAs.
• Coordinates discussions among Houston Methodist parties and manages CTAs to ensure they are compliant with Houston Methodist and Department of Legal Services policies and practices, and are complete and accurate, and meet the business needs of the parties.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Identifies legal, regulatory and operational issues in CTA review for discussion with the Department of Legal Services attorneys.
• Works to ensure timely execution of project deliverables. Tracks the status and coordinates deadlines of all projects, identifying potential barriers to project progression and suggesting possible solutions/resolutions.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Utilizes efficient and cost-effective work practices with department resources and supplies; provides recommendations to reduce expenses. Completes timely and accurate expense reports as determined by leadership, as applicable.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Conducts accurate legal research and analysis and presents for review and approval to the Department of Legal Services attorneys.
• Represents Houston Methodist with third parties during CTA negotiations.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: No
• Scrubs: No
• Business professional: Yes
• Other (department approved): No

ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* No

TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area Yes
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area No

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Juris Doctorate Degree

EXPERIENCE

• Five years of experience in managing complex legal document review, creation and analysis OR 2+ years of experience with negotiating CTAs on behalf of life sciences manufacturers, contract research organizations or academic medical centers