Head of Contracts

Job Title: Head – Contracting (Pre-Contract Governance)

Role Overview

We are looking for a senior Contracting leader to own and strengthen contract governance, standards, and risk management for high-value and critical contracts across multiple business units.

This role will be responsible for standardization of contract clauses, templates, playbooks, and risk frameworks, ensuring that commercial objectives are achieved within a defined risk appetite. The position will also oversee contract lifecycle governance through structured handovers, performance reviews, and compliance monitoring for critical contracts.

Key Responsibilities

Pre-Contract Governance & Standards

• Own and manage business-wide pre-contracting standards and governance for high-value and critical contracts.
• Build, maintain, and continuously improve a centralized clause library, including fallback positions and approvals.
• Convert negotiation learnings and past issues into improved clauses, templates, and playbooks.

Template, Playbook & Clause Standardization

• Develop and maintain standard contract templates, drafting guidelines, and negotiation playbooks across contract types.
• Drive adoption of standardized documents across business units and control non-standard deviations for critical contracts.
• Ensure robust version control, auditability, and traceability through CLM systems.

Risk Assessment & Mitigation

• Define criteria to identify critical contracts and associated risk thresholds.
• Review and approve risk mitigation plans for high-risk contracts.
• Maintain pre-contract risk registers and align risks to clauses, templates, and approval frameworks.

Negotiation Support (Critical Contracts)

• Act as a senior advisor during negotiation bottlenecks, providing structured risk positions and fallback options.
• Support alignment between business, legal, finance, and risk stakeholders (without owning frontline negotiations).

Regulatory & Policy Compliance

• Embed applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies into templates, clauses, and workflows.
• Coordinate periodic reviews with Legal, Tax, Compliance, HR, and other stakeholders to reflect regulatory changes.
• Own and update internal contracting policies and standards.

Contract Lifecycle & Performance Governance

• Ensure seamless handover of executed contracts with clear obligation ownership, milestones, and KPIs.
• Ensure all executed contracts and key metadata (SLAs, LDs, price revisions, securities, insurance, extensions) are accurately captured in CLM systems and integrated with enterprise systems (e.g., ERP, billing, project controls).
• Drive periodic post-award contract performance reviews with cross-functional teams.
• Monitor compliance with contractual obligations and escalate risks or non-compliance.
• Oversee management of variations, claims, extensions, disputes, and contractual reliefs in coordination with Legal and Business teams.
• Translate post-award learnings into stronger pre-contract standards and governance.

Training & Change Management

• Design and deliver training programs on contracting standards, clause libraries, templates, and risk frameworks.
• Track adoption metrics and drive behavioral change across functions.
• Communicate updates clearly to all relevant stakeholders.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Work closely with internal stakeholders including Business, Legal, Procurement, Finance, Risk, Projects, Operations, and Compliance teams.
• Participate in discussions with external parties (vendors, clients, authorities) as required, along with internal teams.

Education & Experience

• Law graduate (LLB) from a reputed institution; LLM, PG Diploma in Business Law, or Contract Management certification is a plus.
• 12–15 years of experience in contracts, legal, or commercial roles.
• Strong exposure to pre-contract governance, risk frameworks, and critical/high-value contracts in complex, multi-business environments.
• Experience in sectors such as infrastructure, energy, airports, land development, sports, or large project-based businesses is preferred.
• Hands-on experience with CLM systems and digital contracting tools.

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking and problem solving
• Contract risk assessment and decision making
• Stakeholder management and influence
• Governance and process design
• Change management and capability building
• Strong execution orientation and attention to detail