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By joining the National Student Clearinghouse, you can be sure that the work you do now will help shape the future of education and the workforce in the U.S. As the trusted source for higher education data since 1993, the Clearinghouse is the leading provider of transcript and data exchange services, automated enrollment and degree verifications, learner insights and research, and compliance solutions for schools, businesses, and learners nationwide. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Clearinghouse works with nearly 3,600 postsecondary institutions to meet their compliance needs and with thousands of high schools and districts to provide continuing collegiate enrollment, progression, and completion statistics about their alumni. In addition, the Research Center publications inform policymakers and business leaders about student educational pathways. Using our unique combination of data, analytics, and software to drive our mission, security and privacy is paramount. Join us as we continue to invest in our talent and new advanced technologies to unlock the power of data on behalf of all learners. About the Role:Within the Legal Department, the Senior Manager, Contracts Administration is responsible for managing the contracts administration function to include establishing and maintaining standard contracting protocols, templates, workflows, and playbooks, while personally handling more complex or higher risk agreements. As a senior level contracts professional, the individual is also responsible for independently negotiating, drafting, and managing complex contracts across the organization. This role encompasses a wide range of agreementsincluding Master Service Agreements (MSAs), Statements of Work (SOWs), Data Processing and Privacy Addenda (DPAs), vendor agreements, and Nondisclosure Agreements (NDAs)negotiated directly with customers and partners such as educational institutions, education associations, research institutions, government agencies, vendors, strategic partners, and commercial customers and vendors.The individual exercises sound business and contracts judgment and plays a significant role in identifying and managing contractual risk by identifying and mitigating financial, legal, regulatory, and operational risks in partnership with attorneys and senior stakeholders, and by escalating novel or material legal issues as appropriate. This role partners closely with attorneys, business stakeholders, procurement, business development, finance, product, IT, and information security teams to ensure contracts align with business objectives, comply with applicable laws, regulations, internal policies, and reflect attorney approved risk positions.The individual will supervise staff on contract negotiations, implement management best practices and contribute to the ongoing improvement, refinement and scaling of contracting workflows as the organization grows. The ideal candidate brings a strategic mindset, strong leadership and communication skills, and progressively responsible experience and expertise in negotiating and drafting contracts for the provision of services to customers and retention of vendor services while utilizing best practices, considering risk mitigation and achieving business objectives. This role requires the ability to exercise strong independent judgment in contract negotiations, make timely, well-reasoned decisions in fast-paced or ambiguous contracting scenarios, and navigate competing priorities and stakeholder interests while maintaining compliance with laws, regulations, contractual requirements, and policy.This position reports to the Director, Legal Counsel.Currently, this is a remote-first position, and this position may be required to periodically work on-site at our office and the frequency would depend on the department/division's requirements. Therefore, candidates must either reside within a reasonable distance to commute to our office or be wil ing to travel to our office in Herndon, when required. How You Contribute:- Demonstrate the Clearinghouse's core competencies: Customer Focus, Optimizes Work Processes, Collaborates, Communicates Effectively, and Be Open and Authentic.Contract Negotiating and Drafting- Negotiate and draft contract terms and conditions for the provision of services to customers and other third parties, including MSAs, SOWs, DPAs, NDAs, amendments, and renewals, working within established playbooks and escalating to attorneys as needed.- Negotiate and draft contract terms and conditions for vendor agreements.- Develop negotiation strategies and tactics to achieve favorable outcomes for the organization, working within established negotiation playbooks and escalating to attorneys as needed.- Ensure contracts address data privacy, consumer protection and related laws and contractual requirements.- Ensure contracts address technical requirements, permissible data policy, and internal policies across security, privacy, consumer protection, and intellectual property.- Stay informed on relevant updates to laws, regulations, and industry guidance as communicated by attorneys, and apply attorney-provided legal guidance to ensure the Clearinghouses agreements and business practices remain compliant while continually developing negotiation skills and knowledge.- Leverage AI-powered contract negotiation tools and contract playbooks to efficiently process and negotiate agreements; contribute to the continuous improvement of playbook rules and tool configurations.- Review and negotiate customer-imposed contract terms, including state procurement agreements and public-entity requirements, ensuring the Clearinghouses interests and compliance obligations are addressed within the customers contracting framework.Risk Identification and Management- Proactively identify, assess, and manage legal, financial, regulatory, privacy, security, operational and reputational risks in contracts.- Evaluate contract terms related to indemnification, limitation of liability, insurance, data protection, confidentiality, intellectual property, audit rights, termination, and payment structures.- Ensure proper risk mitigation, allocation, and alignment between security, privacy, IP, consumer protection, and related legal compliance requirements, recommending risk-appropriate alternatives and mitigation strategies in contracts.Strategic Leadership, Independent Judgment and Decision Making- Design and execute a comprehensive contracting strategy that strengthens the companys position and risk posture while achieving business objectives.- Exercise strong independent judgment in contract negotiations, including determining when to proceed, compromise, escalate, or recommend rejection of proposed terms.- Navigate competing priorities and stakeholder interests while maintaining compliance with laws, regulations, contractual requirements, and policy.- Make timely, well-reasoned decisions in fast-paced or ambiguous contracting scenarios.- Identify and escalate novel legal issues and risk areas, and non-standard contract positions that require attorney review; exercise sound independent judgment within established parameters while recognizing the boundaries of the role.- Resolve conflicts and differences that may arise during contract negotiations.- Sees the big picture of business objectives, imagines future scenarios that increase risk, and creates mitigation strategies.- Project management: strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.Cr