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The Role:

Reporting to the Head of Global Procurement, the Contract Manager will play a crucial role in the financial operations of Morningstar, ensuring effective contract management and compliance. This position requires a detail-oriented individual with a strong understanding of financial services and contractual obligations. With between 600 and 800 contracts being negotiated and finalized annually, this role will require the ability to work under tight deadlines and usher each contract through the entire lifecycle, from intake to storage and renewal/termination. The Contract Manager will heavily collaborate with various stakeholders, including Procurement category owners, Legal, Finance, Compliance, InfoSec, contract owners/business partners, as well as engaging in vendor communications and partnership. This role will be vital in ensuring that contracts are initiated through intake, drafted, negotiated (by you or the Procurement SME), and executed in accordance with company policies and industry regulations per applicable global region.

 

Responsibilities:

 

Contract Lifecycle Management:

• Oversee and manage the end-to-end contract lifecycle, from drafting to execution and contract storage, notifications, and renewal/termination.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, legal requirements, and industry regulations in all contracts.

 

Contract Negotiation:

• Collaborate with Procurement SME’s, Legal, and business partners to negotiate contract terms, ensuring favorable terms for the company while maintaining positive relationships with clients and partners.

 

Risk Management:

• Identify and assess potential financial, regulatory, and/or operational risks associated with contracts and propose mitigation strategies.
• Work closely with the legal team to ensure that contracts align with risk tolerance and legal standards and terminology.

 

Vendor Management:

• Manage relationships with external vendors and service providers, ensuring adherence to contractual obligations and performance standards while maintaining favorable relations.

 

Policy Compliance:

• Stay abreast of changes in laws and regulations affecting contracts in the financial industry.
• Partner with Morningstar Compliance to ensure contracts are aligned with company requirements.
• Implement and enforce contract management policies and procedures to ensure compliance.

 

Documentation and Reporting:

• Maintain accurate and organized contract documentation.
• Manage, socialize, and utilize dashboards and metrics to understand location of all agreements in their current lifecycle and usher to completion.
• Generate reports on contract status, performance, and compliance for management review.
• Use reporting/dashboarding to identify actionable opportunities (e.g. redundancy, consolidation, cost optimization, negotiation strategies, operational enhancement, etc.)

 

Departmental Support:

• Assist Procurement and the PMO in CLMS implementation.
• Backup Category owners in contract execution across multiple categories.
• Gather remaining global contracts from all business lines for storage and management within new CLMS.

 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, or a related field. Advanced degree and/or professional certification in contract management is a plus.
• 12 or more years of proven experience as a Contract Manager in the financial services industry or businesses with similar needs and categories.
• An understanding of all indirect categories, especially technology, professional services, finance, and shared services.
• A solid understanding of working in a firm with regulatory requirements.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Detail-oriented with the ability to manage multiple tasks and urgent deadlines.
• Ability to foster strong internal and external relationships to ensure desired outcomes.

 

Nice to have:

• Familiarity with contract management software is preferred, and have the ability to manage and optimize the process.
• Knowledge of/Experience in Coupa, Salesforce, Asana, CLMS software/Apps is a huge plus
• History of successful application or system implementation and go-live

 

 

 

 

 

 

001_MstarInc Morningstar Inc. Legal Entity

 

 

Morningstar’s hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to work remotely and collaborate in-person each week. We’ve found that we’re at our best when we’re purposely together on a regular basis, at least three days each week. A range of other benefits are also available to enhance flexibility as needs change. No matter where you are, you’ll have tools and resources to engage meaningfully with your global colleagues.