Contracts Manager

About Nava

Nava is a consultancy and public benefit corporation working to make government services simple, effective, and accessible to all. Since 2013, federal, state, and local government agencies have trusted Nava to build transformative digital services to help people access public benefits. Meeting our mission is an opportunity to restore trust between people and public institutions. We focus on populations that are the least protected because the stakes are higher.

As a client services company, we work with government agencies to improve how people apply for benefits, navigate their health care, and more. We bill for our time, selling our expertise and problem-solving methodology to government clients. Our clients hire us to help improve their products and services so that their users and beneficiaries have a better customer experience.

These end-users—the humans who benefit from our work—are at the core of everything we do. We research beneficiaries’ needs to help our government clients better deliver on their missions, providing everyone at Nava opportunities to do meaningful, impactful work.

Position summary 

Nava is at the forefront of reimagining how our government serves its people, and we’re looking for an experienced Contracts Manager to help drive this mission forward.

The Contracts Manager is responsible for managing all aspects of a business portfolio’s contract administration function. This experienced, contracts professional is responsible for building effective relationships with internal and external clients and partners; creating a strong client and business partner experience; supporting efficient and effective contract operations in a delivery-first professional services company; and building effective working relationships and partnering across organizational boundaries with delivery, growth, and operational teams to strengthen business results. This person is a key member of contracts management and will report to the Director of Contracts.

What you'll do

• Prepare and customize a variety of legal agreements, including Non-Disclosure Agreements, Teaming Agreements, Authorizations to Proceed, Consulting Agreements, Contracts, Subcontracts, and other contractual documents that support our business 
• Actively participate in contract negotiations with business partners
• Serve as the primary point of contact for customer and partner contract communications 
• Coordinate negotiations and review with partners, clients, and internal/external legal counsel, as required
• Review and identify compliance requirements for Nava's contracts, and ensure compliance therewith 
• Assess company contract needs and propose solutions that can be articulated in business strategies and legal documents
• Communicate effectively and frequently to keep the delivery, growth, and operational teams informed of status, progress, risks, and blockers
• Maintain an accurate, up-to-date, and well-organized archive of Nava’s portfolio of contracts and legal agreements
• Understand strategic, operational, and financial constraints and opportunities, working with Nava stakeholders to ensure that our contractual agreements serve our interests both generally and specific to the subject of the agreement
• Help Nava understand the contractual space that we have to operate within - where we have flexibility and where we are constrained to ensure that we are both operating effectively and aligned with our contractual agreements
• Take accountability for using your position as the Contracts Manager to build strong relationships and a strong reputation for Nava with partners and government clients

Required skills

• At least five years’ experience in government contract management and/or contract compliance, with a minimum of two years’ experience managing a portfolio of federal contracts
• Ability to independently implement strategies and services and in a fast-paced, dynamic, and growing environment while maintaining alignment across organizational boundaries
• Experience with complex and difficult contract management situations
• Ability to develop documents and maintain communications using a variety of suites/applications, including G Suite, MS Office, Slack, etc.
• Highly organized, resourceful, reliable, and detail-oriented
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently and autonomously within a distributed team while soliciting feedback when necessary
• Ability to understand business context and think strategically, make recommendations, and identify trade-offs and short term vs. long term risks and benefits
• Ability to build and form strong relationships with both the internal team our partners and our clients
• Ability to organize and prioritize work assignments to meet deadlines
• An adaptive, empathetic, collaborative, curious, and positive mindset

Desired skills

• Prior experience as a government contract specialist or contracting officer (including warrant)
• Prior experience with Federal Civilian agencies
• Legal training or experience
• Management of external counsel and legal firms
• Working with remote teams
• Location in DC Metro area strongly preferred

Other requirements

All roles at Nava require the following:

● Must be legally authorized to work in the United States and meet any other requirements for government contracts for which they are hired.

● Candidates offered a job at Nava must have work authorization that does not require visa sponsorship, either currently or in the future. Please be aware that most of our positions require U.S. citizenship or a green card.

● May be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information or applicants who are eligible for security clearances.

Perks working with Nava

● Competitive benefits: We prioritize your well-being, offering highly competitive medical, dental, and vision benefits.

● Generous time off: Enjoy 20 days of accrued PTO, 12 paid federal holidays, 5 prorated floating holidays, and unlimited sick leave.

● Annual discretionary bonus: Paid annually to eligible employees. When Nava does well, you do well.

● Parental leave: Receive 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave and weekly meal deliveries during your leave.

● Employee wellness program: Access our comprehensive Employee Wellness Program.

● Virtual doctor visits: Enjoy zero copay virtual doctor visits through UHC.

● Fertility support: Benefit from fertility support and treatment options.

● Sabbatical leave: We offer a sabbatical leave program.

● 401k contributions: We match 4% of your salary in 401k contributions.

● Flexible work arrangements: We offer flexible work arrangements to suit your needs.

● Home office setup: Receive assistance with your home office setup and a monthly phone allowance.

● Utilities reimbursement: Get a monthly partial reimbursement for utilities (where applicable).

● Learning and development: Access our comprehensive learning and development program.

● Tuition and Professional development budget: Receive a prorated annual tuition and professional development budget and a LinkedIn Learning license.

● Equity stock options: Benefit from equity stock options.

● Employee referral program: Participate in our employee referral program.

● Commuter benefits: Enjoy commuter benefits.

● Insurance coverage: Receive short and long-term disability insurance, as well as life and accidental death insurance.

● Vibrant culture: Join our welcoming, highly collaborative, and open culture that supports remote work.

Location

We have fully remote options if you reside in one of the following states:

Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, DC, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.

*If you are not living in one of the states listed above, unfortunately, you will not be considered for a position at this time. 

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Please contact the recruiting team at [email protected] if you would like to request reasonable accommodation during the application or interviewing process.

We participate in E-Verify. Upon hire, we will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. This role requires you to work from the contiguous United States.