Contracts Manager

About the role

The City of Santa Clara’s Finance Department is recruiting for a Contracts Manager in the Purchasing Division. This position is responsible for independently leading complex, high‑value, and high‑visibility procurements; developing, negotiating, and administering contracts; and providing strategic procurement guidance to City departments from initial planning through contract execution. The Contracts Manager manages the full procurement lifecycle for a broad portfolio of supplies, equipment, information technology commodities, and general and professional services.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex procurement planning activities in partnership with City departments, including identifying procurement strategies, timelines, risks, evaluation approaches, and contract requirements.
• Develop clear, comprehensive, and legally and operationally sound solicitation documents, including requests for proposals, requests for bids, requests for qualifications, requests for information, scopes of work, technical specifications, evaluation criteria, and special terms and conditions.
• Work closely with technical and operational subject‑matter experts to convert complex business, service, and technology requirements into competitive procurement documents and enforceable contract provisions.
• Manage formal solicitation processes from advertisement through award, including vendor communications, pre‑proposal or pre‑bid conferences, addenda, receipt and review of proposals or bids, evaluation coordination, reference checks, responsibility determinations, and award recommendations.
• Conduct cost and price analyses; evaluate pricing structures, escalation provisions, discounts, total cost of ownership, lifecycle costs, and financial risk; and prepare written analyses supporting procurement and award decisions.
• Draft, review, negotiate, and administer contracts, amendments, renewals, change orders, purchase agreements, service agreements, maintenance agreements, licensing agreements, and related procurement documents.
• Negotiate complex contract provisions with vendors, including pricing, scope, performance standards, service levels, warranties, indemnification, insurance, data security, confidentiality, intellectual property, audit rights, and other risk‑allocation terms, in coordination with appropriate City staff.
• Provide professional guidance to City departments regarding procurement methods, contracting requirements, competitive solicitation processes, public procurement principles, and contract administration responsibilities.
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