Contracts Manager

Location: New York City
Department: Contracts
Reports to: Director of Contracts, Children and Gift

About the role

The Contracts Manager independently negotiates, drafts, and manages a wide variety of author publishing agreements of varying complexity across various HBG imprints, serving as a strategic business partner to editors, publishers, and senior leadership. The individual will report into and work closely with the Contract Director for the children’s and adult gift product area of HBG, and will be expected to exercise a substantial level of autonomy in terms of drafting and negotiating and to participate in decision-making around process questions and boilerplate terms. The individual will work alongside and manage junior staff providing mentoring and oversight.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate and draft author agreements, licenses, amendments, work for hires and co-edition agreements – as well as other publishing agreements as they arise.
• Manage complex/high-value deals independently while balancing business objectives and legal risk.
• Advise business leaders on deal structure and negotiation strategy.
• Identify, assess, and escalate legal/business risks with solution-oriented recommendations.
• Ensure agreements comply with corporate standards and guardrails.
• Manage and mentor junior contracts staff.
• Track deal timelines and drive negotiations to execution.
• Partner cross-functionally with Legal, Sub Rights, Finance, Production, and Operations.
• Support department process improvement initiatives.
• Other duties as may reasonably be assigned.

Requirements

• 5+ years contract negotiation experience in publishing, media, entertainment, or licensing.
• Deep understanding of royalties, advances, grant of rights, delivery and acceptance, subsidiary rights, options, reversions, and indemnities and all pertinent publishing terms.
• Proven ability to negotiate complex agreements independently with flexibility and an orientation toward solutions.
• Excellent communication and analytical skills.

Skills

• Superior drafting and negotiation skills
• Strategic thinker with business judgment
• Highly organized and deadline-driven
• Professional and confident communicator
• Collaborative team player
• Direct experience negotiating with agents
• Expertise in Word, PowerPoint, Excel and other standard computer programs (experience with a title management system is a plus)
• Self-starter with excellent time-management skills

Schedule

This role is based in our New York office. Employees are expected to work on-site three days per week in accordance with our hybrid work model. Candidates must be able to reliably commute to the office. There may be times that you will be required (or requested) to work overtime due to the nature of your role or exceptional workload issues or special projects.

Pay

The compensation for this position is $55,500. Salary can vary based on a number of factors including skills, experience, and location.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision
• Basic and supplemental life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability
• Accidental death and dismemberment
• Critical illness
• Hospital indemnity
• Long-term care
• Health and dependent care FSA
• Commuter benefit plan
• Employee assistance program
• Tuition reimbursement
• Travel assistance
• 401(k)
• Discretionary bonus program
• PTO (15 vacation days, 3 personal days, 10 holidays and generous sick leave)
• Group discounts on auto and home insurance and legal services

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification, hours worked and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms.