Director, Contract Management - Trade

About the role

Managed Health Care Associates, Inc. (MHA) provides care communities access, solutions, and insights to help them run their businesses more effectively. Our members include post-acute providers across the care continuum, including long-term care, home infusion, specialty pharmacies, senior living, and other group living facilities. Our team of associates is passionate about our common mission of helping people age with grace and championing our core values of being Curious Learners, Selfless Advocates, and Relentless Finishers.

The Director, Contract Management serves as a strategic leader responsible for manufacturer contracting, commercial negotiations, and business partner relationships across assigned Pharmaceutical portfolios. The role develops and executes contracting strategies that optimize portfolio performance, strengthen manufacturer partnerships, and deliver measurable value to MHA members. Through advanced financial analysis, rebate evaluation, and contract performance analytics, the Director structures and negotiates agreements that achieve favorable economic outcomes while mitigating financial and operational risk. The Director leads the end-to-end contract lifecycle, identifies innovative contract frameworks beyond traditional pricing approaches, and collaborates across Finance, Sales, Operations, Clinical, and Legal teams to ensure successful execution. This role also champions operational excellence through automation, AI-enabled technologies, and continuous process improvement to enhance scalability, efficiency, and decision quality.

Responsibilities

Contracting Strategy & Planning

• Contracting Strategy – Execute portfolio contracting strategies that drive growth, performance, and GPO objectives.
• Cross-Functional Partnership – Collaborate with Supply Chain, Clinical, Finance, Sales, and Operations leaders to align contracting solutions with business needs.
• Financial Analysis – Assess contract profitability, financial impact, forecasting, and value realization to support informed decision-making.
• Contract Optimization – Maximize contract value through strategic sourcing, spend analytics, benchmarking, and data-driven negotiations.

Negotiation & Execution

• Manufacturer Relationship Management – Build and maintain productive relationships with pharmaceutical manufacturers and business partners, understanding stakeholder priorities and helping develop mutually beneficial contracting solutions.
• Contract Lifecycle Oversight – Manage strategic negotiations with pharmaceutical manufacturers and trading partners, along with contract drafting, review, and execution, ensuring commercially favorable terms that support business growth, manufacturer partnerships, and organizational objectives while balancing member value, manufacturer objectives, and GPO economics.
• Value-Based Negotiation – Support negotiations by identifying opportunities to create value beyond price, including market access support, operational efficiencies, utilization opportunities, and data-driven performance arrangements.
• Contract Administration – Manage contract creation, redlining, review coordination with Legal, storage, and adherence to best practices within the MHA Trade department, while supporting effective relationship management and execution of manufacturer agreements.
• Project & Process Management – Manage projects and contract routing workflows in coordination with Legal, enhancing efficiency and meeting deadlines for critical manufacturer negotiations, partnership initiatives, and business development opportunities.

Implementation & Ongoing Maintenance

• Contract Implementation – Manage full execution and communication of contracts to ensure visibility and smooth rollout to internal teams and business partners.
• Contract Maintenance – Maintain contract relevance through updates such as product additions, pricing changes, renewals, and extensions, using automated alerts and workflow triggers to reduce missed deadlines and manual tracking.
• Proactive Coordination – Coordinate with Sales, Finance, Operations, and other MHA teams on contract terms and conditions, enhancing communication and reducing risk while ensuring alignment with negotiated financial and operational objectives.
• Stakeholder Engagement – Serve as a key contact for assigned Business Partners, fostering strong relationships and communication alongside Trade Leadership.

Compliance & Quality Assurance

• Lifecycle & Compliance Management – Streamline the contract lifecycle through digital and AI-enabled tools, including assisted clause review, redline comparison, and obligation extraction, while managing supplier relationships and ensuring compliance throughout all contract phases.
• Risk Mitigation – Identify and manage legal, financial, and operational risks by structuring contracts to minimize exposure, resolving contract-related issues in collaboration with Sales and Operations, and protecting the organization's commercial interests in manufacturer relationships through proactive assessment of pricing, rebate, compliance, and performance risks.
• Regulatory Compliance – Ensure adherence to healthcare regulations including HIPAA and the Anti-Kickback Statute, maintaining contract compliance amidst regulatory changes.
• Quality Assurance – Conduct peer reviews on contract amendments for accuracy and compliance with MHA standards, using automated validation checks where available to reduce error rates.

Performance Measurement, Analytics & Reporting

• Pharmaceutical Contracting Expertise – Evaluate contract structures across rebates, discounts, volume commitments, utilization thresholds, and pricing mechanisms to optimize net value, support forecast accuracy, and minimize unintended financial exposure.
• Financial Performance – Ensure contracts are fulfilled by tracking progress, analyzing performance metrics, and resolving disputes effectively.
• Data & Analytics – Interpret complex data to identify trends that could impact contract performance and make data-driven decisions that enhance GPO financial performance. Apply scenario modeling and predictive techniques to anticipate rebate attainment, pricing exposure, and renewal outcomes.
• Reporting & Insight – Build and maintain dashboards and reporting (e.g., Power BI) that consolidate contract, spend, and compliance data into clear, audience-ready insight for Trade Leadership and business partners.
• Business Reviews & Decision Support – Lead or support quarterly business reviews for assigned partners, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and outcomes.

Functional Optimization & Technology

• Functional Optimization – Evaluate existing contracting workflows to eliminate redundancy, standardize processes, and improve cycle time, accuracy, and scalability. Identify and implement automation opportunities across intake, routing, approval, and reporting.
• Technology Utilization – Leverage contract management software, automation, and analytics tools to reengineer processes, enhance productivity, and improve decision-making; partner with Technology to evaluate and pilot new capabilities.

Team Leadership & Talent Development

• Team Leadership – Lead a team of Contract Managers, fostering collaboration and supporting sourcing, analytics, and engagement efforts.
• Talent Development – Deliver training initiatives for Contract Managers to improve team effectiveness and knowledge retention. Identify training needs, support succession planning, and build team fluency in analytics and AI-enabled contracting tools.
• EVP Support – Assist EVP with monthly Trade Pipeline Leadership prep and work with Trade VP to gather insights on active sales funnel management on new products negotiations. Also assist in Trade Relations special projects for brand