Contract Manager

As a leader in advancing New York's energy transition, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has remained a credible, objective and trusted partner in our State's energy planning as well as deploying new and innovative technologies to expand New York's economy. NYSERDA has worked for the past 50 years to protect the environment and help New Yorkers increase energy efficiency, lower energy costs and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. NYSERDA engages with stakeholders including residents, business owners, developers, community leaders, local government officials, universities, utilities, investors, entrepreneurs, and more, to develop, invest, and foster conditions that:

• Attract the private sector capital investment needed to expand New York's clean energy economy.
• Overcome barriers to using clean energy at a large-scale in New York.
• Enable New York's communities and residents to benefit equitably in the clean energy transition.

Job Overview

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is seeking 2 Contract Managers who will support the full range of contracting and procurement administrative activities in NYSERDA's high volume government contracting environment.

This Contract Manager will support solicitation development and launch, proposal evaluation and award, scope of work development, contract negotiation and execution, contract modification development and execution, task work order development and execution. This individual will play a critical support role in making NYSERDA more effective to our customers, partners, and colleagues, while adhering to NYSERDA's Procurement Policies and Practices. Further, the support provided will position the assigned program teams to perform their work seamlessly, timely and effectively while appropriately minimizing the risk NYSERDA undertakes in its contracting.

NYSERDA is at a transition point, with new funding, programs, and systems. To better position NYSERDA for the future, we are investing in a multi-year Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform implementation that will transform our core business processes. The Contract Management Team will play a key role in the underlying process and workflow redesign, new system testing, associated process training and documentation of the new ERP.

Primary Responsibilities

• Manage the full range of contracting and procurement administrative activities including solicitation development and launch, scope of work development, contract negotiation, contract package organization, and administration of contract files, development, and execution of contract modifications and task work orders, tracking, reporting and analysis of contract actions, and contract closeout.
• Drive and foster a customer-service orientation to contracting - positioning assigned program staff for timely and effective contracting of the programs, goods and services that are critical to executing NYSERDA's strategy.
• Educate and advise the assigned teams in all contracting matters and execute all related contract actions.
• Identify and deploy improvements to the contracting process that enable assigned teams to contract for new programs, manage risk, simplify customer, and partner interfaces, reduce cycle times, better support internal workflow, enable programmatic flexibility, support robust reporting, and reduce cost.
• Collaborate with legal counsel to evaluate contract requirements, special provisions and other terms and conditions to ensure compliance with appropriate laws, regulations and organizational policies and procedures.
• Effectively manage risk, perform risk analysis for all contractual documents and recommend mitigating options.
• Partner with, train, and support colleagues throughout the Authority to enable their success in adhering to contract regulations and managing the Authority's risk.
• Seek opportunities to foster transparency in the Authority's contracting processes, ensuring a shared sense of accountability for success in the Authority's contracting.
• Provide advice and assistance to the assigned teams relating to contract policy and practice in team meetings, scoring committees and debriefs.
• Understand the full suite of NYSERDA contracting and provide back up to other Contract Managers as required.
• Perform all job responsibilities with respect, fairness, consistency, and inclusion.
• Perform other responsibilities as required.

Minimum Qualifications

• Required: A bachelor's degree plus 3 years of progressively responsible experience in contracting, procurement, or related disciplines, particularly with an energy project developer, engineering firm, construction contractor or other NYS Agency or Authority.
• A good technical comprehension of contract language, terms and conditions and ability to apply this knowledge to energy-related contracts.
• Demonstrated problem-solving ability; ability to leverage necessary resources to develop and communicate robust processes.
• Ability to draft contractual instruments such as Solicitations, Agreements and Statements of Work after collaborating with our internal stakeholders to ensure the program objectives are met, reduce risk to NYSERDA and allow operational freedoms where necessary.
• Ability to manage and be responsible for specific contract assignments and develop solutions to teams' business needs.
• Extraordinary diligence and thoroughness.
• A penchant for mastering and understanding details for the purpose of simplifying the landscape for others.
• A strong consensus-builder with an ability to build productive relationships across a diverse organization.
• Skilled in managing multiple, diverse activities simultaneously, delivering on commitments and operating with speed, accuracy, and strong judgment.
• Demonstrated ability and commitment to continuous learning.
• High level of energy and enthusiasm with the ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced setting.
• An ability to drive to big picture goals and solve strategic problems while valuing and maintaining a strong attention to detail.
• An ability to quickly identify and drive to the optimal solution when presented with a series of opportunities and/or constraints.
• Strong presentation and interpersonal skills that resonate with audiences of different backgrounds; the ability to communicate persuasively, concisely, and unambiguously in speech and writing.
• Strong MS Office computer skills including database experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree plus 5 years of progressively responsible experience in contracting, procurement, or related disciplines, particularly with an energy project developer, engineering firm, construction contractor or other NYS Agency or Authority.

Please submit two files, one for your cover letter and another for a resume.

Please note that during the application process, you may be prompted to opt-in to Artificial Intelligence ("AI") scoring. This is an automatic request in the ADP system but is not a feature that is used by NYSERDA in its recruiting and hiring process. Your response will have no impact on your application to NYSERDA.

For further information on our hiring policies, employment opportunities for people with disabilities and EEO please click on this link and scroll down to the Policies section.

Salary

The salary range is $78,333 - $131,298 annually. Candidates will be considered based on qualifications and experience. An excellent benefits package is offered.