Contract Administrator

Overview

Microsoft Cloud Operations and Innovation (CO+I) is the team behind the cloud.  We are responsible for delivering over 200 Microsoft web portals, Live and Online Services around the world including infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering trusted experience to customers and partners worldwide. We are looking for a passionate, high-energy individual to help build the network that powers the world's largest online services.

Within CO+I, the Global Supply Chain team is responsible for establishing a supply chain that can meet the ever-growing growth of the Cloud and our customers. We support a portfolio of complex, multi-disciplinary, multi-billion, multi-year datacenter construction and lease projects. Furthermore, we support the Operations team that manages and runs the cloud assets. We are seeking a Contract Administrator for our Global Contracts Management team responsible for contract administration activities across a program of build projects in San Antonio, TX.

Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day

Responsibilities

As a Contract Administrator, you will play a critical role in ensuring the successful execution of contracts related to construction projects. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, legal experts, and external stakeholders to manage contractual agreements, mitigate risks, and drive compliance at the job site. Your attention to detail, negotiation skills, and ability to navigate complex contractual landscapes across the lifecycle of the project will be essential for this role.

Procurement and Contracts

Contract Administration and Sourcing:

• Perform sourcing activities for various professional services, such as General Contractors Commissioning Agents, Project Management, and others.
• Develop sourcing and negotiation strategies to meet project objectives, in relation to the various contracts.
• Participate in supplier assessment and prepare contract award proposals.

Contract Review and Compliance:

• Responsible for ensuring all contractual requirements are met according to the terms and conditions.
• Executes procurement contracting strategies for large, complex data center construction projects and/or purchasing opportunities to achieve optimal cost and continuity of supply and services.
• Serve as first line of defense/communication with site stakeholders on commercial issues.
• Execute project closeout requirements.

Change Order Management:

• Assist Change Order negotiations with input from key stakeholders and detailed understanding of contractual conditions.
• Perform Change Order management for General Contractors, Architect Engineers, Commissioning Agents, Cost Management, Project Management, and others.
• Monitor and mitigate the impact of change orders and claims to the project, and partners cross-functionally to resolve/escalate accordingly.

Execution Coordination & Communication:

• Assume all post-award contract execution responsibilities.
• Own commercial decision making on all post-award activities through influencing project stakeholders.
• Identify potential challenges related to the project/contract and develop strategies to mitigate the risk and maintain compliance.
• Provide regular status reports on issues, risks and mitigations to leadership.
• Prepare contractual notices as appropriate using language from terms & conditions.
• Address and resolve any payment disputes submitted by suppliers.
• Help facilitate and engage as needed in negotiations with contractors and other parties to resolve disputes with regular updates to the client team.
• Collaborate with project stakeholders to review the GC's subcontractor procurement deliverables and final recommendation of subcontractor award for each trade package.
• Create and drive management reports and metrics of project for management awareness and action

Stakeholder Collaboration:

• Drives business engagement and partnership with cross-functional teams including Planning, Strategic Sourcing, Cost Management, Engineering, Quality, Construction and Project Managers.
• Drives commercial compliance and problem resolution with General Contractors, Subcontractors and Suppliers.
• Actively partners with suppliers to identify and drive continuous improvement and risk management opportunities by evaluating procedural, operational, and/or environmental factors, analyzing root causes of issues, sharing insights with key stakeholders, and influencing the adoption of needed improvements.
• Plan and manage the executive sponsor meeting with key stakeholders for the successful execution of the project.

Compliance:

• Applies an end-to-end understanding of the tradeoffs between Microsoft and key suppliers to drive business impact by influencing senior managers cross-functionally, or cross-regionally to apply market intelligence and adopt practices that enable execution with consistency, accuracy, quality, and timeliness of delivery. Manages supplier scorecard process, leads strategic business reviews, educates stakeholders on policy compliance, analyzes root causes of issues, and influences change internally and/or externally to address issues.
• Ensures adherence to policy, educates stakeholders and suppliers on policy compliance, and manages the remediation and resolution of sourcing issues. Identifies opportunities to adapt policy as needed to mitigate risk and better enable suppliers to meet business requirements.
• Ensures consistency, timeliness, quality, and accuracy of deliverables, and ensures Procurement stakeholders are aware of Service Level Agreement (SLA) and/or defined milestones and deliverables terms. Communicates delay to Procurement stakeholders and independently proposes and executes contingency measures.

Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Supply Chain, Data and Business Analytics, Finance or related field and 3+ years experience (including internships) in Construction, Data Science/Analytics, Finance, Project Management, Supply Chain, and/or Operations
• OR equivalent experience.
• Understanding of the construction industry and contract language associated engineering, procurement, fabrication, and construction/construction management (EPFC/CM)
• Proven experience managing various contract types; Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP), Stipulated Sum, Unit Rate Contracts, T&M, Incentive Fees, etc.
• At Microsoft, you will be working in an integrated fashion with colleagues around the world. To facilitate this collaboration, proficiency in verbal and written communication in English.

Other Requirements:

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:

• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check every two years thereafter.

While not required, we also look for the following Preferred Qualifications:

• Masters Degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Data and Business Analytics, Business, Finance or related field AND 2+ years experience in Construction Management, Data Science/Analytics, Finance, Project Management, Supply Chain, and/or Operations

OR equivalent experience.

• Hyperscale data center or large building construction experience in an owner or general contractor capacity.
• Experience developing negotiating contract terms and conditions specifically for contracts related to services, construction, engineering and materials.
• Proficient in construction management and enterprise systems, including Procore, PMWeb, Primavera P6, MS Project, Microsoft Power Platform (Power BI, Power Apps), Microsoft Dynamics, and Ariba.
• Understanding of entire life cycle of contracting principles and legal terms and conditions

Background Check Requirements:

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:

• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

#COICareers | #EPCCareers | #DCDCareers

Sourcing and Category Management IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $97,600 - $188,400 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $125,000 - $206,400 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:

https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.