IT Contract Manager

CONTEXT

Our client, a major player in its sector, is entering a critical phase of its technology sourcing cycle. A complex portfolio of software licenses, implementation services, managed services and specialist IT advice must be renewed, consolidated and governed under demanding public-sector procurement rules. The organisation needs a senior contract manager who can translate legal precision into commercial momentum, align internal stakeholders around risk-balanced positions and keep supplier relationships constructive even when negotiations become difficult. This is a twelve-month on-site mission in Brussels, embedded in a procurement and legal ecosystem where every clause has operational, financial and compliance consequences.

ACTIVITIES

• Lead end-to-end contract management for IT software and services procurement, from sourcing strategy and tender documentation to negotiation, signature, renewal and exit planning.
• Provide pragmatic legal advisory support on contractual risks, liability, intellectual property, data protection, service levels, change control and public-sector compliance.
• Partner with sourcing, legal, security, finance and business owners to challenge requirements, evaluate suppliers and maintain a clear negotiation mandate.
• Draft, review and negotiate complex contract packages, ensuring that commercial terms reflect operational realities and protect the organisation's long-term interests.
• Maintain contract governance routines, supplier performance reviews, obligation registers, risk logs and escalation paths so that commitments do not disappear after signature.

EXPECTED ACHIEVEMENTS

• Deliver a portfolio of IT contracts that is compliant, commercially balanced and usable by operational teams rather than merely signed and filed.
• Reduce contractual ambiguity and supplier disputes by establishing clear service levels, change mechanisms, exit rights and governance cadence.
• Accelerate procurement cycles without lowering the quality of legal review or weakening public-sector compliance.
• Build a trusted advisory relationship with internal stakeholders so that contract management is seen as an enabler of delivery, not a late-stage bottleneck.

ENVIRONMENT

• Public-sector IT procurement frameworks, tender processes, contract lifecycle management and supplier governance routines.
• Legal and commercial advisory workstreams covering software licensing, IT services, managed services, data protection and intellectual property.
• Stakeholder landscape spanning legal, sourcing, finance, security, architecture and business operations.
• Documentation, negotiation and risk-management tools used to maintain version control, decision trails and audit-ready records.