Sr Contracts Manager

Company Overview:

We’re looking for a paralegal or legal operations professional ready to take the next step in their career by building and leading Lightspeed’s customer agreement support and procurement function from the ground up. If you’ve spent years reviewing both customer and vendor contracts, managing vendor relationships, and navigating complex commercial agreements, this role lets you apply that expertise in a strategic, high-impact capacity.

As Senior Manager of Contracts, you’ll design scalable processes, negotiate complex SaaS and IT contracts, and partner across the organization to balance legal risk with business velocity. Working closely with the Director of Financial Operations and Executive Leadership Team, you’ll establish a procurement operation that supports our growth while protecting the company’s interests and provide customer contract guidance and support.

This is an opportunity to own something from day one, defining how we engage vendors, establishing governance frameworks, and building the foundation for enterprise-scale procurement.

What You'll Do:

Contract Review & Analysis

• When necessary with Sales, review, redline, and assist in negotiation of customer-facing contracts including MSAs, SaaS subscription agreements, SOWs, and addenda
• Identify legal and commercial risks, escalating non-standard terms to Legal and Finance stakeholders
• Ensure contract terms align with approved pricing, product capabilities, and company policies
• Maintain a consistent review turnaround SLA to support deal velocity

Contract Improvement & Standardization

• Identify patterns in contract exceptions and propose updates to standard templates to reduce friction
• Build and maintain a contract playbook with pre-approved fallback positions for common redlines
• Partner with Sales and Rev. Ops (and potentially outsourced legal) to update template language as products, pricing, and regulations evolve
• Track and report on contract cycle time, exception rates, and approval bottlenecks

Revenue Operations Partnership

• Work closely with Rev Ops to ensure CRM data (Salesforce/HubSpot) reflects accurate contract terms, start dates, ARR, and renewal schedules
• Support contract-to-close process improvements within the deal desk workflow
• Provide data and insights for revenue recognition alignment and ARR bookings accuracy
• Assist in building and maintaining contract repositories and document management systems (e.g., DocuSign CLM, Ironclad)

Sales Partnership & Enablement

• Serve as the first point of contact for the Sales team on contract questions, redlines, and approval requests
• Train Sales reps on standard contract terms, negotiation guardrails, and escalation paths
• Participate in deal review meetings to provide contract guidance on complex or strategic accounts
• Provide timely feedback on customer-submitted paper (customer-preferred contract forms)

 Build the Procurement Function

• Design and implement our procurement function from scratch in partnership with the Director of Financial Operations and Executive Leadership Team
• Create end-to-end processes, governance frameworks, and standard operating procedures for SaaS and IT procurement
• Develop approval workflows and escalation paths that enable speed without compromising risk management
• Establish contract templates, clause libraries, and negotiation playbooks tailored to our business needs

Lead Contract Negotiation & Review

• Own review and negotiation of all SaaS, IT, and technology vendor agreements, leveraging your contract drafting and redlining expertise
• Identify and mitigate legal, security, and compliance risks in vendor contracts, including data privacy, liability, indemnification, and service levels
• Negotiate favorable commercial terms while maintaining productive, long-term vendor relationships
• Manage contract redlines, track positions, and drive agreements through to execution

Manage Vendor Risk & Compliance

• Lead third-party risk management including due diligence, compliance reviews, and security assessments
• Coordinate security questionnaires, SOC 2 reviews, and compliance documentation with Director of Security
• Build vendor scorecards to track performance, compliance, and business value
• Ensure all contractual and compliance requirements are satisfied prior to vendor onboarding
• Ensure compliance with SOX requirements and company policies across procurement activities

Partner Across the Business

• Serve as the go to resource for procurement and contract questions across all departments
• Partner cross-functionally with Accounting, HR, IT, and Sales on vendor setup, payment terms, technology selection, and customer-requested compliance materials
• Communicate clearly and proactively, keeping stakeholders informed on timelines, blockers, and next steps

Drive Cost Optimization & Reporting

• Identify cost savings through strategic sourcing, vendor consolidation, and contract renegotiation
• Implement systems and tools to improve contract visibility, tracking, and reporting
• Deliver insights to leadership on procurement performance, spend trends, and risk exposure
• Develop operational dashboards and KPIs to measure procurement performance

What You'll Have:

Qualifications

• Paralegal certificate or degree, or equivalent legal operations experience; bachelor’s degree
• 8+ years of experience in a paralegal, legal operations, contract management, or procurement role with deep commercial contracting expertise
• Extensive background reviewing, drafting, and negotiating SaaS, IT, and technology vendor contracts
• Demonstrated track record of building or transforming procurement or contract management functions including implementation experience
• Experience working with technology vendors and understanding of technical and security requirements
• Proven success partnering across Finance, Accounting, HR, IT, and Sales teams
• Experience implementing a vendor management and contract management system
• Advanced Excel proficiency and strong financial analysis skills
• Strategic thinker with strong decision-making, critical thinking, and delegation skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication with proven ability to build high-trust relationships across all levels and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with NetSuite, Salesforce, and Ramp for vendor management, procurement workflows, and spend controls
• Proficiency with Slack and Microsoft Office Suite for collaboration and reporting
• Experience in high-growth or fast-paced SaaS / technology companies
• Certified Paralegal (CP) or Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP) designation
• Experience implementing contract lifecycle management (CLM) systems
• Project management certification (PMP, CAPM) or equivalent experience
• Background collaborating with in-house legal teams or outside counsel

What Sets You Apart:

• Process-Driven Mindset: You design efficient, scalable systems and thrive on bringing structure to ambiguity. Prioritization, proactive problem-solving, and a bias for action are second nature.
• Business Partnership: You’re collaborative, trustworthy, and skilled at building strong relationships with operational leaders across an organization.
• Strategic Influence: You translate contractual and financial insights into strategic recommendations that align stakeholders and drive decisions.
• Exceptional Communication You simplify complex legal and contractual concepts into clear, accessible language that anyone can understand.

Inclusion and Diversity at Lightspeed:

At Lightspeed, we celebrate the uniqueness of every individual and encourage diverse perspectives. We believe that inclusion drives innovation and fosters meaningful connections. We are committed to building an environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to make an impact.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

Lightspeed is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, religion, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected category.

Important Note:

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S.

Ready to apply?

Take the next step in your career—apply today and join a team where your skills will make an impact!