<p>Manager, Prime Contracts (Sell-Side)</p><p><strong>Locations:</strong> Lorton, VA or Franklin, MA</p><p><strong>Salary Range:</strong> $125,000–$160,000 annually</p><p><strong>Travel:</strong> Highly qualified candidates outside these locations may be considered if willing to travel regularly.</p><p><strong>Job Type: </strong>Direct Hire, Hybrid ( 2 days in office)</p><p><br></p><p>Position Summary</p><p>The Manager, Prime Contracts leads a team of three to five contract professionals responsible for administering U.S. Government prime contracts and major prime subcontracts from the seller’s perspective. This position serves as the primary contractual interface with Government contracting officers and prime customer contracts organizations supporting hardware development and production programs.</p><p>Reporting to the Director of Contracts, the Manager provides leadership throughout the full contract lifecycle, directly manages a select portfolio of contracts, and serves as the team’s primary escalation point. This role ensures regulatory compliance, promotes consistent contracting practices, and strengthens communication across programs transitioning from development into low-rate initial production and full-rate production.</p><p><br></p><p>Key Responsibilities</p><p>Leadership and Team Management</p><ul><li>Lead, mentor, and develop a team of contract administrators supporting hardware development and production programs.</li><li>Review and approve team work products to ensure accuracy, consistency, and regulatory compliance.</li><li>Serve as the first-line escalation point for contractual disputes, customer concerns, delivery issues, and other complex challenges.</li><li>Keep the Director of Contracts informed of significant risks, issues, customer concerns, and program developments.</li><li>Establish clear expectations and promote accountability, collaboration, and professional growth within the team.</li></ul><p>Business Partnership and Contract Strategy</p><ul><li>Partner with Program Management, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance, and other stakeholders to support hardware development and production activities.</li><li>Provide early assessments of contractual risk and support capture activities, proposal strategies, and gate reviews.</li><li>Develop and recommend contract strategies that balance cost, schedule, technical performance, compliance, and production requirements.</li><li>Advise program leadership on contractual obligations, customer expectations, and potential business impacts.</li></ul><p>Contract Acquisition and Negotiation</p><ul><li>Oversee solicitation reviews, RFP analyses, and compliance assessments for development and production programs.</li><li>Review and approve proposal inputs, cost-volume support, representations and certifications, and other contractual submissions.</li><li>Lead or oversee negotiations involving complex hardware, production, and delivery-driven contracts.</li><li>Ensure award documents are thoroughly reviewed and that contractual obligations, risks, and deliverables are clearly communicated to program teams.</li><li>Identify and resolve discrepancies between proposals, negotiated positions, and final contract awards.</li></ul><p>Contract Administration</p><ul><li>Oversee contract setup, transition, and administration throughout the development and production lifecycle.</li><li>Ensure accurate interpretation and execution of contractual requirements, including delivery, inspection, acceptance, configuration, and reporting obligations.</li><li>Monitor contract performance, funding, deliverables, modifications, and formal customer communications.</li><li>Lead or support the resolution of complex issues involving schedule changes, production changes, inspection, acceptance, and customer-directed modifications.</li><li>Oversee customer-directed change definitization and requests for equitable adjustment.</li><li>Ensure compliance with DD Form 250 inspection and acceptance requirements, Contract Data Requirements Lists (CDRLs), and funding limitation requirements.</li><li>Ensure contracts are closed out accurately, efficiently, and in compliance with applicable requirements.</li></ul><p>Compliance and Governance</p><ul><li>Ensure compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), applicable agency supplements, and company policies.</li><li>Monitor regulatory developments and support updates to internal procedures, controls, and training.</li><li>Oversee Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) reviews.</li><li>Support DCAA, DCMA, customer, and internal audits.</li><li>Promote consistent contracting practices, documentation standards, and risk-management processes across the team.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Required Qualifications</p><ul><li>Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Legal Studies, Contracts Management, or a related field.</li><li>Eight or more years of experience administering <strong>U.S. Government prime contracts and/or major prime subcontracts from the seller’s perspective</strong>.</li><li>Eight or more years of experience administering <strong>U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) prime contracts and/or major prime subcontracts from the seller’s perspective</strong>. Candidates must have direct DoD contracting experience, including working with Government contracting officers or defense prime customer contracts representatives.</li><li>Direct experience negotiating with Government contracting officers or prime customer contracts representatives.</li><li>Demonstrated experience managing <strong>customer-directed change definitization</strong> and <strong>requests for equitable adjustment</strong>.</li><li>Hands-on experience with DD Form 250 inspection and acceptance, CDRL compliance, contract funding limitations—including FAR 52.232-22 and Limitation of Cost requirements—and contract closeout.</li><li>Experience supporting a <strong>hardware production program of record</strong>, including delivery, inspection, acceptance, and configuration-management obligations.</li><li>Experience leading, supervising, or mentoring contract professionals.</li><li>Strong knowledge of FAR, DFARS, and multiple contract types, including firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, and time-and-materials contracts.</li><li>Demonstrated negotiation skills and the ability to identify, communicate, and mitigate contractual risk.</li><li>Excellent written and verbal communication, organization, judgment, and decision-making skills.</li><li>Proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel.</li><li>Must be a <strong>U.S. Person</strong> as defined under ITAR and EAR regulations.</li><li>Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance. An active clearance is not required at the time of application.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Preferred Qualifications</p><ul><li>Master’s degree in a relevant discipline.</li><li>NCMA certification, such as CPCM, CFCM, or CCCM.</li><li>Experience supporting programs transitioning from development into low-rate initial production and full-rate production.</li><li>Experience improving contract-management processes or implementing contract tools and systems.</li><li>Experience using Costpoint and ServiceNow.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Leadership Competencies</p><ul><li>Sound judgment and effective escalation management</li><li>Talent development and team leadership</li><li>Clear and proactive communication</li><li>Strategic and analytical thinking</li><li>Cross-functional collaboration</li><li>Operational discipline and accountability</li><li>Customer-focused negotiation and problem-solving</li></ul><p><br></p>