Commercial Contracts Business Partner

Location: West Didsbury, Manchester
Department: Legal & Contracts
Full-time | Permanent

As our consultancy business continues to grow across the UK, US and international markets, the contracts we negotiate are becoming increasingly complex.

We're looking for an experienced Commercial Contracts Business Partner to join our Legal & Contracts team and take the lead on complex commercial agreements across our consultancy business.
This is not a people management role. Instead, you'll be the commercial contracting specialist within the team, working closely with Sales and senior stakeholders to negotiate agreements, challenge disproportionate terms and ensure we fully understand the commercial, financial and operational risks we're taking on before contracts are signed.
You'll work across client agreements, Statements of Work (SOWs), umbrella, EOR and payroll provider agreements, supporting a growing business working with major clients across multiple international markets and higher-risk sectors.

What you'll be doing

• Leading negotiations on complex client agreements, particularly with larger organisations and where terms create significant commercial or operational risk
• Reviewing and negotiating Statements of Work, ensuring delivery responsibilities, acceptance criteria, liabilities and financial commitments are clearly understood
• Challenging unreasonable or disproportionate clauses relating to liability, indemnities, insurance, payment, security, data, audit rights and ongoing monitoring
• Working with insurance brokers to ensure appropriate coverage is in place for the services being delivered and liabilities being accepted
• Negotiating agreements with umbrella companies, EORs and payroll providers across different markets
• Reviewing payment terms, billing requirements, deductions, termination provisions and other areas of potential financial exposure
• Partnering with Sales throughout complex negotiations, balancing commercial objectives with appropriate risk protection
• Bringing in Finance, IT Security, Billing, GRC and other internal teams where agreements create requirements that impact their areas
• Supporting commercial disputes relating to client and provider agreements, including payment, additional costs and service obligations
• Identifying client-specific obligations that need to flow down into contractor and provider agreements
• Helping create clear contract packs and guidance for the wider Legal & Contracts team

What we're looking for

You'll need strong commercial contracting experience and the confidence to independently negotiate with sophisticated clients and suppliers.

Ideally, your experience will include:

• Strong experience reviewing and negotiating complex B2B commercial contracts
• Experience with client agreements and Statements of Work
• A strong understanding of contractual risk, including liability, indemnities, insurance and financial exposure
• The confidence to push back and negotiate with large corporate clients
• Experience working cross-functionally with commercial, finance, security, compliance or operational teams
• The ability to understand the practical business implications behind contractual language, rather than reviewing agreements from a purely legal perspective
• Strong stakeholder management and commercial judgement
• Experience within consultancy, professional services, staffing, recruitment or another service-led business would be particularly useful
• Exposure to umbrella, EOR, payroll or contractor arrangements would be advantageous
• International contracting experience would also be beneficial

Why join us?

This is an opportunity to step into a newly created, specialist role where you'll have genuine influence over how we approach commercial contracting as the business continues to grow.

You'll work on complex agreements across multiple markets, partner directly with commercial teams and help build a stronger approach to contractual and commercial risk across the business.

If you're an experienced commercial contracts professional who enjoys negotiating, challenging terms and finding commercially workable solutions, we'd love to hear from you.

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