Manager Strategic Contracting

Protecting our tomorrow

Protecting Our Tomorrow

At Bavarian Nordic, we aspire to save and improve lives by developing innovative vaccines that are designed to unlock the power of the immune system. We are a global leader in smallpox/mpox vaccines, and our commercial product portfolio contains market-leading vaccines against rabies, tick-borne encephalitis, typhoid fever, and cholera. We excel in R&D innovation, manufacturing, and commercialization. We aim to improve health and quality of life for children and adults around the world - protecting our tomorrow. We hope that you will share this mission with us.

Manager, Strategic Contracting

This is a highly visible, hands-on role. The Contracting Manager will be expected to independently manage strategic contracting decisions and the operational execution of contracts through manual tools (e.g., Microsoft Word, SharePoint), without administrative support.

The Manager, Pharmaceutical Contracting, will be responsible for developing and managing commercial and select government contract structures that translate strategic objectives and pricing guidance into actionable and compliant agreements. This individual will serve as a critical link between business strategy and execution, ensuring timely, accurate, and strategic contracting that aligns with business needs and regulatory requirements. The role requires a proactive self-starter with strong business acumen, capable of navigating complex contracting environments and influencing stakeholders across the organization.

Your Responsibilities

• Contract Development & Execution

• Draft, negotiate, review, and route commercial and select government contracts in partnership with Legal, Compliance, and Pricing leadership

• Translate pricing strategy, customer segmentation, and business goals into executable contract language

• Proactively track contract expirations and evergreen provisions to ensure timely preparation of renewals, amendments, or terminations before automatic extensions occur

• Strategic Contracting & Business Judgement

• Design contract terms that align with pricing strategy, customer dynamics, and downstream operational feasibility

• Apply sound business judgment to access trade-offs, financial impact, and strategic fit for proposed contract scenarios

• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as a trusted contract advisor to cross-functional stakeholders, ensuring business needs are met while maintaining policy and operational alignment

• Lead internal discussions around contract strategy, educate stakeholders on risk or exposure, and facilitate alignment on preferred approaches, particularly where trade-offs exist

• Escalate issues appropriately and with recommended solutions, enabling informed decision-making

• Risk Management, Governance & Compliance

• Monitor performance of active agreements; initiate contract amendments or escalations based on business or compliance triggers

• Ensure accurate transition of executed agreements to the contract administration team and support downstream implementation

• Maintain complete documentation of contracting activity and support audit-readiness of contract processes and decisions

• Maintain awareness of pricing policies, legal guidance, and regulatory requirements (e.g., price protection, bundling, channel-specific restrictions) to ensure compliance

• Contract Process Optimization

• Identify opportunities to improve the contracting process, documentation standards, and decision timelines

• Collaborate with stakeholders to strengthen planning around contract lead times and minimize last-minute negotiations that jeopardize business continuity

• Governance & Compliance

• Maintain documentation and support audit-readiness of contract processes and decisions

• Ensure contracts comply with internal policies, government regulations, and applicable industry codes

• Evaluate risk related to evergreen clauses, performance requirements, and commercial obligations

Skills & Requirements:

• Strategic Contracting Judgement

• Designs contract structures aligned with pricing strategy, operational feasibility, and customer dynamics

• Anticipates downstream implications of contract terms (e.g., impact on government pricing, chargebacks)

• Applies relevant policy and regulatory guidance (e.g., price protection, discount stacking, bundling) without overstepping into legal interpretation

• Seeks clarification or escalation when contract proposals deviate from policy or precedent

• Proactive Contract Lifecycle Management

• Independently tracks contract milestones, such as renewals, amendments, escalations, and evergreen triggers, and initiates work well in advance (typically ≥90-120 days)

• Builds and maintains tracking tools or processes that ensure visibility and timeliness across stakeholders

• Ensures accurate transition of executed contracts to administrative teams and monitors downstream execution

• Business Acumen & Financial Awareness

• Connects contract terms to their financial impact, including implications for gross-to-net margin, contributes to business case development and supports assumptions for financial modeling

• Understands pricing structures across direct and indirect customers and evaluates how contract terms affect profitability, operations, and strategy

• Raises red flags if terms could introduce pricing misalignment, data integrity risks, leakage, or compliance risk

• Collaboration & Stakeholder Communication

• Leads productive contract discussions across cross-functional teams, articulating risks, options, and recommendations in business terms

• Build trust by providing context and logic for contract decisions, not just executing requests

• Drives alignment without authority by engaging early, anticipating objections, and advocating directionally correct outcomes

• Partners effectively with Legal & Compliance to incorporate feedback while preserving strategic intent

• Execution & Accountability

• Manages multiple contract requests and timelines simultaneously, prioritizing based on risk, deadlines, and business urgency to ensure high-value work is completed on time

• Maintains well-organized, accurate contract files and drafts in Microsoft Word and SharePoint to enable downstream operational implementation, facilitate manual processes, and ensure audit readiness in a low-automation environment

• Owns the completeness and accuracy of work, including contract drafts, trackers, and escalations

• Maintains visibility into contract timelines, lead times, and dependencies; escalates risk to execution early

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required. Advanced degree (e.g., MBA or related field) is a plus. Practical experience in commercial or pharmaceutical contracting is highly preferred.
• Minimum 5+ years of pharmaceutical or biotech experience in pricing, contracting, market access, or commercial operations.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple contract priorities and deadlines in a cross-functional environment.
• Experience managing end-to-end contract lifecycle, including renewals, amendments, and operational implementation.
• Familiarity with government pricing implications and experience with vaccines, specialty products, or high-complexity therapeutic areas preferred.
• Familiarity with how contract lifecycle management tolls (e.g., Model N, iContracts) support downstream operations (e.g., chargeback and rebate processing, compliance, implementation).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience managing the full contract lifecycle, including renewals, amendments, escalations, and implementation processes.
• Exposure to contract strategy in complex market segments such as vaccines, specialty products, or buy-and-bill models.
• Experience contributing to or supporting business case development and financial modeling of contract terms.
• Experience leading or participating in cross-functional contracting discussions.

We offer

A chance to work in an international company with unique technology and a dedicated workforce. We welcome people who share our passion with a willingness to make a difference. We offer a dynamic and flexible work environment and an opportunity to develop both your personal and academic competencies. We offer a comprehensive benefits plan and a competitive compensation package.

Salary Range - $105k - $165k

Location: US Remote

Caught your interest?

If you are interested in the position, we look forward to receiving your application via our recruitment system. Just click the Apply Button and you will be redirected to our application form.

Founded in 1994, we have +30 years of experience developing life-saving vaccines. We are a global leader in smallpox and mpox vaccines. Our commercial product portfolio contains market-leading vaccines against rabies, tick-borne encephalitis, cholera, typhoid, and Ebola. We are headquartered in Denmark and have manufacturing, research, and sales offices across Europe and North America. Our values - our Bavarian Nordic DNA, as we like to call it - are what guide our actions every day. We act as persistent pioneers, embrace change, value being boosted by the team, and believe in protecting lives every day. If that is also a part of your DNA, we invite you to join us in Bavarian Nordic! Bavarian Nordic is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applications will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.

www.bavarian-nordic.com

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