What are the responsibilities and job description for the Contract Administrator - Supply Chain position at Houston Methodist?
At Houston Methodist, the Contract Administrator position is responsible for supporting the Strategic Sourcing Category Manager in the development and execution of contracts, ensuring entire contract lifecycle for a designated category or categories. This position will initiate activities including competitive bidding, market analysis, and benchmarking and ensure adherence to organizational standards of integrity and regulatory compliance, monitoring industry trends and emerging vendors to inform sourcing strategies. The Contract Administrator position will develop and implement methodologies for tracking and reporting cost savings and work closely with sourcing, legal, compliance, and clinical teams to support strategic procurement initiatives and maintain consistent contract management practices.
EDUCATION
EXPERIENCE
LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Preferred
FLSA STATUS
Exempt
QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION
EXPERIENCE
LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Preferred
KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
QUALIFICATIONSExempt
QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION
- Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, Business or related field
EXPERIENCE
- Five years of experience in contracting, preferably in a health care setting
LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Preferred
- CPCM - Certified Professional Contract Manager (NCMA)
KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES
- Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through ongoing skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
- Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
- Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
- Experience writing and generating RFPs and RFQs to suppliers
- Proven ability working with complex legal documents
- Ability to communicate effectively and professionally to engage clinical and non-clinical staff, vendors, and distributors
- Ability to manage large volumes of contracts in different stages of completion and with competing priorities
- Ability to conduct due diligence of contract details before recommendation to sign, such as assessment of clinical needs, financial impact, and terms and conditions
- Subject matter expert of category is desirable
- Demonstrated competency in Microsoft Office products
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
- Engages stakeholders in negotiation decisions involving legal or regulatory requirements, contract standards, and cost targets.
- Cultivates and maintains strong, collaborative relationships with colleagues in Supply Chain, user departments, suppliers and service providers to support effective communication, performance, and partnership.
- Contributes towards improvement of department scores for employee engagement, i.e. peer-to-peer accountability.
SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
- Communicates with stakeholders to understand their needs, while actively seeking feedback and encouraging their participation in sourcing and decision-making processes.
- Resolves issues, enhance communication, and provide information related to contracting process and post-contract issues.
QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
- Ensures final contract documents accurately reflect the terms and conditions agreed upon during negotiations. Ensures all contracts are accurately executed, recorded in the contract database, and actively maintained, while monitoring compliance with contract terms.
- Coordinates timely renewal or termination of contracts to maintain uninterrupted service and compliance.
- Partners with legal and compliance teams to ensure all contracts meet regulatory and policy standards, including HIPAA, Stark, and Anti-Kickback regulations, which may require participation in AI and Data Governance Committees.
FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
- Utilizes resources with cost effectiveness and value creation in mind. Self-motivated to independently manage time effectively and prioritize daily tasks, assisting coworkers as needed.
- Leads negotiations of contract pricing, terms, and conditions, and ensure sustained price compliance throughout the contract lifecycle. Partners with internal supply chain teams to proactively resolve pricing discrepancies and conflicts, and collaborate with suppliers to establish, monitor, and execute timelines for price activation and implementation.
- Analyzes spend data and market trends to identify cost-saving opportunities and standardization initiatives. Meets or exceeds annual cost-saving goals.
- Strategically evaluates and prioritizes the contract portfolio to optimize value, strengthens contract benefits, and delivers savings aligned with annual financial objectives.
- Strategically evaluates GPO contracts and programs to inform sourcing decisions and advances cost-effective, value-driven contracting strategies.
GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
- Provides strategic market insight by tracking industry trends, market conditions, and emerging technologies, leveraging research to identify supplier opportunities, assess competitive pricing, and advance innovative solutions that enhance service delivery.
- Seeks opportunities to identify self-development needs and takes appropriate action. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates the My Development Plan on an ongoing basis.
SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
- WORK ATTIRE
- Uniform: No
- Scrubs: No
- Business professional: Yes
- Other (department approved): No
- On Call* No
- May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area Yes
- May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area Yes
ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.
TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**
EDUCATION
- Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, Business or related field
EXPERIENCE
- Five years of experience in contracting, preferably in a health care setting
LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Preferred
- CPCM - Certified Professional Contract Manager (NCMA)