Contract Management - Contract Manager

Digital Realty is seeking a Manager Contract Management to support contract management activities across EMEA. The Contract Manager will be responsible for overseeing the end-to-end contract lifecycle across the organization. This role drives operational excellence, ensures compliance with legal and corporate policies, and partners closely with Legal, Sales, Finance, and other key stakeholders to enable efficient deal execution. This position will report to the Contract Management EMEA Leader and will be part of the global Contract Management team within the Legal, Risk, Sustainability and Compliance department.

Contract Lifecycle Management

• Oversee the review, and execution of agreements, including but not limited to MSAs, Service Orders, and amendments.
• Ensure contracts are aligned with company policies, risk tolerance, and legal requirements.
• Act as an escalation point for complex or high-risk contractual issues.
• Ensure accuracy and completeness of contract documentation and records.
• Identify contractual risks and propose mitigation strategies.
• Support internal and external audits related to contract processes.
• Maintain confidentiality and safeguard sensitive information.
• Support the broader business by providing assistance with consistent template generation, and/or transactional contract drafting (i.e., pre-approved special terms in Service Orders, preparation and review of routine commercial agreements, amendments).
• Support the novations process to ensure accurate contractual documentation and system updates (as applicable).
• Knowledge management of the contract landscape, acting as the first point of contact for any CLM/contract-related questions, including those regarding contract hierarchy, contract template selection, validating data in the system, and managing data access.
• Drive accountability, workload prioritization, and service delivery standards across the team.
• Foster a collaborative, high-performing team culture focused on efficiency, quality, and continuous improvement.
• Participate in hiring, onboarding, and training of new team members.

Process Optimization & Governance

• Establish, implement, and continuously improve contract management processes, workflows, and controls.
• Ensure adherence to internal policies, compliance requirements, and audit standards.
• Identify and remove process bottlenecks to optimize turnaround times.
• Identify pain points and suggest areas to optimize the process.
• Continuously seek ways to improve contract data management processes through innovation and adoption of best practices and automation.
• Generate dashboards/reports based on contract data to support informed decision-making across the organization, including reporting and tracking of contractual obligations.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Sales, Finance, and Operations to support deal structuring and execution timelines.
• Provide guidance to stakeholders on contract terms, interpretation, and best practices.
• Act as a key liaison between business and legal functions.

Strategic Initiatives & Systems

• Support optimization of Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) systems.
• Champion the use of systems as the single source of truth for contracts and workflows.
• Utilize data and reporting to drive insights, improve performance, and support leadership decision-making.
• Contribute to strategic initiatives such as process transformation, automation, and scalability.
• Support initiatives for CLM data enhancement through AI tooling.

Your Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies, or a related field.
• 3+ years of experience in contract management or legal operations.
• Strong knowledge of contract law principles and commercial agreements.
• Proven experience managing high-volume, deadline-driven environments.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Proficiency with CLM platforms (preferably Conga).

Preferred

• Experience working closely with in-house Legal teams.
• Experience with contract negotiation.
• Experience in the data center industry.
• Experience in a global or multi-regional organization.
• Advanced degree (e.g., JD, MBA) is a plus.
• Experience with a Big Four firm is considered an advantage.