Contracts Manager

About Us:

Vera Therapeutics (Nasdaq: VERA), is a late-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for serious immunological diseases. Vera’s mission is to advance treatments that target the source of immunologic diseases in order to change the standard of care for patients. Vera’s lead product candidate is atacicept, a fusion protein self-administered as a subcutaneous injection once weekly that blocks both B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) and a proliferation inducing ligand (APRIL), which stimulate B cells and plasma cells to produce autoantibodies contributing to certain autoimmune diseases, including IgA nephropathy (IgAN), also known as Berger’s disease and lupus nephritis. In addition, Vera is evaluating additional diseases where the reduction of autoantibodies by atacicept may prove medically useful. Vera is also developing MAU868, a monoclonal antibody designed to neutralize infection with BK Virus, a polyomavirus that can have devastating consequences in certain settings such as kidney transplant. For more information please visit: www.veratx.com.

Our values are the cornerstone of our culture. Our values inspire us every day and guide everything we do—from how we hire great people, to advancing our mission together, to achieving our ultimate goal to improve medical treatment for patients suffering from immunological diseases.

Position Summary:

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Contracts Manager to join a fast-paced and collaborative team.  In this role, the Contracts Manager will report to the Director of Contracts and Outsourcing and support the contracting needs of Development Operations, as well as other internal client groups and projects, as needed.

Responsibilities: 

Independently draft, negotiate and manage various types of contractual agreements, ranging from low to moderately high complexity:  i.e., clinical trial agreements, confidentiality agreement, consulting agreement, services agreement, research agreement, material transfer agreement, and other agreements, using company templates, playbooks, and guidance documents.

• Work with manager and/or Legal, as needed, on non-routine agreements or high complexity agreements.
• Directly support Development Operations, and act as the single point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, for all clinical trial-related contractual matters for such group. 
• Ensure that agreements comply with all applicable policies and procedures with input from manager, Legal, compliance, or business, as needed.
• Deliver ongoing contract management in a timely and appropriate manner, including changes in scope/amendments and conflict resolution (including developing recommendations for resolution) to reduce operational, financial, or legal risk.
• Ensure appropriate authorization, routing of contracts, distribution and document management 
• Handle all execution and post-execution processing of agreements, including filing of agreements and providing copies to relevant internal and external stakeholders.
• Proactively liaise with functional groups and business stakeholders to determine and define the scope of contract services required, as well as identify and facilitate.
• Assist with the development of policies and procedures, including creating and updating contract templates and standard terms.
• Execute responsibilities with minimal oversight and high competency 

Qualifications:

• BA/BS degree
• 5+ years of contract management experience within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry
• 5+ years of experience in reviewing and negotiating clinical trial-related contracts 
• Solid understanding of contracting concepts, drafting, and negotiation skills
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the clinical development process (Phase I-IV)
• Flexible self-starter to operate in a fast-paced start-up environment  
• Ability to develop out of the box solutions with limited infrastructure typical in a start-up environment
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in cross-functional team environment
• Proficiency with MS Office (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Project)
• Strong interpersonal skills with excellent oral and written communications
• Good business judgement, high level of professional integrity, discretion, tact, and ability to maintain confidentiality on sensitive business matters.
• Innovative and extremely organized to drive projects to completion
• Ability to operate in alignment with Vera’s Core Values.

Vera Therapeutics Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.