As every ongoing partnership in the present days happen under a contract, an authority that looks into the various aspects of these contracts is essential. A contracts administrator is the person who initiates and guides the process of a contract thus enabling the government agency to ensure that it gets due returns in terms of the service from the contractor for which it has made a considerable payment.
A contracts administrator is concerned with ensuring that all the terms of the contract are properly dealt with by the contract or service provider, as well as the government agency. As a contract administrator your primary concern would be to ensure the procurement of proper service and supplies which have been laid out in the contract. It is also your job to ensure that the service is delivered in time and quality is as per requirement. The nature and job responsibility of a contracts administrator varies with the type of contract. He should also ensure timely settlement of payments along with receipt of on time deliveries. A contract administrator has to monitor both party's viz. the government agency and service proving concern as he is the bridge between them.
The aim of your valuable services as a contracts administrator is to stand true to the expectations of the customer who is paying for these services. To this purpose he needs to execute customer surveys to decide the level of their satisfaction. Based on this feedback he will award future contracts to vying parties.
While hiring contract managers, recruiters prefer candidates with a management degree. Even people from legal educational backgrounds or legal professions are well accepted in the industry as proficient contract administrators.
In order to become an able and efficient contract administrator with a firm standing in the industry, attaining some kind of a certification in the field of contract management is highly lucrative. Various organizations provide you with quality training as well as certification as contract administrators. One such organization, which has numerous centers throughout the United States of America, is the NCMA, or National Contract Managers Association.
A contract administrator should possesses the sensibilities as well as the know how of negotiating, making contracts, approaching clients and maintaining the terms of the contract. He should have an excellent gift of gab to interact with various parties. He should have supervisory skills to see to the completion of work in time and delivery of quality work. He should also be a leader and manager as he has to undertake lot of management work pertaining to contact administration. He should have proper work ethics as not to be partial to any party vying for the contract.
For establishing yourself as senior contract manager you need to gain some valuable experience in this field of business. Working as an assistant to a senior contract administrator in a reputed agency will escalate your career.
The job prospects of contract administrators will increase in the near future. This is true because more and more government bodies trim the size of their organization and as a result outsource their work to private companies.
As far as remunerations are concerned, contract administrators are among the most highly paid employees of an organization as their valuable services are required by all government agencies and private businesses. In the United States of America the pay package offered to a contract administrator of the desired skill and good educational qualification ranges between sixty to seventy thousand US dollars.
The job description of an administrator shows that the functionality is significant for business dealings of a company and efficient operation of the business house. As a result it is a prospective career choice.
