What is a contract administrator?

Contract administrators are the people who keep commercial relationships moving. 

They take on the heavy lifting of getting contracts over the line, from coordinating drafts to managing approvals and signatures. Their work helps businesses close deals faster, minimise risk, and avoid getting stuck in endless admin. 

But what exactly does the role involve, and how do you know if your business needs one?

What is a contract administrator?

A contract administrator handles the end-to-end contract workflow. They help draft, review, negotiate, and finalize contracts, making sure they meet business objectives and legal standards. Their job is to reduce risk, increase deal velocity, and make sure contracts don’t sit idle waiting for sign-off.

This can include:

• Working with commercial teams to understand priorities and contract goals
• Drafting contracts using the right templates and clauses
• Reviewing and flagging issues or risks in contract terms
• Negotiating with counterparties to reach favourable terms
• Sending contracts for review and signature (wet ink or eSignature)
• Using contract management tools to streamline the process
• Implementing best practices to keep things efficient and compliant

Contract administrator vs project manager: what’s the difference?

While there’s some overlap, contract administrators and project managers are not the same.

Contract administrators focus specifically on how contracts move through their lifecycle. Project managers are responsible for broader project delivery and might only engage with contracts if they’re relevant to the project.

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What skills does a contract administrator need?

Communication skills

• Act as the central point of contact for a wide range of stakeholders across legal, sales, procurement, finance, and commercial teams
• Clearly communicate complex contract terms, risks, and updates to both legal and non-legal audiences
• Represent business interests confidently in conversations with third parties and external vendors
• Adapt communication style depending on the audience, ensuring clarity and consistency at every stage of the contract lifecycle

Negotiation skills

• Lead contract negotiations with an assertive but collaborative approach, aiming for mutually beneficial outcomes
• Navigate difficult conversations with confidence and knowing when to compromise and when to hold firm
• Understand legal caveats and leverage that knowledge to structure creative solutions that align with business goals
• Bring together negotiation, timing, and relationship management to ensure terms are agreed efficiently and in the company’s favour

Analytical skills

• Review contracts with a critical eye—identifying risks, inconsistencies, or vague language that could lead to exposure
• Detect loopholes or hidden obligations that may not be obvious at first glance
• Break down complex contract clauses into actionable insights for decision-makers
• Evaluate commercial and legal risk to ensure the business isn’t taking on more than it should

Project management skills

• Coordinate multiple contract processes simultaneously, often across departments and jurisdictions
• Work to tight deadlines, managing priorities effectively without sacrificing accuracy or quality
• Own and drive the contract lifecycle from creation and negotiation to execution and contract renewal
• Keep internal stakeholders aligned and informed, ensuring dependencies are managed and timelines are met

What qualifications do contract administrators need?

There’s no fixed list of qualifications you need to become a contract administrator—unlike more regulated legal roles such as solicitors or general counsels. While many employers prefer candidates with a degree in law, business, or a related field, it’s by no means a strict requirement.

That said, a strong grasp of legislation and contracting principles is essential, and this knowledge is often gained through legal education or qualifications. Experience is also key, with most roles expecting candidates to have a few years under their belt. 

If you are keen to gain a competitive advantage, these contract management courses could be of interest to you.

Contract administrator salaries 

Salaries for contract administrators vary widely depending on location, industry, and experience. Here’s what the data says today:

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Career progression for contract administrators

With the right mindset and exposure, contract administration can open up career paths across legal, commercial, and operational teams. Here’s where you can go next, and what you’ll need to get there:

Legal Operations Manager

If you enjoy improving workflows, managing tools, and supporting in-house legal teams, legal ops could be your next move. This role often takes ownership of tech, budgets, and process improvements across legal—not just contracts.

Ideal if you: love fixing processes and optimising how legal teams work.

What to focus on:

• Learn to manage legal tech tools and workflows (e.g. CLMs, eBilling)
• Understand legal team KPIs and how to report on them
• Build relationships with finance, IT, and compliance
• Develop budget and vendor management skills

Contract Manager

This is a natural next step for contract administrators. The role usually involves managing more complex agreements, owning contract templates, and driving strategy around risk and compliance.

Ideal if you: want to deepen your expertise in contracts and own more complex agreements.

What to focus on:

• Strengthen your understanding of risk allocation and indemnities
• Get familiar with commercial and procurement frameworks
• Learn how to build and maintain a clause library or contract playbook
• Understand lifecycle reporting and compliance obligations

Commercial Operations

Strong understanding of contracts plus cross-functional collaboration makes contract admins well-positioned to move into revenue or commercial ops. These roles help align legal, sales, and finance teams to accelerate deals.‍

Ideal if you: enjoy aligning legal with sales and helping deals move faster.

What to focus on:

• Understand the sales funnel and how contracts affect velocity
• Build confidence using CRM tools like Salesforce or HubSpot
• Build a basic understanding of revenue recognition and deal structuring
• Develop stakeholder management and cross-functional influence

Paralegal or Legal Associate

If you're leaning more toward the legal side and have the right background or want to study further, becoming a paralegal or legal associate could be a logical shift. Your contract experience will be a huge asset.

Ideal if you: want to grow into a more formal legal career (especially in-house).

What to focus on:

• Pursue a legal qualification (e.g. SQE, CILEX, or paralegal certs)
• Improve legal drafting and interpretation skills
• Learn more about data privacy, employment, and IP law
• Stay updated on legal trends and case law relevant to your industry

Procurement Manager

For those working closely with vendor agreements or supply chain contracts, a move into procurement could be a smart fit. You’ll already know how to negotiate terms, assess risk, and manage contract performance.

Ideal if you: want to manage vendor and supplier relationships more broadly. 

What to focus on:

• Get familiar with sourcing strategies and vendor scoring
• Learn procurement regulations (especially for regulated sectors)
• Build negotiation strategies for cost and service optimisation
• Develop vendor management and performance tracking skills

Head of Revenue Operations

This is a longer-term play, but contract administration gives you a solid foundation in deal mechanics, risk, and revenue flow. With the right exposure and experience, you could scale up to lead revops teams.

Ideal if you: have strong commercial instincts and a process mindset.

What to focus on:

• Learn forecasting, quota setting, and pipeline metrics
• Understand RevOps tools like Clari, Gong, and CPQ systems
• Develop team management and cross-functional leadership
• Stay close to deal desk, pricing strategy, and contract analytics

Contract administrator jobs

Ready for your next move? Whether you're looking to grow into a bigger role or break into contract management for the first time, we’ve got you covered.

Our in-house legal jobs board is updated daily with top opportunities across in-house legal, legal ops, and contract roles—handpicked to help you take the next step in your career.

From fast-growing startups to established legal teams, we surface the most exciting roles so you don’t have to dig for them.

Better yet, you can join our in-house legal community to get the roles sent to your inbox every Monday.

How contract administrators use Juro

Contract administrators are often responsible for managing every stage of the contract process. From drafting to execution, they work across multiple teams to keep contracts moving. Juro helps them do this more efficiently, with fewer bottlenecks and less manual work.

Here’s how contract administrators use Juro to take control of their workflow:

Draft and edit contracts quickly

Juro's automated contract templates allow contract administrators to create contracts in a matter of minutes. Using conditional logic and pre-approved language, they can self-serve on routine agreements without needing to rely on legal for every edit.

Manage everything in one platform

Instead of switching between Word, email, PDF tools and shared drives, Juro brings the entire contract lifecycle into one place. Contracts can be created, negotiated, approved, signed and stored in a single workspace.

Collaborate more effectively

Contract administrators can manage feedback internally and externally using in-browser comments and tracked changes. This makes version control simple and reduces the need for long email chains or duplicated documents.

Track progress in real time

With full visibility into each contract’s status, contract administrators can see who is holding up a review or approval. Automated reminders help keep contracts moving without the need to chase people manually.

Reduce risk and ensure consistency

Using Juro’s conditional logic and approval workflows, contract administrators can ensure the right language is used every time. This improves compliance, reduces errors, and limits unnecessary escalations to legal.

Want to see it in action? Book a demo to find out how Juro can support your team.

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