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Senior Contracts Administrator

BAE Systems

McLean, VAFull-time$83–141K/yrSeen 1 day agoSeen in employer's feed 1 day ago

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At a glance

Compensation
$83–141K/yr
Location
McLean, VA
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Job overview

The Senior Contracts Administrator serves as a lead business partner for complex proposals, negotiations, and contract administration, with a focus on GSA/GWAC and other strategic vehicles. The role provides regulatory expertise, manages customer relationships, supports contracting strategy, and mentors junior Contract Administrators. It works across business, program, and finance stakeholders to meet business objectives while mitigating risk.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Independent JudgmentMicrosoft Office SuiteFAR/DFARSAgency RegulationsOral CommunicationWritten CommunicationCross-Functional LeadershipResearchPresentation SkillsGovernment ContractingGSA SchedulesGWACsProposal SupportContract Administration

Qualifications

Bachelor's in Business or RelatedNCMA Certification or Master's Certificate

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off
Parental Leave

Full job description

Job Description

The Senior Contracts Administrator serves as a lead business partner, managing complex customer relationships and providing high-level regulatory expertise to internal and external stakeholders. This role is responsible for the end-to-end lead of moderately complex to complex proposals, negotiations, and contract administration, with a specific focus on GSA/GWAC and other strategic vehicles.

The candidate will operate with minimal supervision, providing leadership in contracting strategy and serving as a mentor and guide to junior Contract Administrators. This role interfaces extensively with the Contracts Manager, Business Winning, Program Management Office, and Finance to ensure business objectives are met while mitigating risk.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Contract & Vehicle Leadership

  • Lead the maintenance and update of GSA/GWAC/IDIQ contract vehicles.

  • Independently lead and support proposal activities, including analyzing solicitations, developing strategies/recommendations, and preparing terms, conditions, and assumptions.

  • Ensure all contractual deliverables are satisfied and submitted accurately and on schedule.

  • Draft and negotiate complex contracts and agreements; provide research and presentations on acquisition strategies and contracting approaches.

Compliance, Risk & Governance

  • Maintain an in-depth understanding of the US Government Acquisition environment, FAR/DFARS, export regulations, and company policies.

  • Conduct comprehensive business risk analyses for proposals and contracts; craft appropriate contract language to mitigate identified risks.

  • Review and provide recommendations on proposal and contract language, ensuring all necessary functional reviews are completed with minimal guidance from the Contracts Manager.

  • Coordinate and implement the "Route to Contract" (Phase 0 to 2A) in alignment with the Life Cycle Management (LCM) process.

Relationship Management & Business Acumen

  • Act as the primary customer interface for complex proposals and contractual matters.

  • Build and maintain professional, dependable relationships with senior internal and external stakeholders.

  • Analyze financial and business risks of proposals; apply financial performance metrics to drive cash flow and profit.

  • Align contractual decisions with broader business strategy and leadership objectives.

Mentorship & Functional Support

  • Provide guidance, advice, and mentorship to lower-level Contract Administrators (GG8/GG9).

  • Lead or support fact-finding and audit activities.

  • Manage the drafting and negotiation of auxiliary agreements, including NDAs, Teaming Agreements, and Memorandums of Understanding.

  • Contribute to the development and implementation of new business methods and contracting concepts to achieve functional goals.

Required Education, Experience, & Skills

  • Ability to exercise significant discretion and independent judgment in the performance of duties.

  • Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

  • Working knowledge of FAR/DFARS and other Agency Regulations.

  • Advanced oral and written communication skills for interfacing with senior management and external customers.

  • Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams through the proposal and negotiation process.

  • Proven research and presentation skills.

Preferred Education, Experience, & Skills

  • Bachelor s Degree in a business-related field (Finance, Accounting, etc.).

  • Extensive experience in Government Contracting and familiarity with GSA Schedules/GWACs.

  • NCMA Certification or completion of a Master s Certificate Program.

  • Experience supporting complex proposals and administering high-value contracts.

Pay Information

Full-Time Salary Range: $82779 - $140723

Please note: This range is based on our market pay structures. However, individual salaries are determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to: business considerations, local market conditions, and internal equity, as well as candidate qualifications, such as skills, education, and experience.

Employee Benefits: At BAE Systems, we support our employees in all aspects of their life, including their health and financial well-being. Regular employees scheduled to work 20 hours per week are offered: health, dental, and vision insurance; health savings accounts; a 401(k) savings plan; disability coverage; and life and accident insurance. We also have an employee assistance program, a legal plan, and other perks including discounts on things like home, auto, and pet insurance. Our leave programs include paid time off, paid holidays, as well as other types of leave, including paid parental, military, bereavement, and any applicable federal and state sick leave. Employees may participate in the company recognition program to receive monetary or non-monetary recognition awards. Other incentives may be available based on position level and/or job specifics.

Senior Contracts Administrator

132215BR

EEO Career Site Equal Opportunity Employer. Minorities . females . veterans . individuals with disabilities . sexual orientation . gender identity . gender expression

How this job compares

Set against the 1,144 open Contract Management jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 6, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$83–141K/yr
  • Virginia median$102–171K/yr64 salary ranges
  • US median$92–170K/yr810 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $112K, is 18% below the Virginia median midpoint ($136K) — in the middle half of Contract Management salary ranges in Virginia.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 72 open Contract Management jobs in Virginia and 1,144 across the US. 6% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Virginia
Experience
Contract Management postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years of experience at the median; the middle half ask for 4 to 8 years (1,008 postings).
Education
420 of the 1,144 open Contract Management jobs (37%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 6, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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