Your new company An exciting opportunity has arisen to join a global organisation growing rapidly across the Australian Defence sector. With significant programs and new project activity ahead, the business is strengthening its commercial capability to support the next phase of its growth.

This is a unique opportunity to step into a greenfield project where you will have excellent visibility across the organisation, solid autonomy and the opportunity to influence how complex contracts are managed and delivered.

Your new role

As Contract Manager, you will act as the organisation's lead commercial and contract management specialist, managing complex Defence contracts, subcontracts and supplier arrangements across the full contract lifecycle. Working closely with Program Managers, Supply Chain, Engineering and Executive Management, you will provide trusted commercial and contractual advice while taking a leading role in contract negotiations, change management, contract formation and risk management.

This is a senior individual contributor position with significant exposure across the business.

Key responsibilities will include:

- Act as the subject matter expert across ASDEFCON contracts, customer contracts, subcontracts and supplier agreements
- Manage contractual activities across multiple Defence programs and projects
- Lead the development, substantiation and negotiation of Contract Change Proposals (CCPs), variations and amendments
- Develop commercial and negotiation strategies and lead negotiations with customers, suppliers and subcontractors
- Interpret contractual requirements and ensure obligations, deliverables, notices and acceptance requirements are effectively managed
- Draft and review contracts, subcontracts,



statements of work, flow-down terms, deeds, amendments and contractual correspondence
- Identify and manage commercial and contractual risks, opportunities, claims and dependencies
- Support the management of disputes, delays, performance issues and contractual entitlements
- Provide commercial and contractual leadership across bids, proposals, new contract formation and growth opportunities
- Partner with Supply Chain and Procurement on subcontract formation and supplier negotiations
- Support contractual requirements relating to AIC, Technical Data and Software Rights, export controls and contractual governance
- Prepare commercial briefings, approval papers and risk assessments for senior management

What you'll need to succeed

To be successful in this role, you will bring:
- Strong experience in contracts and commercial management in a complex Defence environment
- Strong working knowledge of ASDEFCON contracting principles and Australian Defence contracting practices
- Demonstrated experience managing customer contracts and subcontracts through the full contract lifecycle
- Strong experience developing and negotiating CCPs, contract variations and amendments
- Experience negotiating customer contracts, supplier agreements and subcontracts
- Strong contract drafting, interpretation and commercial negotiation capability




- Experience managing contractual claims, commercial disputes and contractual entitlements
- Strong understanding of commercial risk, liability and contractual governance
- The ability to confidently advise and influence senior internal and external stakeholders
- A tertiary qualification in Law, Commerce, Business, Procurement, Contract Management or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience

Experience within a Defence prime, Commonwealth environment or major Defence supplier is required, as will knowledge of export controls, intellectual property, security requirements and Australian Industry Capability obligations.

What you'll get in return

This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing Defence organisation at a pivotal stage of its development.

You will benefit from

- Greenfield project scope with the opportunity to influence and shape commercial and contractual practices
- Strong autonomy to independently manage complex contractual matters
- Excellent visibility across programs, senior leadership and the broader organisation
- Exposure to complex, high-value Australian Defence contracts and programs
- The opportunity to work closely with executive, program, engineering and supply chain stakeholders
- A highly influential role where your commercial judgement and expertise will have a meaningful impact on business outcomes
- Long-term career opportunity within an organisation experiencing growth and increased project activity

What you need to do now

If you're interested in this exciting opportunity, apply now or send your resume directly to Amy McNulty at Hays at [email protected] for a confidential discussion.

📌 Contracts Manager - Defence (Melbourne)
🏢 Hays Defence
📍 Melbourne