Contract Management Specialist at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

Job Description    

• The Contract Management Specialist leads the contract management function by providing legal advisory support and embedding a robust monitoring and evaluation mechanism for contract lifecycle performance. Manages organisational compliance with contractual obligations, drives consistent contract standards, and enables performance visibility through reporting and analysis.

Key Responsibilities    
Contract Management

• Prepare, maintain, and manage accurate contract files, registers, and centralised repositories, ensuring proper classification, version control, audit readiness, and secure record storage.
• Track key contract milestones, deliverables, expiry dates, renewals, termination periods, guarantees, insurance requirements, and other contractual obligations.
• Coordinate contract signature processes and ensure all contractual documentation is complete, compliant, and properly archived.
• Liaise with internal stakeholders, service providers, contractors, suppliers, and third parties to obtain required documentation and facilitate contract execution.
• Provide contract management advice and support in the drafting, review, negotiation, execution, and administration of project-specific contracts and agreements.
• Develop, maintain, standardise, and periodically review contract templates, clause banks, and standard agreements for the Division.
• Review and analyse contract terms, conditions, and obligations to ensure compliance with legislation, regulatory requirements, internal policies, governance standards, and industry practices.
• Monitor and manage the full contract lifecycle, including amendments, addenda, variations, renewals, and terminations.
• Conduct contract risk assessments and trend analysis, and recommend mitigation strategies to safeguard organisational and project interests.
• Track contractor and service provider performance against contractual deliverables, milestones, KPIs, and service level agreements.
• Communicate contractual obligations, implementation requirements, and compliance updates to programme and project delivery teams.
• Lead and support complex contract negotiations, dispute resolution processes, and mediation, adjudication, or arbitration matters, including the management of external legal counsel.
• Prepare and evaluate contractual claims, including extensions of time, prolongation costs, acceleration costs, and professional service claims, and provide strategic recommendations.
• Liaise with stakeholders on contractual matters relating to delays, variations, extensions of time, disputes, and compliance requirements.
• Escalate and manage potential contract-related legal risks and disputes in collaboration with Legal and Risk functions.
• Perform post-tender award activations including with the generation of orders on the ERP System.
• Assist in informing and feeding into the Demand Management cycle regarding the organisation’s contract management needs, including identification of current and future contract requirements.

Contract Performance Monitoring and Evaluation

• Develop and implement KPIs and performance measures for contracts, projects, and service providers.
• Monitor contract compliance, performance milestones, deliverables, and service level agreements.
• Conduct regular contract audits and performance reviews to identify risks, trends, variances, and underperformance.
• Analyse contractor and service provider performance data and implement corrective action plans where required.
• Generate dashboards, reports, and performance insights to support informed decision-making and continuous improvement.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance contract performance, compliance, governance, and value realisation.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance

• Contribute to the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of contract management frameworks, policies, procedures, controls, and governance standards.
• Maintain compliance with legal, regulatory, procurement, governance, and internal policy requirements across all contracts.
• Monitor adherence to governance, documentation, approval, and record-keeping requirements.
• Prepare periodic reports on contract status, performance, risks, disputes, and compliance gaps for Executive Management, Audit Committees, Legal, Procurement, and Risk structures.
• Support internal and external audit processes and implement audit findings related to contract management and compliance.
• Liaise with Internal Audit, Legal, Procurement, and Risk teams to ensure alignment with governance and compliance requirements.
• Identify contract-related risks and implement mitigation strategies to minimise operational, legal, and financial exposure this including training stakeholders on contract management processes.

Vendor Management and Performance Support

• Provide support to the contract owner on monitoring contract performance against agreed deliverables, milestones, service levels, and timelines.
• Collate service provider performance data and evidence against service level agreements and key performance indicators.
• Support the scheduling and logistics of performance review sessions with internal teams and providers.
• Prepare draft performance reports, dashboards, and escalation documentation for review.
• Keep a record of reported service provider challenges and the tracking of performance issues, corrective actions, and follow-up activities.
• Management and maintenance of the vendor onboarding process and amendments and ensure supplier data accuracy for SCM related reporting.

Reporting and Document Management

• Produce accurate and insightful management reports by continuously monitoring contract metrics and performance indicators.
• Analyse contract and operational data to identify trends, risks, improvement opportunities, and strategic insights.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date contract records, documentation systems, trackers, and reporting tools.
• Prepare contract status, compliance, governance, and performance reports for management and governance structures.
• Support governance submissions, management reviews, and audit processes through the preparation of accurate and comprehensive documentation and reporting inputs.
• Contribute to the enhancement and implementation of digital contract management systems, trackers, and reporting tools to improve process efficiency, data integrity, and reporting accuracy.

Key Measurements of Outputs

• Compliance with legal, regulatory, procurement, and internal governance requirements achieved across all contracts.
• Successful completion of internal and external audits with minimal findings.
• Contractor and service provider performance monitored against KPIs, SLAs, deliverables, and milestones.
• Performance dashboards and contract audit reports are produced regularly.
• Corrective action plans implemented for underperforming contracts and service providers.
• Percentage of contracts reviewed and processed within agreed turnaround times.
• Percentage of high-risk contracts with mitigated legal risks.
• Percentage of contracts with performance KPIs and monitoring mechanisms embedded.

Expertise & Technical Competencies    
Minimum Qualification

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Law, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration/Management or related field.

Minimum Experience

• A minimum of 8 years of experience in contract management in the procurement context or legal/contracts management.
• Experience in managing high-value and complex contracts across the full contract lifecycle.
• Demonstrated experience in contract performance monitoring, compliance management, governance reporting, and audit support.
• Experience engaging with internal and external stakeholders, including legal advisors, contractors, consultants, and service providers.
• Experience in managing contracts across multiple business units in a regulated environment
• Understanding of contract management principles and practices.
• Awareness of performance monitoring and evaluation techniques.
• Demonstrated experience and proven proficiency in the use of ERP systems for vendor and contract management (e.g., SAP or equivalent systems).

Desirable Requirements

• Professional certification in Contract Management or Procurement (e.g. CIPS).
• A postgraduate qualification in Contract Management, Construction Law, Commercial Law, Procurement, Project Management, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration or related.
• Experience in a finance, development finance, or public sector environment.
• Understanding of PFMA, BBBEE Act, PPPFA, CIDB Act and National Treasury Regulations.

Deadline:5th October,2026