Upbound Group

Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: UPBD) is a technology and data-driven leader in accessible and inclusive financial solutions that address the evolving needs and aspirations of underserved customers. The Company’s customer-facing operating units include industry-leading brands such as Acima, Brigit, and Rent-A-Center that facilitate consumer transactions across a wide range of store-based and digital channels, including over 2,300 company branded retail units across the United States, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Upbound Group, Inc. is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

Legal Contracts Manager

Job Purpose

The Legal Contracts Manager, operating under the oversight of internal counsel, is responsible for reviewing, drafting, and negotiating commercial agreements across the organization, including vendor, supplier, retailer referral, service, technology, marketing, real estate, franchising, and nondisclosure agreements. This role will support these functions by providing substantive feedback in contract negotiations and optimizing contract lifecycle management tools to streamline processes and improve consistency in terms. The Manager will collaborate closely with legal, compliance, spend management, operations, and business teams to negotiate, draft, and manage contracts that support strategic business initiatives, ongoing business operations, and risk mitigation objectives.  The Manager will identity and implement opportunities to utilize AI and related technologies to drive, streamline, and improve the contract life cycle process and enable automation and coworker self-service for various tasks and functions provided by the Legal team.

Key Responsibilities:

Contract Lifecycle Management

• Draft, review, revise, and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements, including MSAs, SOWs, licensing agreements, Acima referral agreements, and NDAs.
• Collaborate with internal counsel to improve contract review and negotiation processes, manage routine contract cycles, and support strategic contract negotiations.
• Ensure contracts reflect internal policies, legal requirements, and business expectations.
• Utilize AI and related technologies to develop contract templates and clause libraries, enable automated drafting and review, and improve contract lifecycle management.

Cross-Functional Legal Support

• Partner with procurement, marketing, operations, and IT to align contractual terms with business strategy.
• Advise stakeholders on risk, liability, and contractual rights and obligations.
• Serve as a liaison between internal departments and external legal counsel for contract-specific matters.
• Support Legal team on various special projects and engagements supporting Franchising, HR, Real Estate, IT, and other internal stakeholders.
• Utilize technology tools to enable coworker and internal self-service for various Legal needs and functions, including development of an automated end-to-end NDA process and user-friendly self-service FAQs to automate responses to common field inquiries.

Contract Intake and Workflow

• Coordinate with Spend Management, Merchandising, Acima sales, Real Estate, and Franchising teams to enable an efficient end-to-end contract process via the company’s contract management system.
• Assign, track, and escalate contract review requests to ensure timely execution.
• Maintain contract database accuracy, renewal tracking, and record retention.

Compliance and Risk Mitigation

• Ensure standards developed by the Legal, Compliance, and Privacy teams are incorporated into agreements consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including consumer protection laws (UDAAP, TCPA, FCRA) and state data privacy laws.
• Assist in due diligence and compliance evaluations for new vendors and third-party relationships.
• Identify and proactively address contractual risk exposure.

Policy Development and Process Improvement

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of internal contract policies, playbooks, contract libraries, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Recommend process improvements to enhance contract cycle efficiency and accuracy.
• Train internal stakeholders on contract best practices and legal requirements.
• Utilize technology and other resources to enhance processes where reasonable.

Metrics and Reporting

• Develop and maintain KPIs and dashboards to track contract volume, turnaround time, and performance.
• Prepare regular contract reports for legal and business leadership.
• Monitor key dates and contract obligations to prevent lapses and missed opportunities.

Team Leadership & Mentoring

• Mentor junior legal or contract staff as needed.
• Promote knowledge sharing and consistency in contract management practices.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Legal Studies, or related field preferred.
• 3-7 years of relevant experience managing commercial contracts in a corporate legal, real estate, or procurement environment.
• Experience with contract lifecycle management (CLM) tools preferred.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite; familiarity with Legal Tracker™, Evisort or similar systems is a plus but not required.

Skills & Abilities

• Strong drafting, analytical, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to manage a high volume of contracts under tight deadlines.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Detail-oriented with sound judgment and problem-solving ability.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Proven ability to build relationships and influence cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency with emergent technology.

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