How To Become A Contracts Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a contracts director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Contract directors are in charge of negotiating, maintaining, and updating commercial contracts. They must establish contacts with outside businesses and develop contracts that meet the financial and professional goals of the business. They must develop and maintain multiple contracts at a time with local, national, and international businesses.

Their duties in this capacity include negotiating contracts and proposals with internal teams and customers and resolving risks and problems and non-compliance issues. In addition, they ensure that contracts are in compliance with laws and organizational policies and oversee maintenance and compliance with existing contracts. Essential skills required include leadership, negotiation, interpersonal, and communication. Employers generally require a bachelor's degree in a related field such as law or business administration; however, a master's degree is preferred, along with over five years of experience.

The average hourly salary for the position is $46.05, which amounts to $95,774 annually.

ScoreContracts DirectorUS Average

Salary

5.7

Avg. Salary $73,351

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.1

Growth rate -6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.30%

Asian 7.37%

Black or African American 8.96%

Hispanic or Latino 12.12%

Unknown 3.81%

White 67.43%

Gender

female 41.86%

male 58.14%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a contracts director

Explore contracts director education requirements

Most common contracts director degrees

Bachelor's

65.9 %

Master's

19.6 %

Associate

7.2 %

Start to develop specific contracts director skills

Skills	Percentages
Contract Management	7.76%
Oversight	6.36%
Contract Terms	6.12%
Strong Analytical	5.91%
Contract Administration	5.71%

Complete relevant contracts director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New contracts directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a contracts director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real contracts director resumes.

Research contracts director duties and responsibilities

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Manage administrative support, handle payroll, develop company policies and procedures manual.

Get contracts director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a contracts director. The most common roles before becoming a contracts director include contracts manager, contracts administrator team lead and director.

Prepare your contracts director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your contracts director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a contracts director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable contracts director resume templates

Build a professional contracts director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your contracts director resume.