Contract owner
Ultimately accountable for the contract.
- The Contract Owner is the senior responsible person for the contract.
- They have overall accountability for outcomes, value, and risk.
- Typically responsible for:
- Approving key decisions and changes
- Ensuring the contract aligns with business objectives
- Stepping in when issues escalate beyond day-to-day management
- Usually a senior manager or budget holder, not someone involved in routine admin.
Choose someone who: has authority, accountability, and oversight—not someone doing daily admin work.
Contract manager
Runs the contract day-to-day.
- The Contract Manager is responsible for operational management of the contract.
- They ensure the contract is working as intended on a daily basis.
- Typical responsibilities:
- Managing supplier performance and relationships
- Monitoring deliverables, milestones, and KPIs
- Handling issues, variations, and routine decisions
- Keeping contract records up to date
- This is the primary working role for managing the contract.
Choose someone who: understands the contract in detail and is actively managing its delivery.
Contract sponsor
Champions the contract at a strategic level.
- The Contract Sponsor provides executive support and strategic direction, especially
at contract-formulation stage. - They are not involved in day-to-day work but:
- Ensure the contract remains aligned with organisational strategy
- Advocate for the contract internally
- Help unblock major issues or secure resources
- Often acts as a stakeholder bridge between senior leadership and the contract team.
Choose someone who: has influence and interest in outcomes, but not operational responsibility.
Contract representative
Handles the day-to-day admin and coordination.
- The Contract Representative supports the Contract Manager by doing hands-on
administrative and operational tasks. - This role exists to keep things moving when the Manager cannot or should not do
detailed admin. - Typical responsibilities:
- Updating contract records, documents, and data
- Coordinating communications and meetings
- Tracking actions, deadlines, and compliance tasks
- Uploading and organising files
- They do the work, while the Manager oversees and decides.
Choose someone who: is detail-oriented, organised, and actively involved in contract administration.
Contract view (read-only)
Can see everything, change nothing.
- This role provides visibility without the ability to edit.
- Users can:
- View contract details
- Access associated documents and files
- Track status and progress
- They cannot:
- Make changes
- Upload or edit documents
- Modify contract information
Choose this role for: stakeholders, auditors, governance teams, or anyone who needs insight without responsibility.