Best Contract Administrator Interview Questions and Advice

The Role of a Contract Administrator

The fundamental role of a contract administrator is to ensure that contractual agreements are honored through active management of staff, suppliers and partners. Contract administrators are hired at all stages of negotiation, development and performance to ensure that organizations are following the guidelines they have set for themselves.
If managers do not understand and honor the terms of a contract, they can make it impossible to hold other parties to the agreement, which can result in lost profits. The job of a contract administrator is to ensure that this does not happen, even if the fine details of a contract change .
Analytical skills are critical to all contract administration positions, as well as meticulous attention to detail. Contract administrators work in all industries, so their responsibilities are often very different – however, each position is highly important to companies.
Contract administrators are a classic intermediary between many departments, and help create understanding between business units that would otherwise not speak with each other. The contract administrator is often called upon whenever issues arise during a contract.

How to Prepare for Your Interview Questions

Common technical and situational interview questions asked of contract administrators include:
Technical Questions

1. In your opinion, what is the role of a contract administrator?

Possible answer: The role of the contract administrator is to monitor, manage and control the performance of the whole contract. They do this to ensure that the client gets what they are paying for and the company is not exposed to liability.

2. What do you think are the biggest challenges faced by contract administrators?

Possible answer: Managing the performance of multiple contracts across different locations. They tend to be revenue contracts and some projects with fixed price milestones. All of these things need to be monitored, controlled and reported on.

3. How do you ensure compliance with company approval matrix?

Possible answer: We have weekly team meetings to track any new contracts with our commercial manager. Plus, we continuously work with our legal department to ensure all contracts adhere to company policies.
Situational Questions

1. If you see a compliance issue with a contract someone else has negotiated, how would you communicate this?

Possible answer: I would not be able to provide a response without knowing exactly what the compliance issue is in the contract. I would have to discuss with the other contract administrator and figure out if there is a solution. I would then advise the client if this was the best way forward.

2. A client has requested a performance guarantee on a contract for which you haven’t secured a performance bond. What would you do?

Possible answer: I would check the conditions of the contract to see whether a performance bond was a strict requirement or just a recommended way of supporting the guarantee. Then I’d speak to the client about the reasons why it isn’t possible. If necessary, I’d offer other remedies such as a third-party guarantee, insurance guarantee or bank guarantee.

3. You’re coming to the end of some warranty repairs. There is one repair that is delayed due to the client not providing access. How would you handle this?

Possible answer: I would bring in my commercial manager and send them to the client to ask them to have this repaired. If adverse comments are raised, I can then use my relationship with the client to negotiate with them. Often, if the client is being hard they will soften up when they see a face rather than reply to an email.

Technical Interview Questions

Depending on the contract administrator position you are applying for, the interviewer may ask questions regarding your knowledge of contract law, theories, principles, practices and procedures. You may be asked to explain certain legal language commonly found within contracts as well as your experience within the industry.
An interviewer may also choose to include a number of contract scenario questions often based on real life scenarios to see how you would tackle issues that could arise as a contract administrator. The purpose of these questions is to see that you have the ability to tackle any issues that may arise, both legally and administratively.
Interviewers are also likely to inquire about your proficiency in various applications common to contract administrators. This can include software used to edit contracts as well as the programs and applications used by contract administrators. As contracts and legal language is often complex in nature, interviewers may choose to ask how you would go about preventing mistakes when dealing with these legal documents.

Interview Questions of a Behavioral Nature

Behavioral interview questions are used to gain perspective on a contract administrator candidate’s past behavior, particularly when it comes to decision making. The theory behind behavioral interview questions is that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Questions in this group will usually start with "tell me about a time when you…", "describe a situation where you…", or something similar.
Here are some sample behavioral interview questions for a contract administrator position:
Tell me about a time when you discovered an error or discrepancy in an insurance schedule. How did you handle it? What was the outcome?
Describe a time when you were faced with an ethical dilemma on the job. How did you handle it?
Describe a time when you had to make a difficult judgment on the job. What was the situation? What was the outcome?
Tell me about a situation where you successfully negotiated a collective bargaining agreement. What can you tell me about the contract provisions you negotiated?
If I looked up your high school field hockey stats, what would I find? Why were you successful?
General advice – my personal preference is for behavioral questions to be at the end of the interview.

Scenario-Based Interview Questions

Scenario-based interview questions allow hiring managers to dive deeper into the ties between a candidate’s past accomplishments and future performance. The responses can be very revealing as to how a candidate thinks, problem-solves and applies critical thinking. Interviewees are far more likely to present themselves in a more favorable light and embellish their true abilities through situational and behavioral questions.
The best way to stifle this kind of response is to ask hypothetical questions. These questions are intended to test how an interviewee would apply their experience and knowledge to a situation that is likely to be encountered on the job.
Here are a few good example of situational interview questions for contract administrators:
Our project meets contractual completion in three months, but the contractor has only just finished installing the plumbing. What actions should we, as the project controls team, take to ensure the contractor completes the work on schedule?
A vendor refuses to accept a change order awarded to it . The reason being given is that the award was based on inconsistent information previously received from the owner. What steps might you recommend taking to reach an agreed upon solution?
Your contract with a key contractor does not have a formal clause handling the work impacted by a force majeure event. The contractor has just woken you at 2:00 a.m. to report an explosion at the plant that has damaged the equipment required for the project. How do you handle this?
You are thinking of issuing a particular change order to a contractor but there are some unknowns that could change the amount of money involved either way. You do not want to short change the contractor, but at the same time, you don’t want to waste time evaluating the unknowns if they will only serve to increase the final price. How do you go about determining if you should even bother adding the unknowns into the change order?
The project is changed significantly – an additional building will be added to the scope of work. How do you go about determining if this is going to result in an increase or decrease in the value of the project?

Questions You Can Ask the Contract Administrator During Your Interview

"Your future is your property. It is in your hands." That could mean a lot of things but for our purposes this is all about asking the interviewer the right questions. This could make the difference between being hired or second place. It shows an understanding of the job and paints the picture of an achiever. It demonstrates a long view. So hopefully the best answer will be yours.
Below you will find a list of suggested questions:
What are some of the company’s recent significant achievements?
What would you say are the most important objectives(s) for this position to achieve?
What is the primary challenge you envision for this position in particular and the department as a whole in the near term?
What challenges do you see for the company and the industry at this time?
Why did the person previously in this position leave the job?
Describe a typical career path for someone in this position.
How often are performance reviews conducted?
How has this position evolved since it was created?
How does this position contribute to the overall success of the organization?
What role does this position play in the achievement of departmental objectives or company mission?

The Final Few Interview Tips

For many, the most challenging part of an interview is controlling your nerves and managing those emotions. A surefire way to help keep your composure is to be fully prepared with research on the company and the job description. Daydreaming about yourself in the position and visualizing yourself working for that company can help you ease your nerves a bit . When you are sitting across the table from the recruiter, smile and look them in the eye. This interaction is your chance to impress them so give it your all! Remember that if you are prepared, then you already have the job half in the bag! Go ahead and get the job with confidence!