Job Title: Specialist, Financial Operations
Role: This role aligns with industry titles such as Contract Analyst, Contract specialist, or Contract reviewer analyst (legal)
Role Purpose
The Specialist, Contract Operations is an experienced individual contributor responsible for the accurate, timely and controlled processing of complex contractual information across global businesses. The role combines hands-on contract analysis and system expertise with quality assurance, issue resolution, stakeholder partnership, and technical guidance to colleagues. It supports consistent contract operations from agreement receipt and interpretation through data entry, approval, archival and downstream readiness.
Role Value
Protects contractual and financial data quality, strengthens operational controls, resolves complex processing issues, and enables reliable royalty and rights administration.
Key Accountabilities 1. Contract Analysis and Processing
Review, interpret and process executed agreements, amendments and supporting documentation, including complex commercial, rights and royalty terms.
Validate contract and financial data before approval, ensuring that information entered by colleagues is complete, accurate and aligned with the underlying agreement.
Apply sound judgement to identify ambiguous, conflicting or adverse clauses and route matters to the appropriate business, legal, portfolio or operational stakeholder for resolution.
Ensure contract records and supporting documents are accurately indexed, archived and readily retrievable.
2. Quality Assurance, Controls and Service Delivery
Perform quality checks and approvals in line with documented procedures, delegated authority and segregation-of-duties requirements.
Monitor assigned work against service levels, turnaround expectations and operational priorities, taking timely action where delivery or data quality is at risk.
Comply with standard operating procedures, control requirements, data retention standards and privacy obligations.
Identify control gaps, recurring errors and operational risks, document findings and recommend practical corrective or preventive actions.
3. Data Integrity and Systems Expertise
Maintain accurate, complete and dashboard-ready contract data across relevant operational regions and systems.
Use contract and rights management platforms effectively, applying strong knowledge of system dependencies and downstream impacts.
Support data remediation, reconciliations, system testing and process changes where contract expertise is required.
Maintain auditable trackers and records that provide clear status, ownership and evidence of completion.
4. Complex Query Resolution
Own complex contract-processing queries through to resolution, completing appropriate investigation and maintaining a clear audit trail.
Provide accurate and timely guidance to Contract Operations, Portfolio, Rights, Royalties, Finance, Technology and other relevant stakeholders.
Escalate material contractual, control or delivery risks with clear facts, impact assessment, options and recommended next steps.
5. Technical Leadership and Continuous Improvement
Act as a subject-matter resource for contract interpretation, processing standards, controls and systems within the Contract Processing Hub.
Coach and support colleagues through knowledge sharing, peer review and practical guidance, without direct people-management accountability.
Contribute to the maintenance of procedures, training materials, checklists and control documentation.
Use root-cause analysis and operational insight to simplify processes, reduce avoidable rework and improve quality, consistency and stakeholder experience.
Support automation and transformation initiatives by translating contract requirements into clear business rules, test scenarios and acceptance criteria.
6 . Stakeholder Partnership
Build effective working relationships across global and regional teams, communicating complex issues in a clear, concise and commercially aware manner.
Influence outcomes within agreed authority, balancing contractual accuracy, control requirements, service delivery and business needs.
Participate in operational reviews and cross-functional forums, providing evidence-based updates and following actions through to closure.
Decision-Making and Scope
Works independently within established policies, procedures, controls and delegated authority.
Handles varied and complex work where solutions require analysis, interpretation and the application of specialist knowledge.
Makes recommendations on contract treatment, operational risk and process improvement, escalating matters that require legal, commercial or policy decisions.
Operates across multiple global business areas and adapts priorities in response to changing volumes, deadlines and stakeholder requirements.
Experience and Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Legal Studies, Commerce or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in contract administration, rights and royalties, finance operations, legal operations or a comparable processing environment.
Demonstrated experience reviewing complex agreements, maintaining high-quality data and working within structured service and control frameworks.
Experience supporting global stakeholders and resolving issues across functional or regional boundaries.
Core Capabilities
Capability
Expected application at IC20
Contract expertise
Interprets complex contract terms accurately and connects them to operational and system requirements.
Analytical judgement
Assesses incomplete or conflicting information, identifies risk and recommends a reasoned course of action.
Quality and control mindset
Applies controls consistently, maintains evidence and addresses root causes rather than symptoms.
Ownership and delivery
Prioritises effectively, follows issues through to closure and meets agreed service expectations.
Stakeholder influence
Explains complex matters clearly, challenges constructively and builds alignment across teams.
Technical leadership
Shares expertise, supports capability building and provides reliable guidance without formal line-management responsibility.
Continuous improvement
Identifies improvement opportunities and contributes contract expertise to process, technology and automation changes.
Adaptability
Responds effectively to changing requirements, volumes, systems and global business priorities.
Systems and tools
Working knowledge of relevant contract, rights, royalty and workflow tools, which may include IPM, Oracle, Alfresco, Microsoft 365, JIRA and Smartsheet. The role must be able to learn and apply additional platforms used by the global Contract Processing Hub.
Measures of Success
Accurate and complete contract data with strong first-time-right quality.
Timely delivery against agreed service levels and operational priorities.
Effective resolution and escalation of complex queries and contractual risks.
Consistent adherence to procedures, controls, privacy and record-retention requirements.
Reduced repeat errors and rework through root-cause action and knowledge sharing.
Positive stakeholder experience and effective contribution to change initiatives.
Who we are:
At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to help people realize the life they imagine through learning. We believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. We are the world's lifelong learning company. For us, learning isn't just what we do. It's who we are. To learn more: We are Pearson.
Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E-Verify. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.
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Job: Finance
Job Family: ENTERPRISE
Organization: Corporate Finance
Schedule: FULL_TIME
Workplace Type: Hybrid
Req ID: 25784
