The Sales Operations Manager - Commercial Contract is a high-impact functional role responsible for defining, executing, and safeguarding the commercial contract pipeline and sales operations frameworks within the Ford Energy Sales Organization. In this role, you will serve as the lead authority on structuring, negotiating, and executing complex commercial transactions for utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and integrated energy infrastructure projects.
As a commercial expert, you will directly oversee the execution of Ford Energy’s most strategic customer-facing negotiations while establishing the standardized sales operations playbooks, risk mitigation frameworks, and deal-approval governance for the organization.
Key Responsibilities
- Functional Leadership & Commercial Frameworks
- Standardized Sales Operations: Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of standardized commercial contracting processes, pricing models, and deal-review governance tailored for BESS projects.
- Tools & Systems Architecture: Champion the adoption and optimization of advanced Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) tools, CRM systems, and commercial tracking databases to ensure seamless transaction execution.
- High-Stakes Deal Execution & Negotiation
- Direct Customer Negotiations: Take personal accountability for leading high-stakes, customer-facing negotiations and closing Ford Energy’s largest, most complex, or high-risk BESS product supply and service contracts.
- Risk Mitigation & Analysis: Conduct rigorous commercial and operational risk analyses on proposed deals, designing creative structuring solutions to resolve complex terms while protecting company profitability.
- Cross-Functional Alignment: Function as the central coordinator across Sales, Legal, Finance, Engineering, Procurement, and Manufacturing by facilitating communication, tracking dependencies, and breaking through bottlenecks, and ensuring negotiated commitments are aligned, understood, and executable.
- Stakeholder & Customer Management
- Contractual Resolution: Navigate and resolve complex post-signature contract modifications, disputes, and commercial changes both internally and with external partners and our customers.
You'll have... Required:
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Engineering, Economics, or a related field.
- Experience: 10+ years of experience in sales operations, commercial contract management, deal structuring, or a related customer-facing commercial role (or 8+ years with a Master's degree).
- Negotiation Expertise: Strong background in leading direct, customer-facing negotiations for high-value capital equipment, utility-scale projects, or complex industrial supply agreements.
- Collaborative Capability: Demonstrated ability to lead fast-paced, startup-style initiatives with influence, and drive consensus within a large, highly matrixed organization—balancing speed, ambiguity, and structure to deliver results.
- Execution Excellence: Highly organized and meticulous, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and shift timelines in a dynamic, rapidly evolving environment.
Even better, you may have... Preferred Qualifications:
- Deep domain knowledge of BESS, utility-scale power systems, renewable energy markets, or grid-scale infrastructure.
- Experience implementing or managing enterprise-level Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) systems. Demonstrated ability to lead fast-paced, startup-style initiatives within a large, highly matrixed organization—balancing speed, ambiguity, and structure to deliver results
Leadership Attributes:
- Commercial Leader: Able to establish and execute standardized sales operations frameworks and deal-governance guidelines, ensuring operational readiness to scale commercial transactions.
- Collaborative Facilitator: Skilled at quickly and efficiently “connect the dots” across teams—identifying dependencies, surfacing risks early, and driving resolution to keep initiatives on track bridging gaps and building operational consensus between Sales, Legal, Finance, Engineering, and external customers to drive aligned execution.
- Negotiation Champion: Maintains a direct, relentless focus on deal velocity, contract quality, and risk management, ensuring our most complex commercial commitments are successfully structured and closed with both internal and external alignment.
- Thrives in Ambiguity: Possesses a startup mindset, taking initiative and driving outcomes while collaborating effectively within a large, matrixed organization.
- People Mentor: Enthusiastic about leading, mentoring, and elevating commercial capabilities across the organization, with a commitment to fostering a collaborative and high-performing team culture.
Travel | Company:
- Travel Expectations: Moderate (30%) domestic travel to support high-priority customer negotiations and visit regional offices as needed.
You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!
As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:
- Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
- Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
- Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
- Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
- Tuition assistance
- Established and active employee resource groups
- Paid time off for individual and team community service
- A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
- Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.
This position is leadership level 5 and ranges from $141,700-$268,300.
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.
For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/LL5
Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.
Company: As Ford establishes a wholly owned subsidiary focused on Battery Energy Storage Systems, this role will initially be employed by Ford and is expected to transition to the subsidiary within one year.
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