Lead Negotiator, Associate Director - East and Central locations

Lead Negotiator, Associate Director - East and Central locations

Location: New York

Other locations: Anywhere in Region

Date: Oct 20, 2026

Requisition ID: 1754477

Location: New York City,Hoboken, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Nashville

At EY, we’re all in to shape your future with confidence.

We’ll help you succeed in a globally connected powerhouse of diverse teams and take your career wherever you want it to go. Join EY and help to build a better working world.

The Lead Negotiator – Associate Director is a “deal closer” who has the experience and skill to run an holistic negotiation strategy and manage the EY deal team, and the client’s team, to a collaborative and mutually value-based outcome. The role is primarily responsible for working on EY’s largest, most complex deals, and must have a high level of business acumen, leadership skills and emotional intelligence to be an effective “first chair” on the deal.

The role must also be able to thrive in new and unfamiliar environments, as each deal and client is different, and navigate the client’s behavior and tactics to maintain the integrity of the deal for EY. The position also involves the ability to lead training classes and presentations on best pratices in negotiation.

Essential functions:

Negotiations

• Lead the actual negotiation process as a “first chair” with the client’s negotiation lead to take the engagement from “sold” to “closed”
• Collaborate with the EY sales lead on relationship mapping and tiering to align EY’s people with the appropriate client leaders
• Provide advice and strategies on how to get client commitment to a close plan
• Lead the deal-making process to document, and then get agreement via contractual language with the client on, the terms of the deal
• Provide advice / counsel to pursuit teams on the various commercial models available for large complex deals
• Assist in the activation and implementation of negotiations strategies for the Region

Deal Support:

• Act as a key conduit of information between the account team and Pursuits & Commercial Excellence leadership
• Team closely with regional business development leaders to advise and strategize on deal opportunities
• Cascade EY’s negotiation methodology as a global best practice
• Bring process consistency and synergies for negotiations to the Regions and client accounts by example and through EY training programs
• Build relationships with Global and Regional leadership to enable successful activation and implementation of EY’s negotiation methodology at the Region level
• Leverage proximity and relationships with Regional business leads to facilitate and encourage successful integration of EY’s negotiation methodology across priority deals in the region
• Instill exceptional client service into the end-to-end negotiations process across EY

Analytical/Decision Making Responsibilities:

• Exercise independent judgment when analyzing information and evaluating results to recommend the best strategy and solution
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems
• Identify opportunities for increasing sales and drive towards achieving the Engagement Revenue objectives
• Focus on results-oriented behaviors and make sound decisions quickly, given tight timeframes
• Apply strong analytical skills to our proposed solutions and seek information on risks and dependencies to capture in our drafting
• Solve challenging and ambiguous problems in a consistently efficient and effective manner
• Provide exceptional service to the EY account teams across parallel projects by demonstrating the ability to prioritize critical activities to meet business needs in a timely manner, with high quality
• Demonstrate creativity, versatility, and adaptability in a constantly evolving environment with a wide variety of social styles

Knowledge and Skills Requirements

• Strong business and commercial acumen to quickly become familiar with a given solution
• Capable of leading and being part teams in a complex matrix and unstructured environments with teams geographically distributed
• Ability to lead EY teams without “authority,” using skills of influence and communication
• Attention to detail, and ability to produce work of consistently high-quality under pressure (time and outcomes)
• A high level of drive, ability to work independently, and deal effectively with ambiguity and change
• Fluency of best practice in technology services contract drafting and ability to translate these for EY pursuits
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for EY stakeholders
• Flexibility in working with various EY stakeholders across the world and in different time zones

Supervision Responsibilities:

• Works independently and manages multiple priorities simultaneously
• Directs a virtual team of resources
• Operate as a “first chair” to the deal team, leading the drive, giving direction on tasks and timelines, and oversee drafting of the contracting documents
• Ability to execute performance standards with a high degree of independence and autonomy
• Ability to serve as a Counselor to other pursuit team members

Other Requirements:

• Embraces shared philosophy that “great teams” execute a consistent set of behaviors aligned with being a:
  • Trusted Strategic Advisor – Build Trust and credibility by proactively providing forward-thinking insights and guidance to help pursuit teams develop and execute a winning pursuit strategy
  • Gold Standard Champion – Execute EY’s “gold standard” pursuit process with discipline and expertise to improve consistency and use of leading practices in EY’s approach to winning
  • Win-Win Advocate – Drive internal and external clients towards outcomes that deliver compelling and sustainable results for both the client and EY
  • Creativity and innovation Driver – Inspire and challenge teams to differentiate EY through innovative strategies, experiences, and deliverables that compel our clients to choose EY
  • Inspirational Change Agent – Invest in developing world-class talent, methods, tools, and capabilities to deliver better results, create exceptional experiences, and develop transformative leaders and teams
• As the job involves responding to clients’ needs and varying time zones, flexible hours are regularly required
• Limited to moderate to frequent travel will be required

Experience:

• 10+ years’ experience of negotiation and contract drafting experience in commercial and legal terms with substantial experience in the technology services industry (managed services/BPO/system integration/consulting)
• Approximately 7+ years plus of previous “first chair” negotiation experience (in either sales, legal or procurement) in the consulting and managed services industry
• Experience working in a large complex global organization with strong understanding of leading negotiation practices with proven experience
• Experience leading and managing high-performance teams
• MBA or master’s degree (or equivalent qualification) in Business or related field preferred

What we offer you

At EY, we harness our collective strength to empower you to shape your future with confidence through professional growth, personal fulfillment and an inclusive culture. Learn more at ey.com/us/careers.

• We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package where you’ll be rewarded based on your performance and recognized for the value you bring to the business. The base salary range for this job is:
• New York City, Boston, and Washington DC Metro Areas, Washington State, and Southern California offices – $214,300 to $385,700
• Bay Area California offices – $223,200 to $401,800
• All other offices locations in the US, including Sacramento – $178,600 to $353,600
• Individual salaries within these ranges are determined through a wide variety of factors including but not limited to education, experience, knowledge, skills and geography. In addition, our Total Rewards package includes medical and dental coverage, pension and 401(k) plans, and a wide range of paid time off options.
• Under our flexible vacation policy, you’ll decide how much vacation time you need based on your own personal circumstances. You’ll also be granted time off for designated EY Paid Holidays, Winter/Summer breaks, Personal/Family Care, and other leaves of absence when needed to support your physical, financial, and emotional well-being.

EY provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, genetic information,national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other legally protected basis, including arrest and conviction records, in accordance with applicable law.

EY is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities including veterans with disabilities. If you have a disability and either need assistance applying online or need to request an accommodation during any part of the application process, please call 1-800-EY-HELP3, select Option 2 for candidate related inquiries, then select Option 1 for candidate queries and finally select Option 2 for candidates with an inquiry which will route you to EY’s Talent Shared Services Team (TSS) or email the TSS at View email address on click.appcast.io .

EY | Building a better working world

EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.

Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.

EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories.

All in to shape the future with confidence.