Procurement Lead – Construction

Confidential Company; Sharjah; On-site; AED 300,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential Company in the United Arab Emirates is seeking a Lead Procurement professional to oversee procurement for construction and capital projects from inception through contract award and delivery, aligning with project teams to maximize value and manage risk.

The role requires 7–10+ years of experience, strong knowledge of FIDIC contracts, international procurement, and proven ability to lead tenders, negotiations, and supplier governance across complex projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or closely related discipline.
• 7–10+ years of experience in procurement, contracts, commercial management or supply chain in construction.
• Strong knowledge of FIDIC or equivalent contracts and their application to project risk.
• Experience with international procurement and contracting and currency exposure.

Responsibilities

• Develop procurement strategies and determine packaging sequencing and market timing.
• Engage with project teams to understand requirements and provide commercial input.
• Assess market capability, capacity, pricing and conduct market sounding.
• Lead prequalification and evaluation of contractors and consultants.
• Lead commercial negotiations for high-value packages and alternative proposals.
• Drive value engineering and lifecycle cost optimization across projects.
• Monitor contract performance, variations and change management.
• Review outturn costs and capture lessons learned to improve future procurement.

Skills

Procurement leadership

Contract management

FIDIC knowledge

Market analysis

Negotiation

Vendor management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering

Job description

Job Purpose Lead Procurement activities for construction and capital projects from project inception design and tendering through contract award construction delivery and variation management Partner with project teams to develop effective procurement strategies identify suitable consultants and contractors and establish commercial arrangements that maximize value manage risk and ensure compliance with procurement policies and regulations

Key Responsibilities

• Develop procurement strategies and determine appropriate packaging sequencing and market timing in line with project stage gates design maturity and approvals
• Engage early with project teams to understand requirements challenge specifications and provide commercial input on design and delivery decisions
• Assess the contractor and consultancy market including capability capacity pricing and market conditions and conduct appropriate market sounding ahead of tenders
• Define and scope consultancy appointments ensuring clear design responsibilities coordination requirements and professional liabilities
• Lead prequalification and evaluation of contractors and subcontractors assessing financial strength technical capability safety performance and capacity
• Recommend appropriate delivery models and contract forms including FIDIC or equivalent and advise on commercial conditions risk allocation and contractual exposure
• Manage the full tender process including bidder queries clarifications addenda commercial evaluation and negotiations
• Lead commercial negotiations for high-value and technically complex packages including alternative proposals provisional sums and rate build-ups
• Drive value engineering and buildability reviews assessing options based on total lifecycle cost including construction operation maintenance logistics duty freight and currency exposure where applicable
• Monitor contract performance variations and change management throughout project execution
• Review project outturn costs against original estimates and capture lessons learned to improve future procurement strategies and performance

Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline. 7–10+ years of experience in procurement, contracts, commercial management or supply chain, with significant experience in construction, infrastructure or major capital projects. Strong knowledge of FIDIC or equivalent standard contract forms and their application to different project risk profiles. Strong understanding of the construction and consultancy market, including contractor capability, capacity and commercial practices. Experience in selecting and managing consultancy appointments and defining professional liabilities. Proven experience managing complex tenders, bidder clarifications, evaluations and commercial negotiations. Experience with major delivery models such as Design & Build, EPC and Construction Management. Experience in international procurement and contracting, including delivery terms, customs/duty, freight, lead times and currency exposure. Strong commercial judgement, negotiation and stakeholder management skills. Professional certification such as CIPS/MCIPS, PMP or equivalent is preferred.