Senior Contracts Manager MEA

Johnson Controls; Dubai; On-site; AED 350,000 - 480,000; Full time

Job summary

Johnson Controls in Dubai seeks a Senior Contract Manager to lead the contracts management team through the full lifecycle, from sales to closure, guiding risk and commercial considerations.

Based in Dubai, you will collaborate with Sales, Operations, Legal and Finance, drive standard contracts, and mentor a team of contract specialists to safeguard business interests.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, engineering, law or relevant field; masters preferred.
• Minimum 10 years industry experience, with >5 years in a similar role.
• Proven track record with standard contracting forms (FIDIC/NEC) and bespoke contracts.

Responsibilities

• Lead full lifecycle of opportunities’ contracts from sales to execution and closure.
• Develop and implement contract management procedures compliant with policy and legal.
• Maintain and update standard contract templates with JCI Legal approval.
• Lead Contract Specialists/Administrators to perform risk reviews for opportunities.
• Provide training toSales/Operations on contracting practices and procedures.
• Support field operations and QS in post‑sales commercial matters (payments, variations, claims).

Skills

Contract management

Leadership

Negotiation

Risk management

Stakeholder communication

Business acumen

Project management

Salesforce

CLM software

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in business administration, engineering, law, or relevant field

Tools

Salesforce

Microsoft Office Suite

CLM/Contract Management software

Job description

What you will do

The Senior Contract Manager is a key role reporting to the EMEA Senior Director for Contracts Management and will be based in Dubai. You will lead the contracts management team through the contract lifecycle management process (from sales through execution and closure stages) provide guidance to the quantity surveying team and advise on commercial risk management matters to the business and leadership teams.

You will be part of an agile team where work has strong business impact in nature with high leadership visibility which represents a significant opportunity to contribute learn and grow.

How you will do it

As Senior Contract Manager you will be working in close collaboration with Business Units (Sales and Operations) Legal and Finance teams within and beyond the MEA region and various stakeholders across the organization in ensuring appropriate contractual/legal risk management identification and mitigation.

Management

• Lead the full lifecycle of an opportunitys contract management from sales stage through to execution and closure stages.
• Develop and implement procedures for contract management and administration in compliance with company policy and in coordination with the JCI Legal Department.
• Develop maintain update (with approval from JCI Legal function) the standard contract agreements for use both with the customers and the vendors/subcontractors.
• Lead and manage the Contract Specialists/Administrators team to carry out contractual risk reviews for all opportunities as per organizational guidelines for all categories of commercial contracts.
• Provide hands-on training and guidance mainly to Sales and Operations teams in contracting practices and procedures.
• Support the business to understand and interpret our and the other partys obligations under the agreement.
• Provide risk management strategies and techniques.
• Support Field Operations and provide guidance to Quantity Surveyors in post-sales commercial matters to effectively manage payment applications and certifications change orders and contract claims.

Pre-sales

• Provide direction on all standard and nonstandard contracts within respective authority level providing redlined recommendations.
• Identify weigh up and define contractual/legal/business issues risks and mitigation actions; and effectively communicate them to appropriate internal decision‑makers for discussion and resolution.
• Implement and where necessary draft appropriate contractual documents related to outcome‑based contracting models such as performance contracting digital solutions and cooling as a service.
• Write cover letters with appropriate Terms and Conditions for bid proposals based on the Bid Review and Analysis.
• Provide documentation to the customer to prove our insurance coverage.

• Act as point of contact between Business Units (Sales & Operations) Finance Legal and Procurement teams to ensure appropriate contractual/legal risk review and mitigation definition.

• Drive and monitor compliance with established procedures and DOA requirements in terms of liabilities (direct and indirect) indemnities damages appropriate credit management and bid review policies.

• Collaborate with the JCI Legal department in the drafting review negotiation and management of both in‑house contracts and third‑party contracts including sale agreements teaming agreements master services agreements SaaS agreements statements or work nondisclosure agreements and one‑off agreements.

Execution & Post-sales

• Advise on contractual financial and legal issues during the currency of contracts.

• Support commercial contracts novation needs between Johnson Controls legal entities or as result of M&A activity.
• Strategize and execute all claims/damages and change orders related discussions with the customers in liaison with the Quantity Surveying and Operations teams. Guide or lead as necessary the preparation submission and negotiation of any contract claim.

• Participate in monthly backlog reviews of projects with Operations for revenue/cashflows and unbilled charges.

• Guide and support the Quantity Surveying team to ensure key commercial indicators such as accounts receivables unbilled and variations/claims are under control and favorable.

• Act as point of contact between internal customers and the JCI Legal Department or outside law firm on litigation matters to assist with providing evidence required to defend the case.

What we look for

Required

• Bachelors degree in business administration engineering law or relevant field. Legal background is an asset. (Masters Degree would be Preferred)
• Minimum 10 years industry experience (ideally with significant experience in building systems manufacturing and/or services) of which more than 5 years of experience in similar role
• Proven track record working with standard contracting forms (e.g. FIDIC NEC) and bespoke contracts with such industry standards
• Well-versed with legal principles and concepts
• Excellent knowledge of concepts/documents such as Warranty Bank Guarantee Insurance and Letter of Credit
• Relevant work experience in dealing with financing arrangements for use in retrofit or new installation projects
• Exposure to dispute resolution processes (e.g. litigation arbitration and mediation)
• Strong leadership interpersonal communication (verbal written and listening) and influencing skills for a variety of audiences with the ability to communicate clearly with a wide range of stakeholders and senior leadership team
• Highly organized and able to multitask strong attention to detail and excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word Excel Outlook and Access).
• Experience using CLM / Opportunity management software and tools such as Salesforce
• High‑energy passionate with a proven track record of delivering results and high resilience in a challenging environment
• Willing to challenge others and be challenged

Required Experience:

Manager