Senior Contracts Specialist

Confidential Company; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 420,000 - 660,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential Company in Abu Dhabi is seeking a senior legal/contracts lead to oversee regional governance, risk management and operational review workflows. You will bridge Business Units, Legal Counsel and Executive Leadership to raise standards and manage multi‑jurisdictional contracts, NDAs, MOUs and intercompany agreements.

The role focuses on establishing SOPs, maintaining contract registers, and monitoring key milestones, insurance requirements and renewals across the region.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Law or related discipline; LLB or equivalent strongly preferred.
• 8+ years in commercial contract management, review, or advisory roles.

Responsibilities

• Review and assess commercial contracts, tenders, NDAs, MAUs and similar agreements for risks.
• Evaluate liability, indemnities, warranties, penalties, payment terms and governing law.
• Support tendering and negotiation stages with risk reviews and proposed deviations.
• Provide initial legal guidance and escalate matters needing formal opinion.
• Suggest amendments and risk mitigations aligned with commercial interests.
• Maintain contract governance processes, registers, workflows and monitoring.
• Track obligations, renewals, notice periods and insurance requirements.
• Maintain central repository and version control of executed agreements.
• Manage PI and PL insurance policies, renewals, coverage and broker liaison.
• Review insurance requirements to align with coverage and risk exposure.
• Prepare periodic risk reports for COO and management.
• Identify recurring risks and improve templates, processes and governance.

Skills

Contract management

Risk assessment

Negotiation

Legal advisory

Education

Bachelor's degree in Law / related discipline

Job description

This position serves as the functional lead for regional contract governance, pre-approval risk management, and operational review workflows. The position acts as the primary bridge between Business Units, Legal Counsel, and Executive Leadership Responsible for elevating departmental standards, this role manages complex regional contract portfolios (covering client contracts, NDAs, MOUs, partnership structures, agency, and intercompany agreements), establishes operational SOPs, and oversee daily contract administration across the region.

II. Responsibility and Authority

1. Review and assess commercial contracts, tender agreements, NDAs, framework agreements, service agreements and other business-critical agreements, identifying key commercial and contractual risks.

2. Review contractual provisions relating to liability, indemnities, warranties, penalties, payment terms, termination, confidentiality, intellectual property, insurance, dispute resolution and governing law.

3. Support Tendering and Business teams in identifying and managing contractual risks during the tender and negotiation stages, including review of client terms and proposed deviations.

4. Provide initial legal and contractual guidance to business stakeholders and **escalate** matters requiring formal legal opinion to the appropriate legal counsel.

5. Support contract negotiations and recommend appropriate amendments, qualifications and risk mitigation measures in line with the Company's commercial interests.

6. Establish and maintain contract governance processes, including contract registers, approval workflows, contractual risk assessments, deviation tracking and key obligation monitoring.

7. Monitor critical contractual obligations, renewal dates, notice periods, guarantees, insurance requirements and other key contractual milestones.

8. Maintain a central repository of executed agreements and ensure appropriate documentation, version control and accessibility of contractual records.

9. Manage business-critical insurance policies, particularly Professional Indemnity (PI) and Public Liability (PL), including renewals, coverage assessment, claims coordination and liaison with brokers and insurers.

10. Review insurance requirements under commercial contracts and ensure alignment with the Company's insurance coverage and risk exposure.

11. Prepare periodic reports for the COO and management on significant contractual risks, material deviations, claims, insurance matters and key contractual obligations.

12. Identify recurring contractual and commercial risks and recommend improvements to contract templates, processes, governance and risk management practices.

Desired Candidate Profile

1. Bachelor's degree in Law, Commercial Law, Contract Management, Business Administration or related discipline. LLB or equivalent legal qualification is strongly preferred.

2. Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in commercial contract management, contract review, legal/commercial advisory, tender contracts or a similar role, preferably within TIC, engineering, technical services, construction, consulting or professional services.

3. Strong knowledge of commercial contracts, contractual risk assessment, negotiation and legal/commercial principles, with practical experience in the Middle East.