Senior Commercial Manager - Pre-Contracts

Downer; Milton; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Wellness benefits

Retail discounts

Career progression

Job summary

Downer's Energy & Utilities team across Australia and New Zealand seeks a Senior Commercial Manager - Pre Contracts to lead tender shaping, pricing strategy and risk assessment. Reporting to the Commercial Director, you will guide bids from opportunity identification through to award, balancing customer needs with value and long-term growth.

You will influence governance, collaborate with bid, operations, legal and technical teams, and translate complex contracts into practical recommendations

Qualifications

• Commercially astute with tendering, bid governance and approvals.
• Ability to translate complex tenders and contracts for stakeholders.
• Strong judgement identifying risks, opportunities and customer drivers.

Responsibilities

• Shape bids through tender phase with commercial insight.
• Influence pricing, risk position and customer response.
• Translate risks and trade-offs into practical bid team guidance.
• Develop balanced commercial positions with stakeholders.
• Identify value and risks in KPIs and performance regimes.
• Present governance recommendations to senior stakeholders.

Skills

Commercial awareness

Tender governance

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Contract interpretation

Education

Tertiary qualification in law or related discipline

Job description

Take a leading role in shaping commercially smart, sustainable growth opportunities across Downer's Energy & Utilities business as a Senior Commercial Manager - Pre Contracts.

The opportunity

Reporting to the Commercial Director, the Senior Commercial Manager - Pre Contracts will play a visible and influential role in supporting sustainable growth across Downer's Energy & Utilities business in Australia and New Zealand. This is an exciting opportunity to work at the centre of the tender phase, using commercial insight, strategic thinking and sound judgement to help the business decide which opportunities to pursue and how to position them for success. From early opportunity identification through to tender submission, negotiation, award and handover, you will help balance customer expectations, risk, value and long-term growth. You will join a collaborative, high-performing commercial team that provides practical advice, constructive challenge and clear commercial direction across Energy &Utilities pursuits.

What you'll do

• Shape bids through the tender phase, using commercial insight to help the business pursue opportunities that support sustainable growth and are competitive, deliverable and commercially sound.
• Influence commercial strategy on complex tender opportunities, working with bid, operational and technical teams to help shape the solution, pricing approach, risk position and customer response.
• Bring clarity to complex customer contracts, commercial models and performance regimes by translating key risks, opportunities and trade-offs into practical advice for bid teams and senior stakeholders.
• Partner with specialist functions to develop balanced commercial positions that protect Downer while supporting compelling, customer-focused bids.
• Identify value, risk and opportunity in KPIs, performance regimes and commercial mechanisms, helping shape tender and negotiation positions that support sustainable business outcomes.
• Represent the commercial strategy through governance and approval processes, presenting clear recommendations that support confident decision-making by senior stakeholders.

What we offer

• Competitive remuneration with a leading ASX-listed company.
• Flexible working arrangements, including work-from-home options.
• Exposure to diverse tender opportunities across Energy & Utilities, with the ability to influence commercial strategy before contracts are awarded.
• Structured career pathways and the opportunity to work across different areas of the Utilities business, supported by a robust Commercial Operating Model.
• A suite of health and wellness benefits and initiatives, including employee assistance support.
• Retail discounts with major retailers, including Dell, The Good Guys, Samsung, Specsavers and ANZ

What we're looking for

• A commercially astute professional with experience in construction, maintenance, infrastructure or service-based contracting, ideally with exposure to tendering, bid governance and commercial approval processes.
• The ability to review and interpret complex tenders, contracts, commercial models and performance regimes, and translate them into clear, practical advice for bid teams and senior stakeholders.
• Strong commercial judgement, with confidence identifying key risks, opportunities, customer drivers and negotiation positions during the tender phase.
• A collaborative and proactive approach, with the ability to influence, challenge constructively and build trusted relationships across bid, operational, technical, legal and functional teams.
• Confidence engaging senior stakeholders and contributing to governance and approval processes through clear recommendations and sound commercial reasoning.
• Tertiary qualifications in law, construction management, engineering, accounting, quantity surveying or a related discipline.

About Energy & Utilities

Downer's Energy & Utilities business unit is an integrated trans-Tasman team, providing services and solutions that connect communities to essential networks and infrastructure. We design, build, operate and maintain today's critical assets and networks, delivering complete services across the water, electricity, telecommunications, industrial and power generation sectors. Our expertise spans in-house technical smarts, specialist engineering, integrated OEM partners, and dedicated crews of qualified tradespeople.

Downer Group is an employer that acknowledges and embraces the importance of our people's diverse experiences, talents, and cultures. As an inclusive employer, we welcome applications from everyone.