Senior Commercial Manager

Cowi; Glasgow; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

CowI, a leading engineering consultancy, seeks a Senior Commercial Manager to provide senior commercial leadership across projects, bids and portfolios in a hybrid UK role (Glasgow, London, York, Derby or Bristol). You will drive pre-contract strategy, contract review and negotiation, and post-contract administration to identify and manage commercial risk from opportunity to close-out.

The role requires strong NEC3/NEC4 experience, robust negotiation skills and the ability to coordinate with

Qualifications

• Senior commercial management experience in engineering consultancy, infrastructure or related environments.
• Extensive pre-contract experience including procurement and contract strategy.
• Proven ability to interpret contracts and translate into practical delivery actions.

Responsibilities

• Lead pre-contract and bid inputs including ITT reviews, terms, scopes and pricing.
• Critically assess contracts for commercial, programme liabilities and risk.
• Advise on risk allocation, qualifications and commercial strategy.
• Develop procurement and contracting strategies aligned with client objectives.
• Draft and negotiate consultancy and sub-consultancy agreements and other docs.
• Lead or support negotiations with clients, partners and supply chain.
• Support tender documentation and contract award processes.
• Oversee post-contract commercial management: changes, notices, payments, and claims.
• Establish contract mobilisation and governance, ensuring deliverables and deadlines are met.

Skills

NEC3/NEC4 experience

Contract negotiation

Risk management

Pre-contract strategy

Contract review

Commercial governance

Stakeholder engagement

Budgeting & pricing

Change control

Education

RICS/CICES/CIArb/APM/CIOB membership

Job description

Senior Commercial Manager

Glasgow, London, York, Derby or Bristol

Permanent

Office/Home Hybrid Working

Do you want to difference as a key member of our commercial team? Can you provide expertise on contract strategy, risk and negotiation? Are you experienced with NEC 3 and NEC 4 contracts? Then, read on. This could be the perfect opportunity for you

Create Solutions that will enable a better tomorrow

To provide senior commercial and contractual leadership across our projects, bids and portfolios, we are looking for a Senior Commercial Manager to join us. Working on pre-contract strategy, contract review and negotiation, contractual risk management and post-contract administration, you’ll support project and business leadership in identifying, understanding and managing contractual and commercial risk from opportunity identification and bid stage through contract award, delivery and close-out.

The selected candidate will be expected to constructively question contractual positions, translating contract terms into practical programme, commercial and delivery implications and ensuring that significant risks are understood, appropriately allocated and effectively managed.

Your key responsibilities will be:

• Manage commercial and contractual inputs during pre-contract and bid stages, including review of ITTs, proposed contract terms, scopes, pricing, commercial mechanism, and procurement strategies.
• Review and critically assess contracts to identify commercial, contractual, programme liabilities and delivery risks including their potential impact at project and portfolio level.
• Advise bid and project teams on appropriate risk allocation, qualifications, departures, assumptions and commercial strategy.
• Develop and advise on procurement and contracting strategies, including route to market, packaging, risk allocation and commercial models appropriate to the client’s objectives and risk appetite.
• Draft, review and negotiate consultancy and sub consultancy agreements, amendments, and other contractual documentation across standard forms of contracts, frameworks and bespoke agreements.
• Lead or support contract negotiations with clients, partners and supply chain organisations, escalating material risks where appropriate.
• Assist with preparation of tender and contract documentations, including scope, pricing documents, contract data, schedules, commercial requirements, and support tender evaluation, clarification and negotiation through to contract award.
• Provide post-contract commercial and contractual management, including change control, variations, notices, early warnings, payment, programme, interfaces, claims, disputes and contractual correspondences.
• Establish effective contract mobilisation and controls, ensuring contractual obligations, deliverables, notices, key dates, commercial controls and risk ownership are understood and managed throughout delivery.
• Act as a trusted commercial and contractual adviser to clients, project managers, business leadership, working closely with Legal, Finance and technical teams, and contributing to commercial governance, best practice and capability development.

Your skills. Our team. Together we design the future.

The first step to success in this role is that you are eager to collaborate with the people around you, whether they are colleagues, partners, or customers. Developing ties with others is something you do by acting respectfully and delivering on your promises. And you never get set in your ways but keep exploring new insights and ways to improve.

On top of that, you’ll have:

• Significant experience in a Senior Contracts Manager, Senior Commercial Manager or comparable role within an engineering consultancy, infrastructure, construction or a related environment.
• Extensive pre-contract experience, including procurement, contract review, risk identification, drafting and development of contractual and commercial strategies.
• Demonstrated practical experience with NEC3 and NEC4, along with familiarity with FIDIC or other standard forms, as well as the ability to interpret contract terms and assess their commercial and operational implications.
• Ability to interrogate scope, programme, interfaces, deliverables, and commercial mechanisms, and understand how these interact with contractual obligations, risk allocation and project delivery.
• Demonstrable experience supporting bids, tenders and major pursuits, including commercial and contractual risk reviews, procurement strategy and tender / contract documentation.
• Substantial post-contract management experience, including change, contractual notices, commercial risk management and dispute avoidance / resolution.
• Ability to assess and question commercial and contractual risk, distinguishing between risk and matters requiring mitigation, qualification, negotiation, or escalation, including consideration of wider programme or portfolio exposure.
• Effective stakeholder and advisory capability, with confidence to constructively query Project Managers, technical teams, bid teams, clients and senior stakeholders and communicate complex contractual matters clearly.
• Relevant professional qualifications or equivalent experience, with membership of an appropriate professional body (e.g. RICS, CICES, CIArb, APM or CIOB) desirable. NEC3, NEC4 and FIDIC accreditation or formal training.