Senior Manager - Commercial

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons Corporation in Riyadh seeks a Senior Manager - Commercial to lead contract administration, cost management, and commercial strategy for major projects in Saudi Arabia. The role oversees governance, risk assessment, and client/supply chain relationships to protect profitability.

The ideal candidate brings 15+ years of experience in construction commercial management, strong knowledge of FIDIC contracts, and demonstrated leadership across complex programs.

Qualifications

• Minimum 15 years of progressive commercial, contracts, or cost management experience in large-scale projects.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement commercial strategies to support project margins and risk controls.
• Lead commercial governance across projects and ensure adherence to policies and procedures.
• Manage cost plans, cash flow forecasts, and financial performance reporting.
• Negotiate major contracts, variations, and final accounts with clients and suppliers.
• Provide guidance on contractual rights, obligations, and risk allocation to project teams.

Skills

Commercial management

Contract administration

FIDIC contracts

Subcontractor management

Cost management

Change management

MS Excel

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management, Construction Management, Law, Finance, or related field

Tools

MS Excel

Job description

Overview

Senior Manager - Commercial in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a Construction hiring opportunity with Parsons Corporation for a senior commercial and contracts leader experienced in major projects, contract administration, cost management, commercial strategy, FIDIC contracts, claims, variations, dispute resolution, procurement support, and financial performance control. This role leads commercial governance across a portfolio of projects or a major program, helping protect organizational interests, improve margin performance, manage contractual risk, and support strong client and supply chain relationships.

Job Details

Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Industry: Construction
Function: Contracts Administration
Experience: Minimum 15 years
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: 50000-70000 (Estimated salary range based on similar jobs in the city; final offer to be confirmed with the employer).

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement commercial strategies that support business objectives, project margins, cash flow targets, risk controls, and long‑term delivery requirements.
• Provide commercial leadership to project teams and ensure company policies, procedures, governance standards, and best practices are applied consistently.
• Support business planning, budgeting, bid reviews, and strategic decision‑making through commercial analysis, contract insight, and risk evaluation.
• Lead or support negotiations for major contracts, variations, claims, settlements, final accounts, and commercial agreements.
• Review, negotiate, and finalize prime contracts, subcontracts, consultancy agreements, and FIDIC‑based contract documents.
• Ensure strong contract administration across notice provisions, change control, claims procedures, correspondence, approvals, and contract compliance.
• Draft and review contractual correspondence to protect the company’s position and support proactive dispute avoidance.
• Provide guidance on contractual rights, obligations, entitlements, risk allocation, and commercial controls to project managers, procurement teams, and senior leadership.
• Oversee project budgets, cost plans, cash flow forecasts, commercial reports, cost commitments, and financial control processes.
• Lead monthly cost reporting, cost‑value reconciliations, earned value analysis, margin analysis, and commercial performance reviews.
• Monitor project financial performance, identify variances, assess exposure, and recommend corrective actions to protect profitability.
• Validate and approve major cost commitments, change events, variations, claims, settlements, and final account submissions.
• Establish and oversee change management procedures across projects to ensure variations and claims are properly captured, evaluated, substantiated, negotiated, and closed.
• Review and negotiate extensions of time, loss and expense claims, variation submissions, disruption claims, and other commercial entitlements.
• Coordinate with planning, legal, technical, project controls, and delivery teams to substantiate claims and defend the organization’s commercial position.
• Manage dispute resolution processes including negotiation, mediation, adjudication, arbitration, and settlement discussions when required.
• Support procurement strategies for key packages, including tender planning, evaluation, commercial review, negotiation, and contract award.
• Negotiate subcontractor and supplier terms to optimize cost, risk allocation, performance obligations, payment terms, and delivery commitments.
• Monitor subcontractor commercial performance, including payment applications, claims, variations, progress valuation, and final account closure.
• Build effective working relationships with strategic supply chain partners while maintaining strong commercial discipline and contractual protection.
• Identify commercial risks and opportunities across the project lifecycle and maintain updated commercial risk registers.
• Ensure compliance with corporate governance, delegation of authority, internal controls, commercial approvals, and audit requirements.
• Contribute to bid and tender reviews by assessing commercial risk profiles, contractual terms, pricing assumptions, and project delivery exposure.
• Support internal audits, commercial reviews, and improvement actions related to contract administration and cost management practices.
• Act as the primary commercial interface with clients, partners, joint venture entities, supply chain representatives, and senior internal stakeholders.
• Present commercial performance, project risks, recovery strategies, claims status, and financial trends during management and client meetings.
• Support business development and pre‑contract teams with commercial input for proposals, negotiations, tender strategies, and client discussions.
• Lead, mentor, and develop commercial managers, quantity surveyors, contract administrators, and cost professionals.
• Allocate commercial resources effectively across projects and support succession planning for key roles within the commercial function.
• Promote a culture of high performance, integrity, transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement across commercial teams.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management, Construction Management, Law, Finance, or a related field.
• Minimum 15 years of progressive commercial, contracts, or cost management experience across large‑scale construction, infrastructure, utilities, or industrial projects.
• Demonstrated experience leading commercial strategy and contract management on major projects, programs, or complex portfolios.
• Strong knowledge of FIDIC and other standard forms of contract, with practical understanding of commercial principles and contractual risk allocation.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen with the ability to analyze budgets, forecasts, margins, claims, cost reports, and contract exposure.
• Excellent understanding of contract law, claims management, dispute resolution mechanisms, change control, and procurement risk.
• Proven ability to negotiate complex contracts, variations, claims, settlements, payment matters, and final accounts.
• Experience working in client, consultant, Tier 1 contractor, joint venture, PPP, P3, or alliance contracting environments is preferred.
• Familiarity with project controls, planning, earned value management, cost‑value reconciliation, and performance reporting systems.
• Strong leadership and people management capability with experience developing commercial managers, quantity surveyors, and contract administrators.
• Highly effective communicator with the ability to influence senior stakeholders, manage challenging discussions, and present clear commercial recommendations.
• High proficiency in MS Excel and commercial or contract management tools.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, negotiations, and reporting requirements in a fast‑paced project environment.
• Professional membership such as MRICS, MCIPS, RICS, CIOB, or equivalent is preferred.

Skills Set

• Commercial management
• Contract administration
• FIDIC contracts
• Prime contracts
• Subcontracts
• Consultancy agreements
• Contract negotiation
• Commercial strategy
• Cost management
• Budget management
• Cost planning
• Cash flow forecasting
• Cost‑value reconciliation
• Earned value analysis
• Margin analysis
• Financial performance monitoring
• Change management
• Variation management
• Claims management
• Extension of time claims
• Loss and expense claims
• Final accounts
• Dispute resolution
• Mediation
• Adjudication
• Arbitration
• Contractual correspondence
• Notice provisions
• Risk allocation
• Commercial risk management
• Procurement strategy
• Tender evaluation
• Contract award
• Subcontractor commercial management
• Supplier negotiation
• Payment applications
• Cost commitments
• Delegation of authority
• Corporate governance
• Internal controls
• Bid reviews
• Tender reviews
• Joint ventures
• PPP
• P3
• Alliance contracting
• Project controls
• Planning coordination
• MS Excel
• Commercial reporting
• Executive reporting
• Quantity surveying
• Contract management tools
• Team leadership
• Stakeholder management