Contract and Claims Manager

Evonik; Allentown (Lehigh County); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Evonik is seeking a Senior Contract Manager in Allentown, PA to lead contract and claim management for large CAPEX investments. You will work with engineering and legal colleagues to align contracts, budgets, and schedules, ensuring robust commercial strategies across project phases.

The role requires strong negotiation, stakeholder management, and travel readiness, with a focus on minimizing risk and ensuring conformance to project goals. Hybrid work options are available.

Qualifications

• Masters degree in engineering, business administration or equivalent qualification.
• 5–10 years of experience in contract, claims and commercial management of large CAPEX investment projects.
• Deep understanding of project phases, deliverables and interfaces between stages.
• Strong knowledge of roles, responsibilities and risks across owner and contractor models.
• Experience supporting complex CAPEX projects, including change orders and risk mitigation.
• Established project management skills and familiarity with IT tools.
• Ability to build relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Proven teamwork and strong enthusiasm.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to develop commercial relationships across cultures to ensure cost, timeline, quality.
• Willingness to travel (including project task forces).

Responsibilities

• Establish and implement contract and claim management in investment projects with cross-functional teams.
• Develop contract strategies with the project team and ensure tender/contract documentation quality.
• Contribute input to budgeting, timelines and WBS development.
• Review tender documents for compliance across technical, commercial, market and project needs with procurement.
• Align template contracts and related docs with the legal team.
• Manage contracting and award negotiations with project procurement and stakeholders.
• Oversee commercial management of key service and supply contracts for changes and extensions.
• Provide commercial and contractual support from tender to project execution, managing contractor interfaces and risks.
• Lead negotiations of contractor and owner claims with the project team.
• Prepare claims reporting and project documentation.
• Implement contract and claim management across the procurement organization.
• Develop and conduct recurring internal training programs for teams.

Skills

Contract management

Project management

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Communication

Travel readiness

Education

Masters degree in engineering

MBA

Tools

Project management tools

Job description

What We Offer

Explore a world of opportunities with us. Look ahead with us and help shape innovative solutions to make our world more sustainable and life healthier, more vibrant and more comfortable. At Evonik, you have the chance to explore, thrive, and grow alongside 33,000 colleagues. Among attractive career paths and high-quality development programs, we not only offer performance-based remuneration and occupational health benefits but also hybrid and flexible working environments with #SmartWork. Bring your fresh perspective, develop your strengths, break out your mold, and find a career that fits your dreams with us.

Responsibilities

• Establish and implement the contract and claim management in investment projects in a cross-functional team with engineering and legal colleagues
• Develop contractual strategies with the project team, including quality assurance of tender and contract documentation, to prevent and/or mitigate potential claims.
• Give input to the budgeting process, the project timeline and work breakdown structure development
• Control the tender documents for compliance between technical and commercial documents, the market and the project requirements together with the Project Procurement Manager
• Align template contracts and related documents with the legal team.
• Manage contracting and award negotiations together with project procurement, category management and other stakeholders
• Commercial management of key service and/or supply contracts concerning changes, supplements, extensions, defaults
• Provide commercial and contractual support to project teams from tender preparation through project execution, ensuring effective management of contractor interfaces, contractual risks, and claim avoidance initiatives.
• Prepare and lead negotiations of contractor and owner claims together with the project team.
• Prepare claim reporting and the respective project documentation
• Manage the implementation of contract and claim management throughout the procurement organization
• Develop, implement, and conduct recurring internal training programs for project teams and organizational units.

Requirements

• University / Post Graduate (Masters Degree) in engineering, business administration or equivalent qualification
• 5 to 10 years of experience in contract, claims, and commercial management of large CAPEX investment projects executed under EPC, EPCM, General Contractor, or Design & Build delivery models.
• Profound understanding of project phases, their deliverables, and the interfaces between subsequent project stages.
• Strong understanding of the allocation of roles, responsibilities, and risks between owner and contractor under different commercial models (e.g., lump sum/fixed price, unit rate, and time & materials contracts).
• Experience supporting project teams during execution of complex CAPEX projects, including management of change orders, contractor performance issues, and commercial risk mitigation.
• Established project management skills and knowledge of relevant IT tools
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with different stakeholders within and outside the organization
• Proven teamwork skills and great enthusiasm
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Ability to develop commercial relationships across a range of cultures to ensure the project cost, timeline and quality
• Flexibility and willingness to travel (including delegation into project task forces).

The Evonik Group adopts an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) approach. Candidates are assessed based on their educational qualifications, experience, job competencies and potential and shall not be discriminated against on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, nationality, disability or sexual orientation or other classifications protected by local, state, or provincial regulations.