Contract and Claims Manager

Evonik; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work environment

Flexible working

Job summary

Evonik is seeking an experienced professional to lead contract and claims management for large CAPEX investment projects. You will work with engineering and legal teams to ensure compliant tender and contract documentation and support project budgeting and timelines.

In this role, you will align contracts with the legal team, manage negotiations with stakeholders, and drive risk mitigation across procurement activities, ensuring project cost, timeline and quality targets are met.

Qualifications

• 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.
• Understanding of project phases and interfaces between stages.
• Knowledge of owner-contractor risk allocation under various commercial models.
• Experience supporting project teams during execution of complex CAPEX projects, including change orders and risk mitigation.

Responsibilities

• Establish and implement contract and claim management in investment projects in cross-functional teams.
• Develop contractual strategies with the project team and quality assurance of tender and contract documentation.
• Input to budgeting process, project timeline and WBS development.
• Control tender documents for compliance with technical and commercial requirements.
• Align template contracts with the legal team and manage negotiations.

Skills

Contract management

Claims management

Stakeholder management

Project team collaboration

Communication skills

Education

Masters Degree in engineering or business administration

Tools

Project management software

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.