Senior Contracts Specialist, for COWI in North America

COWI; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 88,000 - 136,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangement

Parental leave

Vacation time

Floating holidays

Sick leave

Fitness subsidy

401K with match

Development fund

Transit allowance

Insurance (health/dental/vision)

EAP

Life Insurance

Referral program

Social events

Job summary

COWI is seeking a Sr Contracts Specialist to lead contract administration and develop commercial strategies for major North American projects. You will manage prime and sub-contracts, draft correspondence, administer changes and claims, and advise on risk and commercial matters with Group Legal and stakeholders.

Office will be hybrid with responsibilities across the USA and Canada. The role requires extensive experience in contracts for delivery of large infrastructure projects and regular

Qualifications

• High attention to detail with excellent organizational, written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and team collaboration skills; flexible and a proactive team player.
• Strong leadership skills and ability to work within multi-disciplinary project teams.
• Capable of undertaking internal and client-facing presentations/negotiations.
• Experience in working through a full project delivery cycle (from proposal to project close out).
• Excellent IT skills; willing to travel domestically or internationally for project assignments.

Responsibilities

• Manage deliverables: ensure all contract deliverables are within timeframes and flag issues to PM and project team.
• Communicate and manage change: identify deviations, issue notices, ensure proper valuation and notification of changes.
• Address risk: input to risk register and ensure profitability events are recorded properly.
• Payments: coordinate with project finance to submissions, monitor payment process and remedies.
• Training: conduct contract awareness courses for staff and share lessons learned.
• Client collaboration: conduct commercial meetings with client teams and close out variations.
• Internal coordination: coordinate with document control, insurance, and senior management; coordinate claims development.

Skills

Attention to detail

Interpersonal skills

Leadership

Presentations/Negotiations

Project delivery cycle

MS Office & IT proficiency

Education

Bachelor or Master in Engineering/Construction/Quantity Surveying/Cost Engineering/Legal

Tools

MS Office

Job description

New York, Oakland, San Diego, Seattle and McLean

Regular, Full time

Hybrid

This position is an exciting opportunity to join

COWI as we continue to grow across North America

Covering major infrastructure projects across the USA and Canada, the Sr Contracts Specialist will plan, develop and implement contract commercial strategies to support project success in line with regional and global functional requirements. This position will provide expertise to clients in different contractual settings and will be able to adapt to different contractual arrangements when managing and administering commercial and contractual matters on complex projects. Collaboration with the project team and wider COWI organization is critical to the success of the role. The Sr Contract Specialist shall manage and administer the prime contract on assigned projects, and advise project and senior line/functional management on ways to manage, mitigate and improve on commercial risks/opportunities. Core activities will include correspondence/minutes drafting, identification, tracking, drafting and resolution of changes and claims, issuing notices at appropriate times, attending internal and external meetings where commercial/contract matters are addressed. The Sr Contract Specialist may also participate in internal steering committee meetings as the need arises. The Sr Contract Specialist shall also manage and administer project related sub-contract agreements, where necessary.

The Sr Contract Specialist will need to be cognisant of and coordinate with the services performed by the Project planning, document management and other project services resources.

Your key responsibilities will be:

• Manage deliverables: Ensure all deliverables under the contract are delivered within the prescribed timeframes; advise the PM and the project team of pertinent contractual/commercial issues;
• Communicate and manage change: Identify deviations to scope or terms of the contract and process changes in line with the contract; raise notices when required, ensure variations are properly valued and notified, claims are properly notified and particulars for claims submitted frequently;
• Address risk: provide input into the project risk register; verify that any event that impacts profitability is properly recorded and reflected in the appropriate record documents; all correspondence is drafted in a objective manner appropriate to the contract but in the spirit of providing value to the client;
• Payments: work with the project finance team to verify that payment certificates are submitted in time and in line with contract requirements, monitor the payment process,notify of delayed payments and provide potential remedies; ensures that COWI meets the contract requirements;
• Training: conduct periodic contract awareness courses to staff on the projects; enhance understanding and implement group lessons learned to new projects.
• Client collaboration; conduct frequent commercial meetings with client's commercial teams and try to close out variations as soon as possible; provide input into monthly progress reporting;
• Internal coordination:
  • Work with the document control team to implement correspondence tracking logs and verify that all correspondence is properly numbered and logged; establishchange/variation logs and trend logs where potential changes will be identified and monitored
  • Advise the insurance coordinator (through Group Legal) for proposed updates to project insurances;
  • Participate in senior management meetings
  • Advise on contractual matters in coordination with Group Legal. Identify potential legal issues and coordinate required actions; participate and coordinate claims development with the CMD's centralized specialist claims team.

Reporting:

• The Sr Contract Specialist shall report to the Director of Contract Management as its functional lead and to the HoD of Projects and Contracts Management and its line manager.
• The position will operationally report to the Project Management based on the project.

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 will:

• Bachelor of Science or Masters in Engineering, Construction, Quantity Surveying, Cost Engineering or Legal fields will be in considered.
• Active professional membership(s) in relevant professional bodies preferred.
• Over 10 years working for contractor or engineering consultant in contracts administration and commercial management
• At least 5 years in senior contract management position. Experience working with a medium or a large design organization will be considered an asset.

Additional Skills:

• High attention to detail with excellent organizational, written and verbal communication skills;
• Excellent interpersonal and team collaboration skills; flexible and a proactive team player;
• Strong leadership skills and ability to work within multi-disciplinary project teams.
• Capable of undertaking internal and client-facing presentations/negotiations;
• Experience in working through a full project delivery cycle (from proposal to project close out);
• Excellent IT skills (MS Office); Flexibility to travel (domestically or internationally) for project assignments or other internal needs as required.

A place to work and so much more

At COWI, we work together with our customers to shape a sustainable and livable world. We do it by applying our knowledge and curiosity – and sometimes even our courage – to create the solutions the world needs today to enable a better tomorrow. We support our customers’ transition towards increased sustainability. We strive to lead by example by embedding environmental management, social responsibility and good governance into our business practices and the options we provide to our customers.

We value differences and development and cultivate an environment of belonging and having fun. Because that is what brings out the best in you, at work and at home.

With offices primarily located in the Nordic region, the UK, North America and India, we are currently more than 7,500 people who bring their expertise in engineering, architecture, energy and environment into play.

What we also offer:

Being part of the COWI community offers more than just a competitive salary. We take care of our people both professionally and personally.

Some of our benefits include:

• Flexible working arrangement
• Top-up parental and childbirth recovery leave
• Fantastic close-knit team with a wealth of knowledge to share
• Full time hires get minimum 3 weeks vacation to start
• Floating holiday to celebrate employee diversity
• Paid sick leave
• Annual fitness subsidy - yes, you can use this for a ski pass, yoga, or gym membership
• 401K contribution matching with generous company match
• Personal and professional development fund
• Parking or public transit allowance
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance 80% employer-paid premiums
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• STD, LTD, AD&D, and Life Insurance
• Referral incentive program
• Frequent social events

Base compensation: $88,000 to $136,200 for New York, Oakland, San Diego and Seattle location only. Actual compensation is subject to variations due to education, experience, skill set and/or location.

Got more questions?

If you have any unanswered questions about the role or what we have to offer, please reach out to Talent Acquisition Specialist, Joe Ursini at [e-mail].

Get to know us even better at our website, www.cowi.com, where you can learn more about our projects, our strategy, what we want to achieve and what life is like at COWI.

Equal opportunity employer

COWI provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, COWI complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training information.