Senior Contracts Manager

Brunel is seeking an experienced Senior Contracts Manager to provide strategic leadership and oversight for all contracting and contract administration activities associated with large-scale construction projects. This senior leadership role is responsible for managing the complete commercial and contractual lifecycle of a major portfolio of high-value construction contracts, from contracting strategy and procurement through contract administration, change management, claims resolution, and final close-out.

The successful candidate will serve as a trusted advisor to project and executive leadership, providing commercial insight, contractual expertise, and strategic guidance to support project objectives while effectively managing risk. This position is ideally suited for a seasoned contracts professional with extensive experience leading complex construction contract portfolios within the Oil & Gas, pipeline, EPC, or EPCM sectors.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute comprehensive construction contracting strategies aligned with project goals, schedules, and risk profiles.

Lead the full competitive contracting process, including market engagement, contractor prequalification, tendering, evaluation, negotiation, and contract award.

Conduct commercial and contractual evaluations of proposals, considering cost, risk, schedule, technical capability, and overall value.

Develop and implement negotiation strategies for complex, high-value construction contracts.

Provide recommendations to senior leadership regarding contract awards and commercial decisions.

Collaborate closely with engineering, construction, procurement, finance, legal, project controls, and project management teams throughout the contracting lifecycle.

Ensure contracting activities comply with governance requirements, approval processes, and organizational policies.

Contract Administration & Commercial Management

Provide leadership for the administration of major construction contracts throughout project execution.

Manage contract compliance, commercial performance, risks, obligations, and contractor relationships.

Oversee change orders, contract amendments, claims, disputes, notices, back-charges, and contractor correspondence.

Establish and maintain effective contract administration processes, procedures, and documentation practices.

Support early identification and resolution of contractual and commercial issues to minimize project exposure.

Assess commercial impacts related to schedule delays, productivity challenges, scope growth, acceleration efforts, and execution risks.

Lead commercial negotiations and dispute resolution activities throughout project delivery.

Ensure appropriate records and contractual documentation are maintained to support claims management and dispute avoidance.

Oversee contract completion activities, final account negotiations, commercial settlements, and contract close-out.

Leadership & Governance

Lead and mentor contract management and contract administration teams, establishing clear accountability and performance expectations.

Promote consistency in commercial and contractual practices across multiple construction packages.

Act as the senior escalation point for significant contractual and commercial matters.

Provide regular reporting to project leadership on contract status, risks, claims, commitments, and commercial performance.

Support executive decision-making through sound commercial recommendations and risk-based analysis.

Build and maintain effective relationships with contractors, stakeholders, and project teams while protecting organizational interests.

Ensure compliance with corporate governance requirements, delegations of authority, contractual procedures, and applicable regulatory obligations.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Commerce, Law, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, or a related discipline.

Minimum 20 years of experience in contracts, commercial management, procurement, or contract administration within large-scale construction, Oil & Gas, pipeline, EPC, or EPCM projects.

Proven experience managing large and complex construction contract portfolios with values in the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars.

Extensive experience across both pre-award contracting activities and post-award contract administration.

Demonstrated expertise negotiating and administering major construction contracts, including high-value change orders and claims.

Strong knowledge of construction execution, project…