Job Overview:
Reporting to the Project Director, the Senior Contracts Manager will be the focal point for all contractual and commercial issues encountered during the pre-award, early works, and execution phases for a large-scale, complex engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) project valued at $1 Billion+. The role will protect contractual entitlement, support profitable execution, and integrate the prime contract with the project’s hybrid commercial model, local execution, modularization, marine facilities, licensors, vendors, subcontractors and country-entry requirements. The project will provide Houston-led delivery with global engineering, procurement and fabrication interfaces and material in-country execution in Argentina.
Key Tasks and Responsibilities:
- Support the Project Director to establish or refine a project’s contractual / commercial strategy and ensure continual implementation throughout project execution.
- During pre-award, review proposed terms, commercial clarifications and qualifications for alignment with the execution strategy, scope, schedule, pricing basis, tax structure, entity strategy and approved risk position. Support the transition from tender/FEED activities to early works and full EPC, including contract handover, assumptions registers, open-item logs, deviations, approvals and preservation of bid entitlements.
- Prior to project award, prepare and maintain the contract management mobilization schedule, project contract summary, contract management plan, responsibility matrix, communication protocol, notices matrix and deliverables calendar. Ensure lessons learned and approved positions from comparable LNG, NGL and major EPC projects are embedded in project planning.
- Periodically conduct contractual awareness sessions with project team members to ensure a consistent understanding of contract requirements.
- Identify critical or sensitive contractual issues and act as a conduit for Legal support to the project when required.
- Maintain a clear record of obligations, conditions precedent, milestones, payment triggers, review/approval period, access obligations, owner-furnished information, permits, interfaces and relief events.
- Act as the initial point of contact with the Client for all contractual issues that arise during project execution.
- Manage all relationships with Contracts Management Stakeholders including Project Management, Engineering, Procurement, Subcontracts, Fabrication, Construction, Marine Installation, Hook Up and Commissioning, Consortium or JV Partner, QHSE, Legal, Finance, Business Line Management, EXCOM, and Customer/Client.
- Establish an effective working relationship with counterpart from Client team to ensure timely resolution of contractual issues.
- Own allocated registers, notices, correspondence, deliverables and contractual reporting ensuring accuracy and timely closure.
- Operate the change control process from identification through notification, impact assessment, pricing, negotiation, approval, implementation and close-out. Maintain change, claim, opportunity and risk registers linked to schedule and cost records; challenge unpriced growth and scope creep.
- Coordinate schedule, productivity, quantity, engineering, procurement, logistics, construction and commissioning inputs required to establish cause, effect and quantum.
- Together with the Project Contracts Manger, evaluate cost and schedule impact of all identified changes both on an individual and cumulative basis.
- Lead / participate in change management meetings to identify changes that may result in entitlement for compensation and / or schedule relief.
- Prepare or support claims, defenses, counterclaims and commercial settlements, including clear factual chronologies and entitlement narratives.
- Engage with the Client on a continual basis to discuss contractual issues including outstanding and pending change orders. Lead negotiations with Client and work towards timely resolution of change orders and contract amendments.
- Coordinate resolution of contractual issues within the project environment to the extent possible. Brief Project Director and McDermott management on sensitive issues and support escalation of disputes when required.
- Support claim development that may transition into disputes with the Client, Suppliers, and/or Subcontractors.
- Draft, review and administer contractual correspondence, notices, reservation of rights, change requests, requests for information and technical queries with contractual effect, meeting records and executive decision papers. Coordinate administration of all contractual correspondence with the Client including the timely release of notification required to ensure McDermott’s contractual rights are preserved.
- Monitor compliance with notice periods and substantiation requirements in the main contract and any subcontracts and ensure contemporaneous records support time and cost entitlement. Advise Project Contracts Manager / Project Manager / Project Director of the implications of delays, if any.
- Assist in the preparation of project weekly and monthly progress reports for internal and external distribution as per internal and Contract requirements. Provide concise updates for monthly reporting, risk/opportunity reviews and commercial management meetings.
- Contribute to project risk and opportunity management processes. Interface with Corporate Finance team to ensure contractual requirements are understood and all necessary insurances and guarantees are provided. Submit and follow-up on applications for Completion Certificates. Coordinate commercial close out of main contract including step down of bank guarantee and release of retentions. Prepare a flow down clause plan highlighting the key obligations and liabilities which are required to be passed onto subcontractors / vendors. In particular, ensure that back-to-back guarantees, warranties and insurances are obtained from subcontractors / vendors.
- Align procurement and subcontract teams with prime contract obligations, relief, liability, schedule, warranty, insurance, compliance, records, audit and dispute requirements.
- Support package strategy, bidder qualifications, commercial evaluations, negotiations, award recommendations and contract formation for key equipment, module fabrication, logistics, marine and in-country packages.
- Ensure material supplier and subcontractor events are captured promptly for upstream notice and recovery.
- Assist Supply Chain Management team to coordinate the administration of contractual correspondence with all Vendors and Subcontractors. Support commercial evaluations and negotiations for assigned packages and ensure appropriate flow-down from the prime contract.
- Ensure that the external changes (backcharges) are taken up timely with the Vendor and Subcontractors.
- Coordinate contract-management inputs relating to the Argentine contracting entity, local registration, RIGI participation, tax, customs, import/export, currency, banking and corporate authorizations.
- Maintain an owner/contractor/subcontractor permit and approval matrix and monitor allocation, sequencing and schedule effects.
- Integrate local-content, sustainability, labor, human-rights, ethics and compliance obligations into plans, procurement and records.
- Support contracting and administration of in-country construction and services, including local-language and local-law interfaces where required, working with Argentine counsel and authorized translators.
- Plan contractual close-out from project commencement, including completion evidence, punch-list administration, acceptance, final account, security release, claims resolution, warranty transition and record retention.
- Coordinate close-out of client billing, insurance and guarantees and preserve rights for unresolved matters.
- Capture and communicate lessons learned for future Argentina, LNG, NGL and complex EPC pursuits.
- Participate in PMR, functional reviews, legal meetings, risk reviews and commercial-management meetings; provide concise dashboards on exposure, entitlement, decisions and actions.
- Maintain audit-ready records in the approved document-management system and ensure correspondence and approvals are traceable.
- Provide manpower and bid forecasts to Business Line Management as necessary.
Essential Qualifications and Education:
- Minimum 15+ years of project execution experience in the energy and / or construction industries (at least 5 of which will have been within a contracts or commercial management role).
- Minimum 3 years of management experience. University degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or similar.
- Advanced understanding of EPC/EPCI contracting, project lifecycles, schedule and cost interfaces, change control, claims and dispute avoidance.
- Ability to work effectively across cultures, functions, entities and time zones.
- Ability to translate complex contractual issues into practical project actions and clear executive advice.
- Strong drafting, negotiation, analytical and record-management skills. Commercial awareness, sound judgement and disciplined protection of contractual rights.
- Working knowledge of contract management systems, document control platforms and Microsoft 365 tools.
- High standards of ethics, confidentiality, compliance, inclusion, safety leadership and professional conduct.
- English and Spanish fluency required.
- Mobilization to the job site will be required
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