Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from an accredited university. A postgraduate qualification in construction law, contract management or quantity surveying is an advantage.
- Minimum of 12–15 years of progressive experience in contract management within engineering or architectural consultancy firms, with demonstrable involvement in major projects covering both post and precontract stages and not a site based.
- Extensive practical experience in contract administration under FIDIC and other standard forms of contract.
- Proven expertise in commercial management, contractual claims, change management, dispute avoidance, contract negotiation and risk management.
- Demonstrated leadership capability, with strong stakeholder management, communication and analytical skills.
- Proficiency in AI-enabled contract management tools and digital contract applications, including the use of artificial intelligence for contract review, risk identification, document analysis and process automation.
- Professional affiliation such as MCIArb, RICS or CIOB is preferred.
- Full professional fluency in English and Arabic, written and spoken.
Technical Knowledge
- The FIDIC suite, in particular the White Book (Client/Consultant Model Services Agreement) and the Red, Yellow and Silver Books, together with bespoke and client-amended forms, and their practical administration.
- Principles of the Egyptian Civil Code applicable to contracting and, for cross-border commissions, the Saudi Government Tenders and Procurement Law and its Implementing Regulations.
- Commercial management of consultancy commissions: fee build-ups, man-hour rates and resource pricing, payment applications, invoicing cycles and final accounts.
- Claims and quantum: delay analysis methodologies, prolongation and disruption costs, cause-and-effect substantiation and records management.
- Dispute resolution procedures, including arbitration under CRCICA, SCCA and ICC rules, expert determination and mediation.
- Insurance and liability provisions, including professional indemnity, limitation of liability, indemnities and decennial liability where applicable.
- AI-enabled contract review platforms, contract and document management systems (such as Aconex, Autodesk Construction Cloud or SharePoint) and advanced Microsoft Office applications.
Competencies
- Leadership and development of a technical team.
- Negotiation, persuasion and the ability to hold a commercial position under pressure.
- Analytical rigour and precision in drafting.
- Clear and authoritative written and verbal communication in English and Arabic.
- Stakeholder management across clients, sub-consultants, contractors and internal disciplines.
- Commercial judgement and a proactive approach to risk identification.
- Integrity, discretion and the handling of confidential information.
- Organisation and the ability to manage concurrent deadlines across multiple projects.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Contract and agreement reviews completed within agreed turnaround times.
- Value of variations and claims recovered against value submitted.
- Nil instances of entitlement lost through a missed notice or time-bar.
- Accuracy and currency of the departmental registers and control board.
- Number of matters escalated to formal proceedings, measured against matters resolved amicably.
- Timeliness of final account agreement and project commercial close-out.
- Development and assessed competency of the Contract Administrators supervised.
