Commercial Manager - Contracts | Real Estate | Al Futtaim Contracting

Job Requisition ID: 175211 

Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Structured into five operating divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail and healthcare; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over 200 of the world's most admired and innovative brands. Al-Futtaim Group’s entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organization to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate. 

By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration and integrity; Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day

Overview Of The Role:

• The Contracts Manager leads the review, negotiation, and agreement of upstream contracts to ensure compliance with governance requirements and legal frameworks. This role is crucial for identifying, mitigating, and managing contractual risks to secure optimal business outcomes. Responsibilities include coordinating with commercial, delivery, bid, finance, and legal teams, negotiating with clients and external stakeholders, briefing project teams on contractual processes, providing ongoing advice, and supporting claim development. The Contracts Manager also manages NDAs, bonds, guarantees, and project-related insurances. Success factors include securing optimal contract terms, protecting margin and cash flow, and effective stakeholder engagement.

What You Will Do:

Technical

• Lead detailed review, qualification, negotiation, and finalisation of upstream contract terms and conditions, ensuring compliance with governance, DOA, and legal requirements.
• Produce structured contract risk assessments with clear mitigation measures and recommendations.
• Negotiate core commercial and legal terms including scope definition, payment provisions, warranties, liabilities, indemnities, insurances, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Coordinate with Group Legal to resolve contract qualifications, draft amendments, and finalise contract schedules and appendices.
• Ensure all negotiated changes are accurately incorporated into executed contract documents.

NDAs, Bonds & Insurance Management

• Manage the preparation, review, and execution workflow for Non-Disclosure Agreements.
• Coordinate issuance, renewal, and return of performance bonds, advance payment guarantees, and related securities.
• Liaise with Group Insurance to ensure appropriate project insurance coverage and compliance with contract requirements.

Project Team Support & Claims

• Brief project teams on key contract processes, obligations, notice periods, governance flows, and risk points, ensuring consistent understanding.
• Provide contractual advice during project mobilisation and throughout the project lifecycle.
• Support claims development by identifying entitlement, reviewing supporting evidence, drafting contractually compliant notices, and ensuring adherence to requirements.

Commercial & Risk Management

• Identify and assess commercial and contractual risks during preaward stages and drive risk mitigation strategies.
• Ensure appropriate flowdown of upstream terms into subcontract agreements where required.
• Provide contractual guidance during tender clarifications and client negotiations.

Process, Records & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain robust contract histories, negotiation records, approval trails, and controlled document storage.
• Contribute to development and continual enhancement of contract templates, review checklists, and governance tools.
• Ensure timely turnaround of contract reviews, correspondence, and approvals.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Engage effectively with internal and external stakeholders to resolve contractual issues and secure commercially optimal outcomes.
• Communicate complex contractual positions concisely and persuasively at all levels.

People Management

• Effectively manage teams to secure accurate and timely deliverables and proactively influence project outcomes.
• Lead, coach, develop, and motivate staff to achieve their potential and improve their contractual capability.
• Ensure the team fully understands Project Contract Administration processes and procedures.
• Identify training needs for staff development.

Process Review

• Review, recommend, and implement new or improved administrative procedures to maintain economy and efficiency of operation.
• Comply with organisational forms and processes to ensure internal approvals are obtained in accordance with group policies and the Delegation of Authority.

Customer Engagement

• Demonstrate leadership behaviours, in line with Al Futtaim Values, at all times.
• Communicate complex issues concisely both verbally and in written forms.
• Maintain high levels of customer satisfaction.

Required Skills To Be Successful:

• Excellent drafting, negotiation, analytical, and communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to influence stakeholders.
• High proficiency in MS Office applications.
• Strong commercial acumen and risk management capability.

What Qualifies You For The Role:

• Degree in Law, Quantity Surveying, Engineering, or a relevant discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in the construction industry, with strong UAE market exposure. Experience in MEP Contracting will be highly advantageous.
• Proven expertise in upstream contract negotiation and commercial management.
• Strong understanding of FIDIC and local contract law frameworks.

About Al-Futtaim Engineering & Technologies
Al-Futtaim Engineering & Technologies offers customers complete engineering and systems integration solutions. 
 
The Engineering arm operates in the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt providing a wide variety of products and services from air conditioning, scaffolding and access solutions, elevators and escalators, control and life safety, facilities management, building products, MEP, Energy Management, Technology Infrastructure and Digital Transformation. 
 
The Technologies division provides complete business solutions to large, medium and small customers that include, contact centre solutions, business applications, business intelligence, data management, advanced analytics amongst others. The IT infrastructure portfolio comprises IP telephony, ELV systems, networking solutions, professional audio-visual solutions and managed services. 
 
These solutions are further complemented by services that include project management, installation, testing, commissioning and after-sales maintenance contracts.