Manager Contract Management

McDermott•Houston, TX

About The Position

Reporting to the Project Contracts Manager, the Contracts Manager is the focal point for contractual and commercial issues during execution of large-scale, complex EPCI projects. The role helps 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. Delivery is Houston-led, with global engineering, procurement, and fabrication interfaces and material in-country execution in Argentina. The role acts as deputy to the Project Contracts Manager and provides authoritative advice and leadership on contract interpretation, risk allocation, entitlement, negotiations, claims, and commercial resolutions. It leads significant workstreams within delegated authority, advises senior project leadership, supports change management and contract administration, and assures commercial readiness through project completion and closeout. Mobilization to the job site may be required.

Requirements

At least 10 years of project execution experience in the energy and/or construction industries, including at least 5 years in contracts or commercial management.
University degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or a similar field.
Leadership experience on complex contract-management, claims, or commercial workstreams on major EPC/EPCI projects.
Proven experience advising senior project leadership, leading material negotiations, and integrating cross-functional entitlement and risk positions.
Strong drafting, negotiation, analytical, and record-management skills.
Commercial awareness, sound judgment, 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.
Fluency in English and Spanish.
Ability to translate complex contractual issues into practical project actions and clear executive advice.

Nice To Haves

Experience on major EPC projects is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Support the Project Contracts Manager in establishing or refining the project’s contractual and commercial strategy and ensuring its implementation throughout execution; act as deputy.
During pre-award, review proposed terms, commercial clarifications, and qualifications for alignment with execution strategy, scope, schedule, pricing basis, tax structure, entity strategy, and approved risk position.
Support the transition from tender and FEED activities to early works and full EPC, including contract handover, assumptions registers, open-item logs, deviations, approvals, and preservation of bid entitlements.
Lead major or high-risk workstreams, integrate the overall commercial position, and advise senior project leadership.
Exercise independent judgment on complex, ambiguous, or material issues and establish strategy.
Upon project award, draft baseline contract requirements and disseminate them within the project team.
Advise on contract interpretation, risk allocation, entitlement, negotiation strategy, claims, defenses, and commercial resolution options.
Lead significant client correspondence, negotiations, change proposals, claims, and settlement workstreams within delegated authority.
Conduct periodic contractual-awareness sessions for project team members.
Identify critical or sensitive contractual issues and coordinate Legal support when required.
Before marine and hook-up operations, hold readiness reviews with Field Engineers on contractual awareness, including waiting-on-weather criteria and Client instructions.
Establish an effective working relationship with the Client team to support timely resolution of contractual issues.
Help establish the project change-management process and promote identification of changes; lead or participate in meetings to identify changes that may create compensation or schedule-relief entitlement.
Prepare or support claims, defenses, counterclaims, and commercial settlements, including factual chronologies and entitlement narratives.
With the Project Contracts Manager, evaluate cost and schedule impacts of identified changes individually and cumulatively.
Support claim development that may transition into disputes with the Client, suppliers, or subcontractors.
Challenge the project team on scope growth, delay, owner-caused impacts, records, mitigation, and recovery opportunities, and ensure appropriate executive visibility.
Serve as a senior interface with the Project Director, Contracts Director, Legal, Finance, client leadership, partners, and executive governance.
Shape negotiation and claims strategy, lead matters within delegated authority, and escalate reserved decisions.
Coordinate resolution of contractual issues within the project where possible; brief the Project Director and McDermott management on sensitive issues and support dispute escalation when required.
Coordinate administration of contractual correspondence with the Client, including timely notices to preserve contractual rights.
Monitor key dates under the main contract and subcontracts and advise the Project Contracts Manager, Project Manager, and Project Director of delay implications.
Assist with weekly and monthly project progress reports for internal and external distribution; assure the quality of monthly commercial reporting, exposure analysis, opportunity forecasting, decision papers, and governance submissions.
Contribute to project risk and opportunity management. Coordinate with Corporate Finance to ensure contractual requirements are understood and required insurances and guarantees are provided.
Submit and follow up on Completion Certificate applications; coordinate main-contract commercial closeout, including bank-guarantee step-down and retention release.
Prepare a flow-down clause plan identifying obligations and liabilities to pass to subcontractors and vendors; ensure back-to-back guarantees, warranties, and insurances are obtained.
Assist Supply Chain Management with administration of contractual correspondence with vendors and subcontractors.
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 promptly captured for upstream notice and recovery.
Ensure external changes (backcharges) are taken up promptly with vendors and subcontractors.
Lead contractual readiness for completion, acceptance, final account, security release, and warranty handover.
Maintain audit-ready records in the approved document-management system and ensure correspondence and approvals are traceable.
Lead and assure the work of contract-management personnel, coach the team, and allocate priorities.
Recommend preferred courses of action on technically and commercially complex matters, including alternatives, consequences, and approval requirements.
Escalate matters outside delegated authority, precedent-setting positions, material departures from approved risk appetite, probable disputes, significant cash exposure, and issues requiring executive or legal-privilege oversight.
Ensure negotiation positions and concessions are documented and approved before commitment.