Senior Manager Contract Management

Lutech Resources•Houston, TX

About The Position

Reporting to the Project Director, the Senior Contracts Manager is the focal point for contractual and commercial issues during the pre-award, early works, and execution phases of a large-scale, complex EPCI project valued at more than $1 billion. The role protects contractual entitlement, supports profitable execution, and integrates 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 substantial in-country execution in Argentina. The role supports the Project Director in establishing and implementing the project’s contractual and commercial strategy. It covers contract preparation and mobilization, change control, claims, client and supplier negotiations, contractual correspondence, reporting, risk and opportunity management, subcontract and vendor flow-down, Argentine contracting and compliance interfaces, and project commercial close-out. The position also maintains audit-ready records, advises project leadership on contractual exposure and entitlement, and captures lessons learned for future Argentina, LNG, NGL, and complex EPC pursuits. Mobilization to the job site is required.

Requirements

At least 15 years of project execution experience in the energy and/or construction industries, including at least 5 years in a contracts or commercial management role.
At least 3 years of management experience.
University degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or a similar field.
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 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.
Mobilization to the job site is required.

Responsibilities

Support the Project Director in establishing or refining the project’s contractual and commercial strategy and implementing it throughout execution.
Review proposed pre-award terms, commercial clarifications, and qualifications for alignment with execution strategy, scope, schedule, pricing, tax and entity structures, and approved risk positions.
Support transition from tender and FEED activities to early works and full EPC, preserving bid entitlements and maintaining contract handover materials, assumptions registers, open-item logs, deviations, and approvals.
Prepare and maintain the contract management mobilization schedule, project contract summary, contract management plan, responsibility matrix, communication protocol, notices matrix, and deliverables calendar.
Embed lessons learned and approved positions from comparable LNG, NGL, and major EPC projects; conduct contractual awareness sessions for project team members.
Identify critical or sensitive contractual issues and coordinate Legal support when required.
Maintain clear records of obligations, conditions precedent, milestones, payment triggers, review and approval periods, access obligations, owner-furnished information, permits, interfaces, and relief events.
Serve as the initial point of contact with the Client on contractual issues and establish an effective working relationship with the Client’s counterpart.
Manage relationships with project and business stakeholders, including Project Management, Engineering, Procurement, Subcontracts, Fabrication, Construction, Marine Installation, Hook Up and Commissioning, consortium or JV partners, QHSE, Legal, Finance, Business Line Management, EXCOM, and the Client.
Own allocated registers, notices, correspondence, deliverables, and contractual reporting, ensuring accuracy and timely closure.
Operate change control from identification through notification, impact assessment, pricing, negotiation, approval, implementation, and close-out; maintain linked change, claim, opportunity, and risk registers and challenge unpriced growth and scope creep.
Coordinate schedule, productivity, quantity, engineering, procurement, logistics, construction, and commissioning inputs to establish cause, effect, and quantum; evaluate the cost and schedule impact of changes individually and cumulatively with the Project Contracts Manager.
Lead or participate in change management meetings, identify potential compensation or schedule-relief entitlements, and engage the Client on contractual issues and pending change orders.
Prepare or support claims, defenses, counterclaims, and commercial settlements, including factual chronologies and entitlement narratives; support claims that may transition into disputes with the Client, suppliers, or subcontractors.
Lead negotiations with the Client to resolve change orders and contract amendments; coordinate resolution of contractual issues within the project and brief the Project Director and McDermott management on sensitive matters and potential escalations.
Draft, review, and administer contractual correspondence, notices, reservations of rights, change requests, requests for information and technical queries with contractual effect, meeting records, and executive decision papers.
Coordinate Client correspondence and timely contractual notifications; monitor notice periods and substantiation requirements in the main contract and subcontracts, ensuring contemporaneous records support time and cost entitlement.
Advise the Project Contracts Manager, Project Manager, and Project Director on the implications of delays.
Assist with weekly and monthly project progress reports and provide updates for monthly reporting, risk and opportunity reviews, and commercial management meetings.
Contribute to project risk and opportunity management and interface with Corporate Finance to ensure contractual requirements are understood and required insurance and guarantees are provided.
Submit and follow up on applications for Completion Certificates; coordinate main-contract commercial close-out, including bank-guarantee step-down and retention release.
Prepare a flow-down clause plan and ensure key obligations and liabilities, including back-to-back guarantees, warranties, and insurance, are passed to subcontractors and vendors.
Align procurement and subcontract teams with prime-contract obligations concerning relief, liability, schedule, warranty, insurance, compliance, records, audit, and disputes.
Support package strategy, bidder qualifications, commercial evaluations, negotiations, award recommendations, and contract formation for key equipment, module fabrication, logistics, marine, and in-country packages.
Capture supplier and subcontractor events promptly for upstream notification and recovery; coordinate administration of contractual correspondence with vendors and subcontractors; pursue external changes and backcharges in a timely manner.
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, covering 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 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.