Commercial Manager

This is a full-time position based in Dubai, UAE

5-day working week: Monday – Friday

In today’s world, where and how you work is critical for success.

Real estate is no longer just focused on footprint and costs - but delivering strategic outcomes for organizations.

That is why we partner with you to craft a tailored approach that aligns with your unique goals and meets the needs and preferences of your employees.

Operating across 400 offices in 60 countries, we collaborate with the industry’s top professionals, and we are supported by leading technology and research to ensure consistent results.

We build enduring relationships by making our team an extension of your business—aligned with your goals and committed to maximizing bottom-line performance.

The Commercial Manager is the first dedicated commercial appointment within Cushman & Wakefield Core’s UAE Project & Development Services business.

The role owns the commercial position across the project portfolio, from order of magnitude costs and budgets at the front end through to commercial control in delivery and sets and manages the procurement strategy that project teams deliver against.

This is a commercial ownership role, not an estimating support function, and the successful candidate will shape how commercial and procurement work is done in this market rather than operate a system already in place.

• Produce order of magnitude costs, order of cost estimates and elemental budgets across fit-out, base build, hospitality, retail and F&B projects.
• Benchmark costs against the regional market and build a cost database that improves the accuracy and speed of every subsequent estimate.
• Prepare and defend commercial content within client proposals, bids and pitch material, including fee build-ups and project cost narratives.
• Lead cost planning through design development, tracking budget against design progress and identifying drift before it reaches the client.
• Own change control across the portfolio, assessing variations for entitlement and quantum and advising project managers on the commercial position.
• Review contractor and consultant payment applications and issue payment recommendations.
• Maintain project cost reporting and provide a consolidated commercial view of the portfolio to the Managing Director.
• Advise on contract selection and provide drafting input to main contracts and consultant appointments, with legal support where required.
• Set the procurement strategy for each project, covering packaging, route to market, programme alignment and risk allocation.
• Build and maintain the UAE supply chain database of contractors, subcontractors and specialist suppliers, including performance history.
• Manage the tender process from prequalification through to recommendation, with project teams administering the day-to-day activity and this role owning the method, the evaluation and the outcome.
• Standardise tender documentation, evaluation criteria and recommendation reports across all projects.
• Lead commercial negotiations with contractors and suppliers ahead of award.
• Monitor procurement programmes across the portfolio and escalate where long lead items threaten delivery dates.
• Identify opportunities for aggregated buying or framework agreements where portfolio scale allows.
• Mentor project team members on commercial and procurement practice, raising commercial capability across the wider team

• Bachelor’s degree in Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management or Construction Economics.
• 8 - 12 years post-graduate experience, with a core quantity surveying grounding gained at a main contractor or cost consultancy.
• Demonstrable GCC experience, ideally UAE, including familiarity with local supply chain, market rates and prevailing contract forms including FIDIC.
• Direct ownership of procurement, having set tender strategy, built tender lists and authored recommendation reports.
• Experience across more than one asset type, with fit-out, base build and hospitality, retail or F&B exposure preferred.
• Strong early-stage estimating capability, able to produce a defensible number from incomplete design information.
• Confident presenting commercial positions directly to clients and holding that position under pressure.
• MRICS or actively working toward chartership preferred.
• Knowledge of UAE commercial real estate and construction market dynamics.

At Cushman & Wakefield Core, we embrace diversity and inclusion, and we strive to create a collaborative working environment and a community supporting your career growth.