Programme Commercial Director

Programme Commercial Director

Project Description

The Role

Strategic Commercial Leadership

• Commercial strategy alignment with the Client’s funding model.
• Lead and direct all commercial functions of the PMC across the programme, covering multiple major infrastructure contracts and consultancy agreements.
• Establish and implement the overall commercial strategy, policies, procedures, and governance frameworks.
• Drive a value-focused culture incorporating value engineering, cost optimisation, and lifecycle cost considerations across the programme.
• Provide strategic commercial advice to the Programme Director and Employer's senior leadership team.

Contract Management, Commercial Governance & Assurance

• Providing commercial and contractual interpretation, liaising with legal counsel where appropriate.
• Maintain oversight of the contractual framework across the programme portfolio, providing assurance that all contracts are being administered by the Engineers in accordance with their terms and conditions.
• Manage the PMC's own contractual obligations, maintaining compliance with the terms of the PMC commission agreement throughout the programme.
• Oversee the administration of consultancy agreements within the PMC's scope, including performance monitoring, fee management, and scope change.
• Provide authoritative contractual interpretation and advice to the Programme Director, Employer, and Engineers on complex or escalated contractual matters, including notices, entitlements, and obligations.
• Review and provide commercial input on key contractual correspondence, notices, and determinations issued by the Engineers where these carry significant programme-level implications.
• Review and challenge commercial outputs produced by the Engineers, including valuations, variation assessments, cost reports, and claims determinations, to satisfy the Employer that its interests are being properly protected.
• Maintain a programme-level register of contractual risks, obligations, and key dates across all contracts, providing assurance that critical contractual milestones and deadlines are being actively managed.
• Advise the Employer on contractual positions in respect of underperforming Consultants or Contractors, including options available under the contract and recommended courses of action.
• Maintain oversight of all contractual securities, warranties, bonds, and insurances across the portfolio, providing assurance that these remain in place and are updated in accordance with contractual requirements.
• Provide oversight of contract close-out procedures across the programme, satisfying the Employer that all contractual obligations have been discharged prior to final payment and release of securities.
• Identify and escalate commercial governance issues to the Programme Director where required.

Procurement & Contract Strategy

• Develop and lead the procurement strategy for the Programme on behalf of the Employer, covering both construction contracts and consultancy appointments.
• Direct pre-contract activities including procurement planning, RFP preparation, tender evaluation frameworks, and award recommendations.
• Drive rigorous contractor and consultant evaluation processes to support efficient and high-quality programme delivery.
• Oversee the preparation and alignment of contract documentation, providing commercial input to minimise ambiguity.
• Advise on appropriate contract forms and appropriate amendments to standard forms of contract to reflect the risk allocation, and commercial structures for new appointments.

Cost Management & Budget Control

• Maintain programme-level cost control on behalf of the Employer, providing assurance that expenditure remains aligned with approved budgets and financial objectives.
• Oversee and challenge cost reporting and forecasting produced by the Engineers, providing consolidated commercial reporting to the Employer.
• Monitor cost performance across the programme, identifying variances and working with the Engineers to drive corrective actions where required.
• Contribute to value and cost engineering initiatives and advise on lifecycle costing considerations at programme level.
• Lead commercial input into risk reporting, contingency management, and financial reviews.

Claims & Dispute Oversight

• Maintain programme-level awareness of all significant claims and potential disputes across the contract portfolio.
• Promote early resolution strategies and dispute avoidance mechanisms across the programme.
• Review and provide assurance on the Engineers' assessments and determinations of Contractor claims, satisfying the Employer that its contractual position is being properly protected.
• Advise the Employer on significant claim positions, escalated disputes, and situations requiring Employer-level decisions or legal engagement.
• Engage legal advisors on behalf of the Employer where disputes escalate beyond the Engineers' authority to resolve.

Reporting & Transparency

• Drive consistent use of programme-wide commercial and cost management systems.
• Provide assurance over the accuracy, timeliness, and transparency of commercial reporting across the programme.
• Lead the preparation of consolidated commercial reports for the Employer, covering cost performance, procurement status, claims exposure, and risk.
• Lead commercial input into programme reviews, audits, and executive-level reporting.

Team Leadership

• Lead, manage, and develop a high-performing commercial team within the PMC structure.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and KPIs for the commercial function aligned with programme objectives.
• Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement across the commercial team.
• Mentor and support the professional development of commercial staff at all levels.

Experience, Skills And Knowledge

• BSc Quantity Surveying, construction management, engineering, architecture or equivalent
• Minimum 20 years overall experience
• Minimum 10 years of experience in a similar role
• Minimum of 5 years working experience in Middle East
• Sound knowledge of cost control, estimating and commercial aspects of major civil & infrastructure projects including roads, bridges and utilities with significant experience in procurement and contract management of such projects.
• Extensive experience managing multiple concurrent contracts and stakeholders within a programme environment.
• Experience in managing direct reports with overall responsibility for teams in excess of 20 people
• Experienced user of MS Office and understanding of project management software
• Membership of a recognised International Professional Body e.g. MRICS or FRICS (preferred)
• Experience in international contracting mechanisms including FIDIC, NCE
• Fluent in written and spoken English; Arabic language skills advantageous.

Competencies

• Leadership
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong Commercial acumen and sound judgement
• Strong stakeholder focus and management
• Commercial ethics and probity with the ability to operate in a senior client-facing leadership role.
• Ability to operate effectively and decisively within a complex, multi-stakeholder programme environment.
• HSE Awareness.