Managing Quantity Surveyor / Contract Administrator

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Job Description:

Contract Administrator - Procurement & Pre-Contract

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Parsons is looking for a Contract Administrator – Procurement & Pre-Contract to join our Commercial and Contracts team in Abu Dhabi.

 

In this role, you will primarily support the procurement and pre-contract administration of construction, consultancy and other project-related appointments across our UAE portfolio. You will work closely with Clients, technical teams, cost consultants and procurement specialists to develop appropriate procurement strategies, prepare tender documentation, administer competitive tender processes, undertake commercial evaluations and support negotiations through to contract award.

 

The role will be based primarily in our Abu Dhabi office, with attendance at Client offices, project sites and tender clarification meetings as required.

 

This is a mid-level commercial role suited to an experienced candidate with strong procurement, tendering and pre-contract commercial experience. The successful candidate will be expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy and coordinate multidisciplinary inputs through the procurement process. This is not a traditional measurement-focused QS role.

 

What You'll Be Doing

 

• Advise on appropriate procurement routes, contract packaging, tendering approaches and commercial structures, taking account of project scope, programme, market conditions, risk allocation and Client requirements. 
• Prepare, coordinate and review Requests for Proposal, Invitations to Tender and associated tender documentation, including commercial schedules, pricing documents, Bills of Quantities where applicable, contractual requirements and tender return schedules. 
• Coordinate Parsons' technical, commercial and project-management teams to ensure that tender documentation is complete, coordinated and suitable for issue to the market. 
• Manage and administer tender processes from prequalification and tender issue through clarification, evaluation, negotiation, recommendation and award. 
• Prepare and manage tender queries, commercial clarifications, tender bulletins and addenda, coordinating technical responses with the relevant discipline leads. 
• Undertake detailed commercial evaluations and tender normalization, including review of qualifications, exclusions, assumptions, proposed amendments, provisional sums, rates, pricing schedules and other commercial departures. 
• Identify and assess commercial and contractual risks within tender submissions, including qualifications or proposed amendments that may materially change the intended allocation of risk. 
• Prepare commercial bid comparison reports, tender evaluation reports and recommendations for award, presenting findings clearly to Clients senior project stakeholders. 
• Support and participate in commercial clarification and negotiation meetings with tenderers, maintaining appropriate records of agreed positions and outstanding matters. 
• Establish commercial and contractual basis of award, ensuring that negotiated positions, clarifications and agreed departures are accurately reflected in the final contract documentation. 
• Coordinate with legal, procurement, technical, commercial and project-management stakeholders as required to facilitate contract execution and mobilisation. 
• Support the preparation and review of contract agreements, letters of award, notices to proceed and associated pre-award documentation. 
• Review tenderers' compliance with specified commercial submissions, bonds, guarantees, insurances and other contractual deliverables required prior to award or commencement. 
• Manage downstream procurement of subconsultants and specialist service providers engaged directly by Parsons, working with Parsons' internal procurement functions and ensuring compliance with applicable procurement procedures and delegated authorities. 
• Manage and coordinate Independent Cost Consultants engaged to support procurement, estimating, Bills of Quantities, tender evaluation and other pre-contract commercial activities. 
• Provide commercial and contractual advice to internal and external stakeholders throughout the procurement process, with particular focus on scope clarity, risk allocation, pricing mechanisms and contractual completeness. 
• Develop and maintain appropriate procurement schedules, tender registers, commercial clarification logs and recommendation records, ensuring a clear and auditable procurement trail. 
• Support pre-tender estimates, benchmarking, cost planning and reconciliation of tender returns against approved budgets, working with the relevant cost-management resources. 
• Support project teams in ensuring a structured handover from pre-contract procurement to post-contract administration, including documenting agreed commercial positions and outstanding actions at award. 
• Provide post-contract commercial and contract administration support where required by the needs of the business, while maintaining the role's primary focus on procurement and pre-contract activities. 
• Undertake other commercial and contractual duties as required from time to time.

 

What Required Skills You'll Bring 

• BSc (Hons) in Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management or a closely related discipline from a recognised university. 
• More than 5 years' demonstrable experience in Quantity Surveying, procurement, commercial management or contract administration within the engineering, construction or infrastructure sectors. 
• Demonstrable experience in the pre-contract procurement, including tender preparation, administration, commercial evaluation and recommendation for award. 
• Strong understanding of procurement strategy, tendering procedures, pricing mechanisms and contract formation. 
• Experience preparing and reviewing commercial tender documentation, pricing schedules, and tender evaluation reports. 
• Ability to undertake detailed commercial analysis and normalization of competing tender submissions and identify qualifications, exclusions and departures that affect commercial comparability or contractual risk. 
• Good working knowledge of forms of contract and methods of procurement. 
• Excellent written communication skills, particularly in the preparation of commercial correspondence, tender clarifications, evaluation reports and recommendations. 
• Strong verbal communication and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to participate effectively in commercial clarification and negotiation meetings. 
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to maintain clear, complete and auditable procurement records. 
• Ability to work autonomously, manage competing priorities and coordinate inputs from multidisciplinary technical and commercial teams.

 

What Desired Skills You'll Bring 

• Previous UAE or wider GCC procurement and pre-contract experience, preferably on major infrastructure, transport, utilities, masterplanning or development projects. 
• Experience procuring both works contracts and professional consultancy appointments. 
• Experience working within a programme/project management environment, providing procurement and commercial advice directly to project teams / Clients. 
• Experience with different pricing and procurement models, including lump sum, re-measured Bills of Quantities, schedule-of-rates, target cost, cost-reimbursable and design-and-build arrangements, as applicable to the project. 
• Experience in commercial negotiations and contract finalisation prior to award. 
• Familiarity with structured procurement governance, approval processes and tender audit requirements applicable to major public and private sector in the UAE and wider GCC.

Parsons equally employs representation at all job levels no matter the race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability or genetic information.

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