Commercial Director

Position Overview

The Commercial Director at Unified Real Estate Development Company (URED) leads and manages the Commercial department overseeing all aspects of tendering, contract oversight, cost management, and partner/JV commercial governance for the company's development portfolio.

Primary Responsibilities

• Formulate and execute the Commercial function strategy aligned with URED’s corporate and development objectives.
• Develop annual operational plans including business plans, manpower requirements, and budgets for the Commercial Division.
• Set and track quantifiable KPIs related to tendering activities, cost management, and contract effectiveness.
• Create and implement standardized templates and processes for tendering, cost control, and contract management across all projects.
• Oversee commercial governance across multiple projects and report performance metrics to Executive Management.
• Manage the full tendering cycle for all project packages, whether solely developed or in partnership.
• Ensure tender documentation, BOQs, and scope definitions are accurate and comprehensive prior to bidder distribution.
• Lead technical and commercial evaluation of bids, complying with Procurement Instrument Policy and CTO delegation of authority.
• Validate all tender and award values against project cost budgets before recommending contract awards.
• Maintain an up-to-date portfolio-wide tracker of tendering and awards status for all packages.
• Decompose each project’s budget into detailed cost lines by package at project inception and maintain this as the cost baseline.
• Monitor committed and actual costs per package against respective budgets and consolidate reporting at the project level.
• Proactively identify potential budget overruns at package or project level early to enable timely corrective actions before commitments.
• Manage evaluation, negotiation, and approval of variation orders within delegation limits; escalate where necessary.
• Ensure cash flow forecasts accurately reflect contract payment terms, anticipated variation orders, and partner payment schedules.
• Administer contracts for contractors, consultants, and development partners/JVs, maintaining a register of key terms and payment milestones.
• Track compliance with contractual terms, payment triggers, profit-sharing arrangements, and reporting obligations to anticipate required actions.
• Handle claims, notices, and disputes within contractual deadlines, coordinating with Legal or Government Relations for enforcement if needed.
• Ensure all partner payments align with agreements and reconcile with project cash flows.
• Identify and report commercial, cost, and contractual risks at both project and portfolio levels.
• Provide executive reporting detailing budget versus actual expenditures, contract exposures, and tender pipeline status.
• Ensure documentation is systematically maintained via approved digital platforms.
• Lead, mentor, and develop key Commercial team members including QS, Proposal & Pre-Contract Manager, and Contracts & Cost Controller.
• Conduct annual performance reviews, identify talent gaps, and plan for succession needs.
• Foster a culture of high performance and accountability within the Commercial function.
• Perform commercial close-out assessments on completed projects covering final accounts, variation order histories, and contract evaluations.
• Identify cost savings and incorporate lessons learned into future tendering and cost control methodologies.
• Execute strategic commercial and technical assignments from Executive Management.
• Support feasibility assessments of new developments from cost and commercial perspectives.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Quantity Surveying, Civil Engineering, or Commercial/Construction Management; Master’s degree or MRICS accreditation preferred.
• At least 10 years of experience in commercial management within real estate or construction sectors.
• Minimum 3 years managing tendering and cost control across multiple simultaneous projects.
• Proven experience structuring and overseeing development-partner/JV agreements with diverse payment terms.
• Strong expertise in contract administration preferably under FIDIC or similar standards, including managing variation orders.
• Skilled in managing detailed package-level cost breakdowns and consolidating budgets at the portfolio level.

Key Skills

• Management of tendering and procurement processes
• Cost control and budget engineering techniques
• Contract negotiation, administration, and compliance
• Development partner and JV commercial agreement management
• Risk identification and mitigation strategies