Commercial Director

About the RoleThe Director – Commercial is responsible for leading and overseeing the Commercial function across URED’s development portfolio, covering tendering, contract administration, cost control, and partner/JV commercial governance.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Function ManagementDevelop and implement the Commercial function strategy in alignment with URED’s overall corporate and development strategy.Prepare and manage annual business plans, manpower plans, and budgets for the Commercial Division.Establish and monitor measurable KPIs for tendering, cost control, and contract performance.Standardize tendering templates, cost-control tools, and contract-management processes across all projects.Lead multi-project commercial governance and performance reporting to Executive Management.Tendering & ProcurementOwn the end-to-end tendering process for all packages across the portfolio — whether URED is sole developer or working with partners.Ensure tender documents, BOQs, and scope splits are accurate and complete before issuance to bidders.Lead technical/commercial bid evaluation and comparison, in line with the Procurement Instrument Policy and CTO DOA.Validate every package's tendered/award value against its allocated line in the project cost breakdown before recommending award — no package is recommended for award without this check.Maintain a live, portfolio-wide tender and award tracker showing status of every package.Cost Control & Budget BreakdownBreak down each project's total approved budget into cost lines per package (e.g. skeleton, MEP, internal finishing, external finishing, direct-procurement items) at project kickoff, and maintain this as the live cost baseline.Track committed and actual cost per package against its budget line on an ongoing basis, and consolidate into a single project-level cost report.Flag any package or project trending toward budget exceedance early enough for corrective action — before commitment, not after award.Own variation order (VO) evaluation, negotiation, and approval within DOA thresholds; prepare escalation packages for VOs above authority.Ensure cash-flow forecasts reflect actual contract payment terms, VO pipeline, and partner payment obligations.Contract Administration & Partner Agreement ManagementOwn contract administration for all contractor, consultant, and development-partner/JV agreements across the portfolio.Maintain a contract and partner-agreement register capturing key terms, payment plans/milestones, and project-specific clauses — since terms are not standardized and differ by project and partner.Monitor each agreement against its own terms (payment triggers, cost/profit-share mechanics, reporting and notice obligations) and determine the required action ahead of contractual deadlines, rather than reactively.Ensure claims, notices, and disputes are managed within contractual timeframes, escalating to Legal/Government Relations where enforcement or dispute action is needed.Ensure all payments to and from partners follow the applicable agreement's payment plan and are reconciled against project cash flow.Risk Management & ReportingIdentify commercial, cost, and contractual risk at project and portfolio level.Provide executive-level reporting on budget-vs-actual by package, contract/partner exposure, and tendering pipeline status.Ensure documentation is maintained through approved digital project platforms.People Leadership & Performance ManagementLead and develop the QS, Proposal & Pre-Contract Manager, and Contracts & Cost Controller.Conduct annual performance appraisals; identify talent gaps and succession needs.Promote a high-performance, accountability-driven culture within the Commercial team.Post-Project Evaluation & Continuous ImprovementConduct commercial close-out reviews on completed projects (final account, VO history, contract performance).Identify cost-efficiency opportunities and standardize lessons learned into future tendering and cost-control templates.Additional ResponsibilitiesExecute any strategic task assigned by Executive Management related to Commercial and Technical Services.Support new development feasibility reviews from a cost and commercial-structuring perspective.Qualification & ExperienceBachelor’s degree in Quantity Surveying, Civil Engineering, or Commercial/Construction Management (Master's degree or MRICS preferred).Minimum of 10 years of experience in real estate/construction commercial management.At least 3 years' experience managing tendering and cost control across multiple concurrent projects.Demonstrated experience structuring and monitoring development-partner/JV commercial agreements with varying payment terms.Strong background in contract administration (FIDIC or equivalent) and variation order management.Experience managing package-level cost breakdowns and portfolio-level budget consolidation.Skills:Tendering and procurement managementCost control and budget engineeringContract negotiation and administrationPartner/JV agreement managementRisk management and mitigation