Commercial Manager - Capital Projects

Are you an experienced Commercial Manager within the delivery of Capital Projects? Are you passionate about Energy and delivering projects to an exceptional standard?

Do you want to work for a company whose purpose it to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future.

The Commercial Manager, Capital Projects will; support the Commercial Director in the delivery of projects in the US. They will also provide commercial input to the Business Development Director, supporting them commercially in their tasks.

As the Commercial Manager you will Implement the commercial strategy, applying it to contracts for each project. Provide commercial input and support to multiple teams leads when developing solutions to complex challenges, such as technical or development partners individual interests. Utilize their understanding of contracts, the structure and key drivers, they will negotiate terms with counterparts for projects. Support the implementation and successful working of commercial structures brought about through the delivery of the commercial strategy.

Can be located in:

South: Monroe, LA , Aliceville, AL , Houston, TX

North: Longview, WA , Vancouver Canada

Dimensions:

• Support the development of relationships with external parties such as OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and potential EPC/EPCM’s (Engineer, Procure and Construct, (Manage)
• Involved in managing contract negotiations with values in the $’s m range.
• Maintain internal relationships with Engineering, Legal, Finance, Treasury, Tax, Insurance, Compliance, H1 &H3 DBI colleagues and Procurement to support the delivery of commercial solutions
• No direct reports, although will have oversight of commercial contractors brought in for specific projects.

Key Accountabilities:

• Work together with the Legal team to develop contracts that support all aspects of a project including, as applicable, utility connection obligations, permitting requirements, property leases. Also support H1 DBI colleagues when securing feedstock contracts. Ensure contracts in all cases are fit for purpose, delivering a balance of value, quality, timeliness and risk to meet business needs.
• Ensure all contracts and ways of working follow Drax policies including all compliance policies, approval processes and as appropriate procurement policies.
• Establish with the project team risk registers and decision logs for each project
• Review together with project managers and others any commercial claims generated through the project, resolving claims in a satisfactory manner or raising counter claims as appropriate
• Manage all aspects of change through the project ensuring change orders and variations are correctly captured documented and agreed prior to implementation by the Project/Engineering/Construction teams
• Manage contractual negotiations for smaller pieces of work, either leading these directly or overseeing the Procurement team who provide support for this range of activities.
• Lead on smaller project negotiations $’s m whilst providing support to the Commercial Director during negotiation of larger contracts $’s m/$’s Bn range.
• Prepare/coordinate with project managers and Procurement the issuing of tenders, including NDA’s. Follow through on the process establishing the scoring/weighting and clarification questioning of bids
• Effectively and efficiently, influence strategic, operational and tactical plans for contracting including structure of contracting (EPC/EPCM), sourcing strategies and supplier relationships.
• Ensure all warranty and guarantee claims are followed through with an end of warranty review to ensure all claims are closed or extended in accordance with the contract.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required:

• IT skills using various Microsoft products including Excel, Word, Project, Sharepoint etc.
• Ability to provide innovative solutions to complex challenges
• The ability to communicate across all levels of the organization using excellent written, verbal and numeric methods of communication
• Proven track record in a comparable commercial management role delivering commercial agreements for energy, oil & gas or large infrastructure projects
• Degree or similar level of qualification in a construction industry related subject. Project management or quantity surveyor experience would be beneficial. Ideally RICS qualified.
• Engaging, demonstrating an ability to manage and influence diverse or challenging stakeholders.
• Organized, demonstrating excellent planning, co-ordination and organizational skills
• Knowledge of industry standard contract formats such as FIDIC Silver Book, bespoke terms and other forms including but not limited to, ICE, JCT etc.
• Confident and calm under pressure
• Strong commercial and relationship management skills maintaining effective internal and external relationships

Special Features:

• A flexible approach to working extended hours to meet contract deadlines
• Will require regular attendance at wider team, and Horizon meetings to ensure a good understanding of the work and projects in the pipeline.
• Resilient, able to keep calm under pressure
• Will be required to travel both within the US and occasionally internationally, being away for up to one week

Measures of Success:

• Considers all aspects of a project from inception including OPEX and CAPEX expenditure through the project life
• Influence contract management, control of work, variation instructions and dispute resolution to get the best out of the contract
• Develop and maintain strong external relationships with counterparties
• Develop within contract owners and users an ability to deliver commercially efficient contract execution.
• Ensure compliance with Drax governance policies driving strong commercial deals

Drax Values

We care about what matters – we help each other achieve the things that are important to each of us

We’re a can-do kind of place – we’re empowered and encouraged to make informed decisions, take action and do the right thing

We see things differently – we share inspiration and insight right across Drax, and search for new ideas and ways of working

We listen carefully – we make sure that people feel genuinely heard, acknowledged and that what they say matters

We do what we say we’ll do – we’re proactive, committed, and reliable –and trust others to be the same