At Parsons, you can imagine a career where you thrive, work with exceptional people, and be yourself. Guided by our leadership vision of valuing people, embracing agility, and fostering growth, we cultivate an innovative culture that empowers you to achieve your full potential. Unleash your talent and redefine what’s possible.
Job Description:
The Senior Commercial Manager is responsible for leading all commercial, contractual, and cost management aspects across a portfolio of projects or a major program. The role safeguards the organization’s commercial interests from bid to closeout, ensuring robust contract administration, effective risk management, accurate cost forecasting, and maximized profitability while maintaining strong relationships with clients, partners, and supply chain.
What You'll Be Doing;
- Develop and implement commercial strategies that support business objectives, margin targets, and cash flow requirements.
- Provide commercial leadership to project teams, ensuring consistent application of company policies, procedures, and best practices.
- Support business planning, budgeting, and strategic decision-making with commercial insight and analysis.
- Lead or support negotiations for major contracts, variations, claims, and settlements.
- Review, negotiate, and finalize prime contracts, subcontracts, and consultancy agreements (FIDIC).
- Ensure robust contract administration, including compliance with notice provisions, change management, and claims procedures.
- Draft and review contractual correspondence to protect the company’s position and manage disputes proactively.
- Provide guidance on contractual rights and obligations to project managers, procurement, and senior leadership.
- Oversee preparation and management of project budgets, cost plans, and cash flow forecasts.
- Lead cost reporting, including monthly cost/value reconciliations, earned value analysis, and margin analysis.
- Monitor project financial performance, identify variances, and recommend corrective actions to protect profitability.
- Validate and approve major cost commitments, variations, and final accounts.
- Establish and oversee robust change management processes across projects.
- Review, prepare, and negotiate variations, extensions of time, loss and expense, and other claims.
- Coordinate with planning, legal, and technical teams to substantiate and defend claims.
- Manage dispute resolution processes (negotiation, mediation, adjudication, arbitration) where required.
- Support or lead procurement strategies for key packages, including tendering, evaluation, and contract award.
- Negotiate terms with subcontractors and suppliers to optimize cost, risk allocation, and performance obligations.
- Monitor subcontractor commercial performance, including payment applications, variations, and claims.
- Promote long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with strategic supply chain partners.
- Identify and manage commercial risks and opportunities across the project lifecycle; maintain and update risk registers.
- Ensure compliance with corporate governance, delegation of authority, and internal control frameworks.
- Contribute to bid/no-bid decisions and tender reviews by assessing commercial risk profiles and contractual terms.
- Support audits and internal reviews of commercial practices.
- Act as the primary commercial interface with clients, partners, JV entities, and senior internal stakeholders.
- Provide clear, timely commercial reporting and advice to the Executive Team and Project Directors.
- Present commercial performance, risks, and recovery strategies in management and client meetings.
- Support business development and pre-contract teams with commercial input into proposals and negotiations.
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of commercial managers, quantity surveyors, and contract administrators.
- Allocate resources effectively across projects and ensure succession planning for key roles.
- Promote a culture of high performance, integrity, and continuous improvement within the commercial function.
What You'll Bring;
- Bachelor’s degree in Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management, Construction Management, Law, Finance, or a related field.
- 15 years of progressive commercial / contracts experience, including on large-scale construction, infrastructure, utilities, or industrial projects.
- Demonstrable experience in leading commercial strategy and contract management on major projects or programs.
- Strong knowledge of standard forms of contract (FIDIC) and associated commercial principles.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen with advanced analytical, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent understanding of contract law, risk allocation, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
- Highly effective communicator with the ability to influence at senior levels and manage challenging stakeholders.
- Proven leadership and people management capabilities.
- High level of proficiency in MS Excel and commercial/contract management tools.
- Strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Professional membership
- Experience working in a client, consultant, or Tier 1 contractor environment on complex, multi-stakeholder projects.
- Exposure to joint ventures, PPP/P3, or alliance contracting models.
- Familiarity with project controls, planning, and earned value management systems.
We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!
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Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management, Construction Management, Law, Finance, or related field
- 15 years of progressive commercial/contracts experience on large-scale construction, infrastructure, utilities, or industrial projects
- Demonstrable experience leading commercial strategy and contract management on major projects or programs
- Strong knowledge of standard forms of contract (FIDIC) and associated commercial principles
- Strong commercial and financial acumen with advanced analytical, negotiation, and problem-solving skills
- Excellent understanding of contract law, risk allocation, and dispute resolution mechanisms
- Highly effective communicator with ability to influence senior stakeholders
- Proven leadership and people management capabilities, including mentoring commercial teams
- High level of proficiency in MS Excel and commercial/contract management tools
- Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
- Professional membership (e.g., RICS, CIQS) or equivalent
- Experience in client, consultant, or Tier 1 contractor environment on complex, multi-stakeholder projects
- Exposure to joint ventures, PPP/P3, or alliance contracting models
- Familiarity with project controls, planning, and earned value management systems
Parsons Corporation Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Parsons Corporation and has not been reviewed or approved by Parsons Corporation.
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs are framed as a major value driver, with an ESOP alongside a 401(k) match and additional stock-purchase options contributing meaningfully to total rewards. This structure is positioned as especially attractive for employees who value long-term wealth-building over immediate cash.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as broad and choice-rich, with multiple plan types (PPO, HDHP, and some HMO networks) plus dental, vision, EAP, and wellness resources. The availability of different plan designs and national-carrier coverage supports varied employee needs.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off offerings are portrayed as competitive, including PTO, holidays, flexible schedules such as a 9/80 option for eligible roles, and floating holidays in the U.S. Paid parental leave of 160 hours is also highlighted as a meaningful component of the overall package.
Parsons Corporation Insights
What We Do
Parsons is a digitally enabled solutions provider with a focus on making the world safer, smarter, healthier, more sustainable, and more connected. Founded in 1944, Parsons primarily serves the defense, security, and infrastructure markets. Uniquely qualified to deliver cyber/converged security, technology-based intellectual property, and other innovative services, the corporation delivers state-of-the-art solutions to federal, regional, and local government agencies as well as to private industrial customers worldwide. Parsons has a reputation for inclusion and diversity and has been named to the Ethisphere Institute’s list of World’s Most Ethical Companies for 10 consecutive years. Parsons facilitates a culture of innovation by encouraging collaboration among its employees and providing opportunities for career growth. With offices around the globe, people of varied talents and backgrounds, and a wide range of exciting projects, the possibilities at Parsons are endless. For more about Parsons, visit www.parsons.com. Mission: Delivering innovative infrastructure, defense, and security solutions to enable a more sustainable, safer, smarter, and more connected world.
