Contracts & Claims Manager

Role: Contracts & Claims Manager

Location: 1201 NW Wall Street , Bend Oregon 97703

Contract length: 6+ months with potential for extension and/or permanent placement

Pay Rate: $80.00 - $85.00/hour

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Contracts & Claims Manager to oversee commercial contract management and claims activities for major capital expenditure (CAPEX) construction and engineering projects. This role is responsible for protecting contractual rights, managing commercial risks, negotiating complex agreements, resolving contractor claims, and ensuring projects meet cost, quality, and schedule objectives.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience in construction or engineering project environments, with a proven background in contract administration, claims management, change orders, cost control, and commercial negotiations. Experience working with Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management, and Validation (EPCMV) or Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractors is highly desirable.

Key Responsibilities

• Contract Administration: Manage contract execution throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring contractual obligations, rights, and entitlements are fulfilled and protected.
• Commercial Negotiations: Review and negotiate major contracts, subcontracts, contract extensions, variations, and change requests with contractors, suppliers, and consultants.
• Claims Management: Evaluate incoming contractor claims, develop defense strategies, identify potential outgoing claims, and support negotiations, settlements, and dispute resolution.
• Risk Management: Identify contractual and commercial risks, develop mitigation strategies, and ensure timely responses and proper documentation of contractual matters.
• CAPEX Project Cost Control: Coordinate with project controls teams to monitor costs, progress measurements, cash flow, back-charges, guarantees, and contract variations.
• Change and Delay Management: Oversee change orders, project delays, contractual deviations, and disputes while maintaining compliance with contract terms.
• Contract Closeout: Manage final commercial settlements, warranties, performance guarantees, outstanding claims, and other contractual closeout requirements.
• Supplier Management: Monitor contractor performance, compliance, accountability, and service quality while addressing escalated commercial issues.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Work closely with project managers, engineering, procurement, finance, legal teams, contractors, and consultants to achieve project objectives.
• Commercial Reporting and Compliance: Maintain accurate contract and claims records, report contract status and variations, support commercial audits, and ensure compliance with procurement standards.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent commercial qualification in Purchasing, Engineering, Legal Studies, Quantity Surveying, Cost Consulting, or a related field.
• 10+ years of relevant experience in contract management, commercial management, claims, cost management, and variations within major construction or capital project environments.
• Demonstrated experience managing project change procedures, negotiating and settling disputes with owners and subcontractors, and administering complex commercial contracts.
• Proven ability to develop and implement contract or sourcing strategies that deliver measurable business results.
• Strong understanding of construction practices, project sequencing, cost control, and commercial risk management.
• Experience working cross-functionally with project management, procurement, engineering, finance, legal teams, and external contractors.
• Exceptional negotiation, analytical, problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Business-fluent English proficiency.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with or overseeing EPC/EPCMV contractors.
• Background in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food manufacturing, or another regulated industry.
• Professional qualifications such as MRICS, MCIOB, MCIArb, AACE, or ACOSTE.
• Experience with international commercial contracts, strategic sourcing, supplier management, and e-procurement systems.
• Familiarity with arbitration, alternative dispute resolution, commercial audits, bank guarantees, and performance guarantees.

At Tailored Management, we help people get jobs and take pride in their work, so we better take pride in ours too. Not every company has the opportunity to meaningfully and directly impact individuals in a way that makes their lives tangibly better. To better support our employees, we offer a wide variety of benefit options to support you. We offer:

• Medical Coverage – HDHP, PPO, and Surest plan options
• Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC)
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Short-Term Disability (STD)
• Long-Term Disability (LTD)
• Life & AD&D Insurance
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Accident Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)