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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Construction Contract Administrator

💰 $ - $

ConstructionContractsProject ManagementCommercial

🎯 Role Definition

The Construction Contract Administrator is the commercial backbone of a construction project—responsible for drafting, negotiating and administering contracts and subcontracts; managing change orders, claims and variations; ensuring compliance with contract terms, project procedures and statutory requirements; and providing timely commercial advice to project teams to protect margin and mitigate risk. This role works closely with project management, procurement, legal, finance and field teams to ensure accurate documentation, timely invoicing and defensible positions in disputes.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Contract Administrator / Contract Coordinator
  • Project Coordinator or Project Administrator
  • Document Controller / Commercial Assistant

Advancement To:

  • Senior Contract Administrator / Senior Commercial Administrator
  • Commercial Manager or Contracts Manager
  • Project Controls Manager / Head of Commercial

Lateral Moves:

  • Procurement Specialist / Supplier Manager
  • Project Manager
  • Cost Engineer / Estimator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Administer the full contract lifecycle for construction projects including preparation, review, negotiation and execution of prime contracts, subcontracts, amendments, and purchase orders to ensure terms are clear, enforceable and aligned with project objectives.
  • Prepare, submit and manage change orders, variations and extras by assessing entitlement, quantifying cost/time impacts and drafting supporting documentation to secure approvals and mitigate disputes.
  • Review and manage subcontract documents, scopes of work, back-to-back clauses, bonding, insurance requirements and warranties to protect the project’s commercial position and ensure aligned obligations across the supply chain.
  • Maintain contract registers, key date trackers, milestone calendars, and obligations matrices to ensure no contractual deadlines are missed and early warnings are raised for critical path items.
  • Produce and issue Requests for Information (RFIs), Architect/Engineer Instructions (ASIs) and directives, track responses and ensure timely incorporation of design clarifications into commercial positions.
  • Coordinate the preparation, review and certification of contractor progress claims, valuation reports and payment recommendations in accordance with contract payment clauses and internal approval processes.
  • Interface with Finance to reconcile invoices, retainage calculations, provisional sums, adjustments and final account settlements; support month-end reporting and forecasting of outstanding commercial exposures.
  • Administer claims and disputes: assemble evidence, prepare claim submissions, respond to contractor claims, support mediation, adjudication or arbitration processes and liaise with legal counsel as required.
  • Review and interpret contract conditions, special provisions, performance guarantees and bonding requirements, providing commercial guidance to Project Managers to minimize exposure and optimize outcomes.
  • Prepare contractual notices, extension of time (EOT) claims, delay analyses and entitlement position papers using contemporaneous records and schedule analysis to secure fair time and cost relief.
  • Conduct scope reviews and change impact assessments in collaboration with design, operations and estimating teams to quantify commercial consequences and advise on risk allocation.
  • Maintain and control contract document packages and correspondence libraries (digital and physical), ensuring version control, audit readiness and easy retrieval for internal and external stakeholders.
  • Liaise with procurement and legal to support RFP/RFQ processes, evaluate contractor bids from a contract-risk perspective and recommend commercial terms that align with company risk appetite.
  • Monitor subcontractor performance and compliance with contract milestones and KPIs; initiate corrective actions, issue notices for non-conformance and escalate matters that impact schedule or budget.
  • Implement and maintain contract administration processes, templates and standard operating procedures to improve consistency, reduce cycle times and ensure best-practice commercial controls.
  • Support project risk management by identifying contractual risks, quantifying potential exposures and recommending mitigation strategies including insurance, warranties and holdbacks.
  • Prepare executive-level commercial summaries and dashboards for Sponsors and Project Directors that highlight outstanding claims, approved variations, cashflow implications and forecasted final accounts.
  • Facilitate handover of final account documentation, warranties, as-built documentation and compliance certificates to ensure commercial closure and release of retention or bonds in accordance with contract terms.
  • Train and mentor site teams and junior staff on contractual obligations, change management processes, and documenting entitlement to improve the quality and defensibility of claims submissions.
  • Conduct periodic contract audits and compliance checks to verify contract administration practices, payment process adherence and record completeness ahead of owner/financier reviews.
  • Coordinate with safety, quality and environmental teams to ensure contractual clauses related to compliance, penalties and liquidated damages are enforced and accurately captured in commercial reports.
  • Support commercial close-out activities including negotiation of final accounts, release of subcontractor claims, retention release and preparation of final settlement agreements.
  • Proactively identify opportunities to improve commercial outcomes through contract renegotiations, reallocation of risk, alternative dispute resolution or process improvements and present recommendations to leadership.

Secondary Functions

  • Maintain and optimize the contract administration database and document management system for efficient retrieval and automated reporting.
  • Assist in developing and refining contract templates, standard clauses and commercial playbooks tailored to specific project types (infrastructure, civil, residential, commercial).
  • Support procurement teams during tender evaluations by reviewing commercial terms and preparing recommended contract strategy and fallback positions.
  • Provide ad-hoc commercial support to project teams, including scenario modelling, sensitivity analysis and financial impact assessments for proposed scope changes.
  • Participate in internal lessons-learned reviews and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives for contract management practices.
  • Assist the legal team with preparation of notices, responses and evidence bundles for dispute resolution processes.
  • Coordinate with IT and systems teams to enhance contract management tools, implement automation and improve data integrity for analytics and reporting.
  • Support external audits and client/owner reviews by preparing requested contract records, correspondence and consolidated commercial reports.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Contract Administration: Expertise managing full lifecycle of construction contracts, subcontracts, amendments and final accounts.
  • Change Order & Claims Management: Proven ability to analyze entitlement, prepare substantiated claims, quantify cost/time impacts and negotiate settlements.
  • Commercial Acumen: Strong understanding of commercial risk allocation, pricing mechanisms, contingency management and margin protection.
  • Document Control & Records Management: Advanced proficiency in maintaining contract registers, correspondence logs, version control and audit-ready documentation.
  • Construction Law & Contract Types: Familiarity with standard forms (AIA, NEC, FIDIC, AS4000/AS4902, GC21) and statutory obligations relevant to the jurisdiction.
  • Scheduling & Delay Analysis: Working knowledge of critical path methodology (CPM) and ability to support extension of time and delay claims with schedule analysis.
  • Financial & Cost Management: Experience with contract valuation, interim payments, retention calculations, provisional sums and reconciliation with project accounting.
  • Software & Tools: Proficiency in contract management/document control systems (Procore, Aconex, Viewpoint or equivalent), MS Excel (advanced), MS Word and SharePoint/Teams.
  • Negotiation & Settlement: Strong negotiation skills for change order resolution, subcontractor claims and final account settlements.
  • Compliance & Risk Management: Ability to identify contractual non-compliance, manage insurance/bonding requirements and implement mitigation strategies.

Soft Skills

  • Communication: Clear, concise written and verbal communicator capable of preparing defensible notices, commercial reports and executive summaries.
  • Attention to Detail: Meticulous in documentation, calculation and tracking of contractual obligations and entitlement evidence.
  • Stakeholder Management: Able to build credibility with project managers, site teams, procurement, legal and clients to drive commercial outcomes.
  • Problem Solving: Analytical thinker who can synthesize complex technical and commercial information into pragmatic recommendations.
  • Time Management: Prioritizes tasks under tight deadlines and manages multiple contracts, claims, and invoices efficiently.
  • Decision Making: Confident in providing commercial recommendations and escalating issues where required.
  • Negotiation & Influence: Persuasive approach to resolve disputes amicably and achieve optimal outcomes for the project.
  • Teamwork & Mentoring: Experience coaching junior staff and collaborating across multidisciplinary teams.
  • Adaptability: Comfortable operating in fast-paced, evolving project environments and shifting priorities.
  • Ethical Judgment: Demonstrates integrity in commercial dealings and maintains confidentiality of sensitive contract information.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree or diploma in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Business or related field; or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Civil Engineering or Law with additional certification in contract administration (e.g., CCA, CCPM) or construction law training.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Construction Management
  • Quantity Surveying / Commercial Management
  • Civil Engineering
  • Law / Contracts / Business

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8 years of progressive experience in construction contract administration, commercial management or quantity surveying.

Preferred: 5+ years administering contracts on medium to large construction or infrastructure projects with demonstrable experience in change/claims management, subcontractor administration, and final account settlements. Experience with major contract forms (NEC/FIDIC/AIA/AS) and commercial systems (Procore, Aconex, Viewpoint) is highly desirable.

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