Commercial Manager

Location Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia Category Date Published 11/06/26 Status Open About you:
Join us. Unleash your energy within.

If you have world-class ambitions to reach the stars while keeping your feet on the ground, we’re the team for you. We've created a new breed of company – future-focused with reimagined ambition across all disciplines within the energy sector.

We love people who know their own potential and are not afraid to use it. We know that together, we’re far more than the sum of our parts. So, we celebrate people who want to grow and develop as we work together on some of the largest projects on the energy world stage.

We are committed to our diverse and inclusive community – a place where we can all be ourselves, thrive and develop. From day one, we offer a range of family-friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, and employee networks to support staff from different backgrounds.

As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we value applications from all backgrounds, cultures, and abilities.

We’re a disability-friendly employer and can make adjustments to support you to perform at your best during the recruitment process.

Our purpose and beliefs:
As Kent, we’re tackling the greatest challenge of our time - to bring our world the energy it needs in the most responsible way ever imagined.

It’s the energy of every member of our team driven by our beliefs that is making this happen. Whatever our skill, our language, or our culture. These beliefs define and direct us every day to be the very best - for ourselves, our clients, our key stakeholders, the communities we operate in and the planet:

We PLAY BIG
We thrive on EMOTIONAL AGILITY
We are FANATICAL ABOUT PERFORMANCE
We are built on INFINITE THINKING

Read more about the Purpose, Beliefs and Guiding Principles that drive us:

Our vision for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging:
We recognise that diversity & inclusion are catalysts for success. We’re heightening awareness on the benefits of people diversity, diversity of experiences and diversity of our perspectives. Creating a culture of inclusivity where all employees feel a sense of belonging.

Our combined energy is fueled by different nationalities, across 6 continents and 24 countries. Our commitment is to celebrate character – no matter what ethnic background, gender, age, religion, identity, or disability.

Kent is seeking an experienced and commercially astute Snr. Commercial Manager to provide full commercial leadership on a recently awarded EPC project in KSA. Reporting to the Project Director and functionally to the Commercial Director KSA, this is a senior role responsible for establishing robust commercial systems and procedures from project inception, managing contractual risk, and leading a multi-disciplinary commercial team.
The Snr. Commercial Manager will serve as the primary commercial interface between Kent, the Client, and key stakeholders, ensuring that Kent's contractual rights are rigorously protected throughout the project lifecycle while maintaining productive and collaborative relationships with all parties.
The role is based in the Eastern Province of KSA, with regular travel for Client engagements, project meetings, and site visits as needed including UK-based periods of deployment needed throughout the project. The successful candidate must be willing and able to travel internationally at short notice and to work across multiple time zones.

Skills and Responsibilities:
Systems & Procedures

• Establish, implement, and maintain comprehensive commercial management systems and procedures aligned to both Kent's corporate standards and Client project requirements.
• Develop and deploy contract management frameworks, change management protocols, claims registers, , and reporting templates from project kick-off.
• Ensure systems are consistently applied across all project disciplines, work packages, and geographical work locations.
• Identify gaps between Kent corporate procedures and Client requirements and develop bridging solutions, presenting recommendations to senior leadership for approval.
• Maintain accurate and contemporaneous commercial records to support entitlement and dispute avoidance throughout the project lifecycle.

Contract Strategy

• Develop, present, and obtain approval for the project contract strategy, including subcontract strategy, subcontract structures, and risk allocation frameworks.
• Provide expert analysis and recommendations on contract terms, risk mitigation measures, and commercial strategy to the Project Director and senior management
• Advise on the commercial implications of project execution decisions, schedule changes, and scope variations, ensuring that management is fully informed of contractual risk exposure.
• Lead the preparation and negotiation of subcontracts, consultant appointments, and supply agreements in accordance with project procurement plans and Kent governance requirements.
• Monitor contract performance against agreed milestones and key commercial metrics, producing regular reports for internal and client stakeholders.

Protection of Kent's Contractual Rights

• Proactively identify, quantify, and formally notify all contractual entitlements including variations, compensation events, extensions of time, and loss and expense claims in strict accordance with contract conditions and notice requirements.
• Maintain a live entitlement register and ensure that all time bars and notice provisions are observed without exception.
• Prepare, substantiate, and present claims and counterclaims, coordinating with project controls, engineering, and legal functions as required.
• Manage dispute avoidance and resolution processes, providing well-documented commercial positions to support negotiation and, where necessary, formal dispute proceedings.
• Ensure all contractual correspondence between Kent/Client and Kent/Supply Chain & Subcontractors is appropriately reviewed, recorded, and responded to in a timely manner, protecting Kent's position at all times.

Compliance

• Ensure full compliance with Kent's corporate governance framework, delegated authority matrix, and ethics and compliance policies across all commercial activities.
• Ensure adherence to Client project procedures, including reporting obligations, change management protocols, and invoicing requirements.
• Support internal and external audits, providing commercial documentation and explanations of commercial decisions and processes as required.
• Maintain awareness of applicable KSA regulatory and in-Kingdom content requirements and ensure commercial arrangements reflect these obligations.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as the primary commercial point of contact with the Client's commercial and contracts team, building a professional and collaborative relationship while firmly protecting Kent's contractual position.
• Engage proactively with internal stakeholders including the Project Director, Engineering Manager, Project Controls Manager, Procurement, Commercial, Finance, Legal, and senior management to ensure aligned commercial decision-making.
• Prepare and present commercial reports, risk registers, and strategic recommendations to Kent senior leadership and, where appropriate, Client representatives.
• Represent Kent in commercial meetings, negotiations, and workshops with the Client, subcontractors, and other project stakeholders.
• Manage relationships with subcontractors and suppliers from a commercial perspective, ensuring equitable and effective contractual arrangements.

Team Leadership

• Reporting to the Project Director and functionally to the Commercial Director KSA you will Lead, manage, and develop a multi-disciplinary commercial team comprising Contract Engineers and Quantity Surveyors.
• Provide mentoring, performance management, and professional development support to direct reports, fostering a high-performance commercial culture.
• Define clear roles, responsibilities, and workload allocation within the commercial team, ensuring adequate resource coverage across all project phases.
• Ensure knowledge sharing and best practice transfer across geographically dispersed team members including Commercial Awareness Training for relevant personnel throughout the project life cycle
• Identify resource requirements and support recruitment of additional commercial personnel as the project demands evolve.

General

• Ensure compliance with Project and Kent Procedures and processes
• Actively participate in HSSE Reporting including Hazard Observations, Safety Interventions & HSSE Inspections.
• Provide support for Bids as requested
• Contribute to team efforts by accomplishing related results in a cooperative and supportive manner.
• In addition to the responsibilities listed herein, the employee may be required to perform other ad-hoc tasks as needed or directed by management. These tasks will be within the reasonable scope of the employee's skills, capabilities, and role within the organization. The intent of this provision is to allow for flexibility and adaptability in meeting the dynamic needs of the organization, ensuring that operational requirements can be met efficiently. All such tasks will be assigned considering the employee's current workload and with respect to their professional development.

Your knowledge/skills, education, and experience:
Qualifications

• Degree in Quantity Surveying, Law, Engineering, Business, or a related discipline. A postgraduate qualification or professional membership (e.g. MRICS, MCIArb, or equivalent) is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated continuing professional development in commercial, contracts, or project management disciplines.

Industry Experience

• Minimum 15 years of progressive commercial management experience within the oil and gas industry, with a proven track record in major EPC projects.
• Extensive hands-on experience in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a strong understanding of the KSA operating environment, Aramco Experience, and in-Kingdom Value Realisation (IKTVA) requirements.
• Demonstrated experience working on large-scale, multi-disciplinary EPC contracts with contract values in excess of USD 500M.
• Deep understanding of FIDIC, NEC, or bespoke lump-sum / reimbursable EPC contract forms commonly used in the upstream and downstream oil and gas sector.

Commercial & Technical Skills

• Exceptional ability to interpret, administer, and enforce complex commercial contracts across all project phases.
• Proven experience in establishing commercial systems and procedures on brownfield EPC projects.
• Strong claims and entitlement management skills, including preparation and negotiation of major variation and compensation event claims.
• Commercially literate with the ability to analyse cost, risk, and schedule data and translate findings into clear management recommendations.
• Proficient in the use of commercial management software and advanced MS Excel

Leadership & Interpersonal Skills

• Proven ability to lead, inspire, and manage geographically dispersed commercial teams, driving high performance across cultures and time zones.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills at senior leadership, Client, and subcontractor levels.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to prepare clear, concise commercial reports, presentations, and correspondence.
• High degree of commercial judgement, integrity, and the ability to make sound decisions under pressure.

Communication:

• Excellent command of the English language in both oral and written communication and skills.

Behaviour/ Core Competencies:

• Proactive approach, attention to details, commitment to continuous learning

HSSEQ:

• The Employee shall observe the Health, Safety, Sustainability, Environment and Quality rules of the Company; it’s clients and the governing authorities of the host country. Exhibit exemplary HSSE behaviour.