In a career as a contracts manager, your role is to oversee projects from start to finish, ensuring en route that the work is completed on time and within budget, as per the agreed contract. A construction contracts manager is primarily responsible for securing contracts on behalf of a firm. Let’s have a look at what a construction contracts manager and how your career can develop.
What does a Construction Contracts Manager do?
In this role you could be working on a wide variety of projects and depending on the size of the firm which you work for, you could be managing contracts on different projects at the same time. Primarily a construction contracts manager is responsible for:
- Identifying suitable projects and making contact with the relevant potential clients
- Travelling for meetings with clients
- Preparing bids and tenders for a particular project
- Meeting with clients and suppliers to ensure the details of any contract are clearly understood by all parties
- Planning the necessary workforce labour for the delivery of the project
- Briefing company management, individual sub-contractors and suppliers
- Planning timescales for the delivery of the project within the agreed contract timeframe
- Resolve any issue that occurs either before, during or after the commencement of the contract
Career Progression
A construction contracts manager position is predominantly office based, but there is also a lot of external travel to meet client and prospective clients, along with subcontractors and suppliers. Some of the roles you will work alongside in your career as a construction contracts manager include:
- Site manager
- Quantity surveyor
- Foreperson
- Land surveyor
- Documents controller
- Estimator
- Purchaser
- Civil engineer
- Structural engineer
Professional Qualifications
If you wish to work as a construction contracts manager it is vital that you have a good knowledge of the construction industry. Some start as assistants within the contracts office before moving into management positions. A third level qualification if construction management, construction technology or business development would all be relevant to this position. In addition to acquiring experience based learning during the course of your work, soft skills are also very important as you will need good communication and people management skills regularly. Technology skills and adept use of standard and industry standard office packages will also be expected.
How your Career can Develop
In your career, your exposure to larger projects will increase as the firm which you work for grows and takes on more ambitious jobs. As a contracts manager you can seek to gain Project Management certifications which will broaden the scope of your future career.