Senior Contracts Engineer / Administrator

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  • →Work with departmental managers to develop clear, measurable and commercially sound scopes of work for operational contracts.
  • →Ensure scopes define deliverables, service levels, equipment specifications, staffing requirements, productivity expectations, schedules, exclusions and acceptance criteria.
  • →Review existing contracts to identify opportunities for cost optimisation, scope rationalisation, improved productivity and reduced operational risk.
  • →Support the development of contract strategies, including the assessment of owner-operated versus contractor-operated options, equipment ownership versus rental, and alternative commercial models.
  • →Ensure contract requirements are aligned with approved operating plans, budgets, forecasts and capital or operating expenditure approvals.
  • →Maintain a forward-looking contract register covering expiry dates, renewal requirements, notice periods, rate reviews and procurement lead times.

• • Work with Supply Chain and the relevant technical departments to prepare tender documentation, commercial schedules and evaluation criteria.
  • Review tender submissions for completeness, commercial compliance, pricing assumptions, exclusions, qualifications and contractual risks.
  • Conduct or support detailed commercial evaluations, including normalisation of bids to a common scope and identification of lifecycle costs.
  • Assess proposed rates, productivity assumptions, equipment availability, labour costs, mobilisation and demobilisation, fuel, maintenance, consumables, standby charges and other cost components, as applicable.
  • Benchmark rates against comparable contracts, relevant market information and historical site costs where reliable data is available.
  • Identify commercial risks, pricing gaps, potential cost escalation and areas requiring clarification or negotiation.
  • Prepare clear commercial evaluation reports and recommendations for approval through established procurement and delegated-authority processes.
  • Ensure tender evaluations are supported by documented evidence and that procurement decisions follow approved company procedures.

• • Administer assigned contracts from award and mobilisation through execution, performance review, renewal and close-out.
  • Maintain complete and current contract files, including signed agreements, amendments, approved scopes, pricing schedules, insurance documents, performance records and correspondence.
  • Monitor compliance with contractual terms, deliverables, payment conditions, service levels, warranties, notice periods and other obligations.
  • Ensure purchase orders, approved budgets and contractual commitments are aligned before work commences, in accordance with company procedures.
  • Monitor contract expiry dates and initiate renewal, re-tendering or close-out processes sufficiently in advance.
  • Ensure all amendments, extensions, rate adjustments and changes in scope are formally assessed, justified and approved before implementation, except where an authorised emergency process applies.
  • Maintain an auditable record of contractual decisions, approvals, commitments, risks and outstanding actions.
  • Escalate actual or potential contractual breaches, unauthorised commitments and governance deviations to the Operations Manager and relevant control functions.

• • Establish and maintain contract cost trackers for all assigned contracts, covering approved contract values, purchase orders, actual expenditure, commitments, forecasts and remaining contract balances.
  • Monitor expenditure against approved budgets and identify emerging cost overruns, adverse trends and unplanned commitments.
  • Review contractor invoices and payment claims against contractual rates, verified quantities, approved work records, equipment utilisation, service delivery and applicable supporting documentation.
  • Reconcile contractor claims with operational records, timesheets, equipment logs, work orders, shift reports, maintenance records and other relevant evidence.
  • Identify duplicate billing, unsupported charges, unapproved standby time, excessive equipment hours, incorrect rates, unexplained productivity losses and other potential commercial leakage.
  • Track cost performance against budget, forecast, unit rates and agreed productivity measures.
  • Support Finance and departmental managers in forecasting contract expenditure and incorporating material changes into operating forecasts.
  • Identify and quantify savings opportunities, cost avoidance measures and improvements in contract value.
  • Prepare recommendations for corrective action where contract expenditure or commercial performance deviates from expectations.

• • Establish contract-specific key performance indicators (KPIs) and service-level measures in collaboration with the relevant departmental managers.
  • Monitor contractor performance against agreed production, productivity, availability, reliability, quality, maintenance, schedule, cost and service-delivery targets.
  • Coordinate regular contract performance reviews with contractors and responsible internal stakeholders.
  • Ensure contractor performance data is supported by reliable operational records and is consistently measured against contractual requirements.
  • Track corrective actions, outstanding deliverables, recurring failures and improvement commitments to closure.
  • Identify underperformance, assess contractual remedies and recommend improvement plans, deductions, service credits, penalties or other actions where permitted by the contract.
  • Assess contractor resource adequacy, equipment availability, workforce capability and mobilisation readiness against approved requirements.
  • Escalate persistent underperformance and recommend contract restructuring, replacement, termination or re-tendering where justified and authorised

• • Review requests for variations, extensions of time, additional resources, rate adjustments, standby charges and other contractual changes.
  • Verify the contractual basis, operational necessity, scope impact, cost implications and schedule implications of each request.
  • Ensure variations are supported by a clear business justification, cost estimate, budget confirmation and the required approvals.
  • Challenge unsupported claims, duplicated costs, unsubstantiated productivity assumptions and charges arising from contractor inefficiencies where the contract permits.
  • Maintain a variation and claims register recording the status, value, supporting evidence, approval status and potential exposure of each item.
  • Coordinate with Legal, Supply Chain, Finance and the relevant departmental manager on complex claims, disputes, contractual interpretation and settlement recommendations.
  • Ensure contractual notices and responses are issued within the time limits specified in the agreement.
  • Prevent retrospective approval of avoidable costs and ensure emergency changes follow approved escalation and documentation procedures

• • Coordinate with the relevant departments to verify contractor readiness before mobilisation.
  • Confirm that contractual prerequisites are satisfied, including approved documentation, personnel, equipment, insurance, license, permits, training and site-access requirements, as applicable.
  • Verify that mobilisation and demobilisation charges are consistent with contractual provisions and approved commercial terms.
  • Monitor delivery against mobilisation schedules and readiness milestones.
  • Ensure equipment and personnel deployed by contractors meet the agreed technical, operational and HSE requirements.
  • Coordinate contract close-out, including final account reconciliation, outstanding claims, asset return, defect resolution, documentation and lessons learned.

1. • Prepare monthly contract performance reports for the Operations Manager, highlighting expenditure, budget variance, contractor performance, variations, claims, risks and improvement opportunities.
   • Maintain a consolidated dashboard covering contract values, expenditure, commitments, forecast final cost, expiry dates, KPIs and outstanding commercial issues.
   • Provide early warning of contracts approaching expiry, budget limits or critical operational milestones.
   • Develop and maintain standard procedures, templates, checklists and registers for consistent contract administration across the Operations function.
   • Conduct periodic reviews of high-value and high-risk contracts to identify commercial exposure and opportunities for improvement.
   • Capture lessons learned from contract execution, claims, procurement outcomes and contractor performance to improve future contracting decisions.
   • Support budget preparation, business planning, operational reviews and cost-reduction initiatives with accurate contract data and commercial analysis.

Education, Work Experience & Key Competencies

• Bachelor's degree in Mining or a related discipline from a recognized tertiary institution.
• Professional contract management qualification or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 8 years of contract administration and commercial management experience.
• Relevant experience in contract engineering, contract administration or commercial management within a mining, mineral-processing, heavy-industrial or similarly complex operating environment.
• Demonstrate experience managing service contracts, equipment hire agreements, maintenance contracts or mining contractor agreements.
• Strong understanding of contract pricing, cost control, variations, claims, invoicing and contractor performance management.
• Experience analysing commercial proposals, budgets, expenditure and operational performance data.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and contract reporting tools.
• Excellent interpersonal, planning and organizational skills with a proven ability to build collaborative working relationships and operate effectively within cross-functional teams.