General Manager - Tender & Contract

General Manager Tender & Contract

Roles & Responsibilities | EPC / Infrastructure / Construction Industry

1. Key Roles & Responsibilities

A. Tender Management & Strategy

• Lead the complete tendering process, from identification of opportunities to bid submission and contract award.
• Review tender documents, RFPs, RFQs, BOQs, technical specifications, and commercial conditions.
• Develop tendering strategies aligned with business objectives, project margins, and risk appetite.
• Coordinate with Business Development, Engineering, Estimation, Planning, Finance, Procurement, and Project teams.
• Ensure timely and accurate preparation and submission of techno-commercial bids.
• Evaluate tender eligibility criteria, prequalification requirements, EMD, bid security, and performance guarantees.
• Establish a tender calendar, bid pipeline, and management review mechanism.

B. Contract Management & Administration

• Lead contract review, drafting, negotiation, finalisation, and execution.
• Analyse contractual terms, including scope of work, payment terms, milestones, retention, LDs, warranties, indemnities, and termination clauses.
• Ensure contractual compliance throughout the project lifecycle.
• Manage client contracts, subcontract agreements, vendor contracts, and consortium or JV agreements.
• Identify contractual risks and recommend mitigation measures.
• Monitor contractual obligations, deliverables, notices, and deadlines.
• Ensure proper documentation and maintenance of contract registers.

C. Commercial Evaluation & Costing

• Review project costing, BOQs, rate analysis, pricing assumptions, and commercial estimates.
• Evaluate project profitability, cash flow, working capital requirements, and commercial viability.
• Coordinate with Finance and Estimation teams for bid pricing and margin analysis.
• Assess escalation clauses, taxes, duties, price variation, and payment mechanisms.
• Ensure appropriate management approval before final bid submission.

D. Contract Negotiation & Client Management

• Lead commercial and contractual negotiations with clients, consultants, government departments, and other stakeholders.
• Resolve contractual ambiguities and deviations before contract signing.
• Maintain strong relationships with clients, authorities, and consultants.
• Negotiate favourable payment terms, risk allocation, variation provisions, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Support project teams in managing client expectations and contractual commitments.

E. Claims, Variations & Dispute Management

• Lead the preparation and submission of claims for extra items, variations, escalation, extension of time (EOT), and additional costs.
• Evaluate and respond to client claims, notices, and contractual disputes.
• Ensure timely issuance of contractual notices to protect the company's rights.
• Coordinate with legal counsel, project teams, and commercial teams for dispute resolution, arbitration, and litigation.
• Maintain a comprehensive record of correspondence, site instructions, hindrances, and supporting evidence.

F. Risk Management & Legal Compliance

• Identify commercial, contractual, financial, and execution risks during the tender and contract stages.
• Conduct contract risk assessments and prepare risk mitigation plans.
• Ensure compliance with applicable laws, tender conditions, statutory requirements, and internal approval processes.
• Review bank guarantees, insurance requirements, indemnities, liquidated damages, and liability provisions.
• Coordinate with the Legal Department on contractual disputes and regulatory matters.

G. Government & Infrastructure Tendering

• Manage tenders for government, PSU, urban infrastructure, metro rail, roads and highways, bridges, water infrastructure, and other EPC projects, as applicable.
• Handle e-tendering portals, bid submissions, corrigenda, pre-bid queries, and clarifications.
• Ensure compliance with eligibility criteria, technical credentials, turnover requirements, and financial qualification norms.
• Coordinate with government authorities, engineering consultants, and client representatives.
• Monitor tender opportunities, award trends, competitor positioning, and market developments.

H. Team Leadership & Performance Management

• Lead and develop the Tender & Contract team, including tendering, estimation coordination, and contract administration professionals.
• Establish SOPs, review mechanisms, delegation of authority, and quality checks.
• Build a central repository of tender documents, contract templates, rate databases, and lessons learned.
• Train team members on contractual risk, negotiation, claims, and tender compliance.
• Monitor team productivity, bid accuracy, submission timelines, and contract closure.

2. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Performance Area

Key KPIs

Tendering

Number and value of tenders submitted

Bid success

Tender hit ratio / order conversion rate

Commercial performance

Bid margins and profitability

Compliance

On-time and error-free bid submissions

Contract risk

Reduction in unfavourable contractual exposures

Claims management

Value of claims recovered and variations approved

Cash flow

Timely certification and payment milestone protection

Contract administration

Timely notices, renewals, and obligation tracking

Team management

Productivity, capability development, and process improvement

3. Essential Skills & Competencies

• Strong knowledge of EPC contracts, tendering procedures, and commercial negotiations.
• Expertise in FIDIC-based contracts and government/PSU tender conditions, where applicable.
• Understanding of BOQ, estimation, rate analysis, project costing, and cash flow.
• Strong knowledge of claims management, EOT, variations, and dispute resolution.
• Understanding of contractual law, arbitration, and risk allocation.
• Excellent stakeholder management, leadership, analytical, and decision-making skills.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, ERP systems, e-procurement portals, and contract management tools.

Overall objective: To lead the end-to-end tendering and contract management function, maximise profitable order acquisition, minimise contractual and commercial risks, safeguard the organisation's interests, and support sustainable business growth.

Preferred candidate profile

• BE/B.Tech in Civil, NICMAR preferred,
• LLB/LLM will be additional qualification
• 20 years experience total
• At least 12 years in Contract and Tender with at leact 5 years as Head of Tender & Contract Dept
• Good Communication Skills & Negotiation Skills
• Knowledge of Arbitration
• Purely from Contracting companies
• Not from Infra, Developer, Real Estate
• Stability at companies at least 4 /5 years
• Early Joiners will be preferred