Legal / Contractual Advisor
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Key skills for this role
About the Role
Decima International seeks an experienced Legal / Contractual Advisor to provide legal and contractual support for large-scale construction and EPC projects in Dubai. The role requires 10+ years of experience, strong knowledge of FIDIC and UAE law, and expertise in contract drafting and negotiation.
Key Skills for This Role
Responsibilities
- Provide legal and contractual advisory support for EPC, construction, consultancy, subcontract, supplier, and professional services agreements
- Draft, review, and negotiate EPC contracts, contract amendments, letters of intent, framework agreements, consultancy agreements, subcontract terms, and related contractual documents
- Advise project leadership, commercial teams, procurement teams, and technical stakeholders on contractual rights, obligations, liabilities, risks, and remedies
- Support the development and review of tender and contract documents, including conditions of contract, scopes of work, pricing schedules, performance obligations, warranties, bonds, insurances, payment terms, delay provisions, and termination clauses
- Review contractual terms and identify legal, commercial, and project delivery risks prior to contract execution
- Provide guidance on FIDIC based contracts, UAE law requirements, EPC contracting models, variation mechanisms, claims provisions, notices, dispute resolution procedures, and risk allocation
- Support contract negotiation with contractors, consultants, suppliers, vendors, and other project stakeholders
- Advise on contractual notices, change orders, delay events, extensions of time, claims, back charges, liquidated damages, payment disputes, and closeout matters
- Coordinate with project management, commercial, procurement, cost control, planning, engineering, and construction teams to ensure contractual issues are properly identified, documented, and managed
- Support claims avoidance and dispute prevention by ensuring timely notices, accurate documentation, clear correspondence, and proper contract administration
Requirements
- 10+ years of experience as a construction lawyer, contractual advisor, contracts specialist, legal counsel, or senior contracts professional supporting large scale construction, infrastructure, industrial, EPC, or mission critical projects
- Bachelor's degree in Law, Construction Law, Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management, or a related field
- Strong experience in EPC contract drafting, review, negotiation, and administration
- Strong knowledge of UAE construction law and/or FIDIC based contracts
- Excellent written and verbal English fluency
Full Job Posting
Company Overview
- Decima International is a professional services company, providing project management and controls services to clients in the United States and the Middle East.
- We are seeking an experienced and commercially minded Legal / Contractual Advisor to provide legal, contractual, and commercial support for large scale construction and EPC projects in Dubai, UAE.
Responsibilities
- Provide legal and contractual advisory support for EPC, construction, consultancy, subcontract, supplier, and professional services agreements.
- Draft, review, and negotiate EPC contracts, contract amendments, letters of intent, framework agreements, consultancy agreements, subcontract terms, and related contractual documents.
- Advise project leadership, commercial teams, procurement teams, and technical stakeholders on contractual rights, obligations, liabilities, risks, and remedies.
- Support the development and review of tender and contract documents, including conditions of contract, scopes of work, pricing schedules, performance obligations, warranties, bonds, insurances, payment terms, delay provisions, and termination clauses.
- Review contractual terms and identify legal, commercial, and project delivery risks prior to contract execution.
- Provide guidance on FIDIC based contracts, UAE law requirements, EPC contracting models, variation mechanisms, claims provisions, notices, dispute resolution procedures, and risk allocation.
- Support contract negotiation with contractors, consultants, suppliers, vendors, and other project stakeholders.
- Advise on contractual notices, change orders, delay events, extensions of time, claims, back charges, liquidated damages, payment disputes, and closeout matters.
- Coordinate with project management, commercial, procurement, cost control, planning, engineering, and construction teams to ensure contractual issues are properly identified, documented, and managed.
- Support claims avoidance and dispute prevention by ensuring timely notices, accurate documentation, clear correspondence, and proper contract administration.
- Review contractor and consultant correspondence to identify potential contractual exposure, claims risk, or non compliance.
- Assist in preparing contractual letters, position papers, risk assessments, negotiation briefs, and settlement recommendations.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of experience as a construction lawyer, contractual advisor, contracts specialist, legal counsel, or senior contracts professional supporting large scale construction, infrastructure, industrial, EPC, or mission critical projects.
- Bachelor's degree in Law, Construction Law, Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management, or a related field.
- Strong experience in EPC contract drafting, review, negotiation, and administration.
- Strong knowledge of UAE construction law and/or FIDIC based contracts.
- Experience advising on construction contracts, consultancy agreements, subcontract agreements, supplier agreements, amendments, claims, variations, and dispute related documentation.
- Strong understanding of contract risk allocation, payment terms, performance obligations, warranties, bonds, insurances, delay provisions, termination rights, and dispute resolution procedures.
- Ability to identify contractual risks, commercial exposure, scope gaps, ambiguous terms, and potential claims issues.
- Experience supporting tender reviews, contract negotiations, contract awards, change management, and project closeout.
- Strong drafting skills with the ability to prepare clear contractual correspondence, legal notices, contractual position papers, and negotiation documents.
- Ability to work effectively with project management, commercial, procurement, engineering, cost, planning, and construction teams.
- Strong communication, negotiation, stakeholder management, and problem solving skills.
- Excellent written and verbal English fluency.
Preferred Qualifications
- Qualified lawyer, admitted attorney, solicitor, barrister, or equivalent legal professional registration.
- Master's degree or postgraduate qualification in Construction Law, Commercial Law, Contract Management, Arbitration, Quantity Surveying, or a related field.
- Experience working on data center, hyperscale, mission critical, industrial, infrastructure, or large scale commercial building projects.
- Experience working in a PMC, owner's representative, consultant, developer, contractor, or client side legal/commercial environment.
- Previous experience working in Dubai, the UAE, or the wider GCC region.
- Strong knowledge of FIDIC Red Book, Yellow Book, Silver Book, or other international standard forms of contract.
- Experience with claims management, dispute avoidance, adjudication, arbitration support, mediation, or settlement negotiations.
- Professional certifications or memberships such as FIDIC certification, CIArb, RICS, MRICS, CIPS, or equivalent.
- Familiarity with contract management, procurement, cost management, or document control platforms such as Aconex, Procore, Oracle Primavera Cloud, SAP, or similar systems.
- Arabic language capability is preferred but not required.
Position Details
- Location (On site): Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Position: Legal / Contractual Advisor
- Position Classification: Salary based full time hours
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