Senior Finance Manager - Contracting

Job description / Role

This role oversees the full financial management of a contracting division, ensuring tight control over project costs, cash flow, and commercial risk. The Senior Finance Manager will work closely with project and operations teams to safeguard margins, strengthen financial discipline, and provide clear financial leadership across active projects. The position is based in Dubai.

Client Details

Our client is a well?established group operating within the construction and contracting sector, delivering large?scale projects across the region. They are known for their diversified portfolio, long-standing market presence, and commitment to operational excellence within the built?environment industry. The company continues to expand its project footprint and is seeking strong financial leadership to support this growth.

Description

· Take full ownership of the financial performance for all live contracting projects, ensuring robust control over budgets, cost tracking, and financial KPIs.
· Develop and maintain project budgets, cost?to?complete forecasts, and real-time profitability assessments.
· Monitor key financial indicators including margins, overhead allocation, and cost variances, intervening early when risks arise.
· Lead the preparation and submission of payment applications, variations, and final accounts while driving timely billing and collections.
· Track certifications, invoicing cycles, cash receipts, and retention recoveries with high accuracy.
· Evaluate claims, variations, and cost impacts while providing commercial insights to project teams.
· Maintain forward?looking project cash flow forecasts and improve visibility of funding requirements.
· Review contractual terms that influence project cash flow, penalties, and risk exposure, ensuring alignment between main contracts and subcontract agreements.
· Support negotiations relating to variations, commercial settlements, and dispute resolutions.
· Produce monthly financial reports for senior leadership, covering WIP, accruals, provisions, and project performance.
· Strengthen internal controls suitable for a mid-size contracting environment and coordinate with external auditors.
· Manage the annual budgeting process and quarterly forecasts for the contracting division.
· Review tender submissions, pricing assumptions, cash flow projections, and financial risks for new bids.
· Lead, mentor, and develop a lean finance team supporting both project sites and head office requirements.
· Serve as a strategic finance partner to operational, commercial, and project stakeholders, delivering proactive insights and solutions.
· Identify financial and contractual risks early and ensure proper provisioning for disputes, claims, and cost overruns.
· Promote financial discipline, accountability, and strong governance across project operations.

Job Offer

· Opportunity to lead finance for a major contracting division with strategic impact.
· Strong exposure to large, complex projects across the region.
· Stable and reputable organisation with long-term career growth potential.
· Collaborative working environment with direct access to senior leadership.
· Chance to influence key commercial and operational decisions.

· Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related discipline.
· Professional qualification such as CA, CPA, ACCA, or CMA is necessary
· 10 to 15 years of experience in finance roles within construction contracting. Industry experience is essential
· Strong experience within the Big 10 audit firms is necessary
· Strong experience in project finance, cost control, and commercial finance within the contracting sector.
· Sound knowledge of construction contract frameworks, ideally including FIDIC.
· Proven ability to manage financials across multiple concurrent projects.
· Regional experience within the Middle East is an added advantage.
· Candidates must be based in the UAE

About the Company

Michael Page is one of the world's leading professional recruitment consultancies, specializing in the placement of candidates in permanent, contract, temporary and interim positions with clients around the world.

The Group has operations in the UK, Continental Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. In the Middle East we focus on the areas of:

Finance & Accounting Banking & Financial Services Procurement Property & Construction Engineering & Supply Chain Oil & Gas Technical and Engineering Human Resources Sales Marketing Technology Secretarial Executive Search Legal

The Group operates through 161 offices in 33 countries and employs over 5,000 employees worldwide.