Legal Contracts Specialist

The Legal Contracts Specialist is responsible for preparing tender documentation, drafting and compiling agreements, and issuing contractual correspondence, notices, and risk-related documents to ensure effective legal and commercial risk management for the organisation. The role administers construction contracts and manages contractual obligations across projects to safeguard the DBSA's interests.

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS

1. Contract Development, Drafting & Negotiation

2. Develop and maintain a system for preparing contractual documents using approved standard form contracts and templates.

3. Identify standard and critical legal clauses to protect DBSA's interests in consultation with Legal Advisers.
4. Draft and negotiate contracts and subcontracts, ensuring alignment with DBSA policies, regulatory frameworks, and relevant legislation.
5. Consult with the Head: IDD Legal on amendments proposed to DBSA's standard form contracts by professional service providers and contractors.
6. Provide commercial contracting advice and guidance on a wide range of contract-related matters.
7. Guide the appointment of built environment professionals, including fee structures and contract forms.

8. Prepare clear, accurate, and contractually aligned project correspondence, including formal letters, notices, and responses, to support effective project communication and contract administration.

9. Contract Administration & Compliance

10. Draft, review, comment on, and issue contractual notices in accordance with signed contracts, and in consultation with Legal Advisers and Project/Construction Programme Managers (PM/CPM).

11. Compile and maintain complete and accurate contract documentation for the duration of each project.
12. Provide contract management support to project teams on all contract-related matters and ensure compliance with contractual requirements.
13. Monitor compliance with contract conditions, ensuring all obligations and returnable documents (e.g., guarantees, insurances) are satisfied.

14. Review contract documents and, in consultation with the legal team, ensure DBSA's contractual rights are protected.

15. Claims, Variations & Dispute Management

16. Manage the submission and tracking of claims submitted to clients per contract requirements.

17. Prepare contractual claims—including extensions of time, prolongation costs, acceleration costs, and other claims—in conjunction with CPMs and Legal Advisers.
18. Initiate and/or participate in meetings with contractors regarding contractual issues at the request of PMs/CPMs.

19. Prepare submissions for mediation, adjudication, or arbitration in collaboration with Legal Advisers, and manage the dispute process, including representing DBSA's case.

20. Tender Support and Contract Advisory

21. Develop contracting strategies for inclusion in the Integrated Programme Implementation Plan and Memorandum to Source.

22. Compile tender documentation in consultation with CPMs, Legal Advisers, and SCM.
23. Review tender documents before submission to the Bid Specification Committee/Document Review Committee.
24. Verify Letters of Award and final contract documentation before execution.
25. Provide advice on the insurance DBSA should maintain in relation to IDD projects.

26. Offer commercial contracting guidance and support to internal teams to strengthen contract management capability.

27. Stakeholder Management

28. Attend client or project meetings as required, representing DBSA on contractual matters.

29. Communicate with consultants and clients on issues related to delays, extensions of time, variations, warranties, and other contractual matters, ensuring coordination with relevant DBSA departments.
30. Build and maintain relationships with clients, consultants, and contractors to promote IDD's reputation and project delivery effectiveness.

Key measurement of output:

• Timeliness and accuracy of contract and procurement tracking registers

• Quality and timeliness of draft and reviewed contracts

• Quality and completeness of support documentation for contracts and procurement

• Number of contract-related administration issues resolved proactively

• Level of compliance with contract filing and documentation

INTERNAL LIAISON RELATIONSHIP (*The list is not exhaustive)

• Group Executive: IDD

• Group General Counsel

• Head: IDD Legal IDD

• All IDD Business Units

• All DBSA Divisions

EXTERNAL LIAISON RELATIONSHIP (*The list is not exhaustive)

• Regulatory bodies

• Service providers / Third parties

• External Client(s)

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Law (LLB)

Desirable Requirements

• Postgraduate qualification in Contract Management

• Admitted Attorney

Experience

Minimum Experience

• Minimum 5 years' experience in legal and contract drafting, contract management in an infrastructure or public sector procurement process.

• Knowledge of JBCC, FIDIC, NEC, GCC, CIBD 2015, including the latest releases of the contract forms, and other industry contracts.

• Experience in construction industry legislation and Contract law.

• Experience working on high-volume infrastructure or construction projects.

• Knowledge of the PFMA and Treasury Regulations.

• Knowledge of the organ of state procurement and relevant legislation

Desirable Experience

• Exposure to digital contract management or procurement systems.

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

a) Knowledge of Contracts

• Through a broad and deep understanding of contracting best practice, is able to define DBSA contracting policy.
• Develops contract award documents ensuring DBSA's interests are protected.
• Drafts, monitors and ensures performance of special terms of contract. Ability to apply remedy to protect DBSA's rights. Ability to enforce compliance.
• Monitors contractor compliance to identify, document and resolve potential or actual problems. Determine which contractual remedy, if any, applies and employ that remedy.
• Conducts post-award orientation, monitors contract performance and takes necessary action related to delays in contract performance.
• Analyses and negotiates modification and termination of contracts.
• Evaluates the impact of selected issues to determine the need for top management involvement.

b) Written Communication

• Is relied on by others to help them write complex technical and non-technical documents and briefs.
• Is able to determine which aspects of this knowledge area need to be transferred to others to achieve organisational goals.
• Coaches others and transfers communication skills and knowledge to others.

c) Business Acumen

• Aligns current actions with organisation goals.
• Develops work plans that prioritise work in alignment with business goals.
• Acts in accordance with established organisation objectives or goals.

d) Presentation Skills

• Can reinforce key presentation points with examples.
• Knows how to deliver arguments persuasively by employing a range of advanced presentation techniques (e.g. the appropriate use of body language, how to close a presentation so that the audience continues to think about the subject matter, etc.).
• Has knowledge of various feedback mechanisms to check levels of audience understanding
• Is able to translate technical terminology into language understandable to the audience.
• Has insight into the audience's behaviour and motivation and responds appropriately and professionally, adapting communication style as appropriate

e) Negotiations

• Has an appreciation of cultural sensitivities and differences.
• Effectively employs a variety of advanced behavioural/interpersonal competencies to control the negotiation situation.
• Is able to take the lead in a variety of sensitive negotiation situations requiring high levels of tact and diplomacy.
• Is able to place a discrete negotiation situation within the context of a broader long-term relationship and is not threatened by conceding ground to protect the longer-term interests of DBSA.

f) Policies and Procedures

• Has a detailed understanding of relevant policies and procedures and interprets these according to operational circumstances to ensure compliance.
• Understands the business context sufficiently to recommend improvements and modifications to existing policy.
• Is able to write new procedures

LEADERSHIP/BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES

a) Achievement Orientation

• Delivers work on time and quality and follows through on agreed commitments.
• Views new work experiences as an opportunity for growth.
• Reacts immediately to overcome setbacks and/or obstacles to meet goals.
• Recognises and acts upon current opportunities.

b) Customer Orientation

• Tries to understand the underlying needs of customers and match these needs to available or customised products and services.
• Adapts processes and procedures to meet ongoing customer needs.
• Utilises the feedback received from customers to develop new and/or improve existing services/products that relate to their ongoing needs.
• Thinks of new ways to align DBSA's offering with future customer needs.

c) Attention to Details

• Double-checks the accuracy of information or work.
• Ensures that the work produced doesn't contain any errors.

d) Information Seeing and Analysis

• Investigates the problem or situation beyond routine questioning.
• Breaks down problems into simple lists of tasks or activities

e) Organisational Awareness

• Recognises and/or uses the informal structure of an organisation

• Recognises key actors, decisioninfluencers, etc. and applies this knowledge when formal structure does not work as well as desired.

• The KPA's, competencies, and relationships listed in this document are not exhaustive, and the incumbent will be expected to undertake additional duties within their capacity to meet the needs of business and/or the business unit.