Contract & Cost Manager (Australia)

Company Overview

STACK Infrastructure builds, owns, and operates hyperscale and colocation data centers that power the world’s most ambitious technology companies. With a rapidly expanding footprint across APAC, STACK combines deep development expertise, flexible capital, and operational discipline to deliver critical digital infrastructure at scale.

Our clients include the largest hyperscale cloud platforms. We are building a regional platform defined by speed of delivery, power reliability, and long-term partnership — and we are assembling the team to lead that effort.

Summary/Objective

The Contract & Cost Manager is responsible for the commercial administration, cost control and performance oversight of a substantial portfolio of operational contracts across STACK's Australian data centres. The assigned portfolio may represent material annual expenditure across engineering maintenance, facilities management, security, cleaning, utilities support and other critical operational services.

This role directly supports STACK’s commitment to 100% uptime and a concierge-level customer service experience, ensuring risk is proactively managed, planned works are executed safely, and customer communications are clear, timely and professional.

Reporting to the Senior Contract & Cost Manager, the role independently owns and administers a significant allocated portfolio and provides portfolio-level commercial governance throughout the procurement and contract lifecycle. This includes sourcing strategy, tendering, negotiation, contract execution, forecasting, payment assessment, variations, claims, vendor performance, renewals, transition and contract close-out.

The role is accountable for maintaining accurate visibility of contractual commitments, expenditure, financial risks and supplier performance; ensuring contracts remain within approved authority, value and term; and providing commercially sound recommendations to Operations and senior leadership. The Senior Contract & Cost Manager retains overall portfolio accountability.

Essential Functions

Reasonable adjustments may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

Contract and Procurement Management

• Independently own the commercial governance and day-to-day administration of the assigned operational contract portfolio.

• Develop procurement and sourcing strategies and lead commercial procurement workstreams from market engagement through contract award.

• Chair or lead the commercial component of tender evaluations, including bid analysis, clarifications, risk assessment, negotiation strategy and recommendation for approval.

• Prepare clear commercial recommendations, approval papers and decision records for Operations and senior leadership.

• Lead contract negotiations, drafting, execution, extensions, renewals, variations, terminations and close-out activities.

• Administer contractual claims, including extension-of-time and delay claims, and assess entitlement, quantum, evidence and commercial risk.

• Manage contractual notices, correspondence, records and governance requirements to preserve STACK's rights and ensure supplier obligations are enforceable.

• Assess and apply performance deductions, service credits and liquidated damages where contractually applicable.

• Lead dispute avoidance and support timely, commercially sound resolution of contractual disputes and claims.

• Ensure insurance, indemnity, liability, security and other contractual risk requirements are established, maintained and verified.

• Oversee contract mobilisation, transition, demobilisation and exit planning to protect service continuity and operational resilience.

• Monitor supplier financial health, dependency and concentration risk, and recommend appropriate mitigation actions.

• Ensure contracts do not expire, exceed approved authority or continue without appropriate contractual coverage and approvals.

• Escalate material financial, contractual, supplier and delivery risks to the Senior Contract & Cost Manager and senior leadership with recommended actions.

Cost Management and Reporting

• Lead annual budget development for the assigned portfolio and maintain accurate periodic reforecasts based on commitments, operational plans and emerging risks.

• Prepare and validate monthly accruals, commitments, forecasts and variance analysis in coordination with Finance and Operations.

• Maintain accurate reconciliation of contracted value, approved variations, purchase-order value, invoiced amounts and actual spend.

• Assess payment claims and invoices against contractual entitlement, performance evidence, milestones, rates and approved purchase orders.

• Maintain forward visibility of committed and forecast expenditure, including uncommitted requirements and anticipated changes.

• Ensure compliance with delegated-authority limits, procurement controls, approval pathways and financial governance requirements.

• Track, validate and report realised savings, negotiated benefits and cost avoidance without compromising safety, compliance or service quality.

• Support financial audits, contract assurance reviews and internal control testing, and ensure timely closure of identified actions.

• Undertake whole-of-life cost analysis and scenario modelling to inform sourcing, renewal and investment decisions.

• Establish, monitor and report appropriate contingency and risk allowances for material contracts and procurement activities.

• Prevent retrospective purchase orders, unapproved expenditure and services being delivered without valid contractual and financial authority.

• Provide accurate portfolio-level cost reports, dashboards and commercial insights to the Senior Contract & Cost Manager, Operations, Finance and senior leadership.

Vendor Performance, Process and Continuous Improvement

• Monitor contract progress and vendor performance against contractual obligations, maintenance requirements, key performance indicators and service-level agreements.

• Develop and maintain a consistent vendor performance matrix across all data centres, supported by reliable evidence, trends and agreed improvement actions.

• Lead or support formal supplier performance reviews, corrective-action plans and escalation processes for persistent or material underperformance.

• Coach Operations Managers and other stakeholders in contract administration, commercial decision-making, record keeping and compliance with procurement controls.

• Direct and coordinate consultants, quantity surveyors, contract administrators and other commercial resources engaged to support the assigned portfolio.

• Manage, mentor or allocate work to junior commercial resources where required, ensuring appropriate quality control and capability development.

• Present portfolio performance, risks, forecasts and commercial recommendations to executive and senior leadership forums.

• Develop and maintain effective, standardised and streamlined commercial processes, procedures, templates and reporting tools.

• Support innovation, initiatives and continuous improvement aimed at increasing the time, cost and operational efficiency of data centre operations.

• Support multiple sites, including procurement and commercial preparations for new data centre capacity, operational transitions and capital improvement programs associated with existing data centres.

Competencies

• Strong commercial judgement and a comprehensive understanding of contract management, administration and cost control.

• Strong communication, negotiation, contract drafting and presentation skills, including the ability to communicate complex commercial matters clearly to executives and operational stakeholders.

• Demonstrated ability to lead procurement workstreams, chair commercial evaluations and influence multiple internal and external stakeholders.

• Strong financial analysis, forecasting and reporting capability, with the ability to identify trends, exposure and control weaknesses.

• Good leadership, coaching, decision-making and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to manage competing priorities and exercise sound judgement in a fast-paced, operationally critical environment.

• Excellent attention to detail, record keeping and commitment to commercial integrity and governance.

Work Environment / Conditions

• Based on-site at STACK's Melbourne data centres in Truganina, Melbourne.

• The role operates in an active critical-infrastructure environment and requires close collaboration with site Operations, Engineering, Finance, Procurement, Legal and external service providers.

Travel Required

• Travel between STACK data centre sites and the Melbourne head office may be required from time to time.

• Travel to other STACK data centre facilities within Australia and internationally may be required from time to time.

Required Education and Experience

• Minimum seven years' experience in commercial management, contract management, quantity surveying, procurement or cost management within operations, facilities management, engineering or critical infrastructure, with depth of experience appropriate to a substantial and complex portfolio.

• Demonstrated responsibility for independently managing or commercially administering a significant annual contract portfolio with material organisational and operational impact.

• Experience negotiating and administering complex, high-value facilities, maintenance, engineering or service contracts through the full contract lifecycle.

• Demonstrated experience across maintenance, facilities management, engineering services and critical infrastructure environments.

• Demonstrated experience in sourcing strategy, tendering, contract drafting, payment assessment, variations, forecasting, claims management, dispute resolution, renewals and vendor performance.

• Demonstrated experience leading procurement workstreams, preparing commercial recommendations and presenting material risks and decisions to senior stakeholders.

• Strong working knowledge of commercial governance, delegated authority, procurement controls, contractual risk and financial reporting.

• Relevant tertiary qualification in quantity surveying, construction management, commercial management, engineering, finance, law or a related discipline.

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and experience with enterprise resource planning and financial platforms such as Oracle NetSuite.

Preferred Education and Experience

• Experience working in a data centre or other critical-environment industry.

• Experience managing large-scale facilities, maintenance or engineering-service contracts within a complex operational portfolio.

• Experience with multi-site portfolios, supplier mobilisation and transition, service continuity planning and contract exit arrangements.

• Experience directing consultants, contract administrators or junior commercial resources.

Equal Opportunity Employer

STACK provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, colour, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, redundancy, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Other Duties

Please note that this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this role. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.