Commercial Director

Location:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Job ID:

R0144183

Date Posted:

2026-09-08

Company Name:

HITACHI RAIL STS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Profession (Job Category):

Project/Program Management

Job Schedule: 

Full time

Remote:

No

About Us

A career at Hitachi Rail will help create a legacy. With operations in every corner of the world, our work goes to the cutting-edge of digital transformation and technology. From the multi-cultural strength of our global organisation to the sustainable and innovative ways we work to bring people together, there’s something for everyone to get stuck into. And that’s where you come in.

Job Description:

Hitachi Rail is looking for an enthusiastic self-motivated Commercial Director with high attention to detail, resilient under pressure with the ability to operate effectively within a culturally diverse work environment.  This position is based in Sydney, Australia.

The Commercial Director is a senior project leadership role responsible for the legal and commercial aspects of complex, high-value projects, covering both customer-facing obligations and internal governance requirements. The role provides clear commercial direction from bid development through contract negotiation, delivery and close-out, including, where applicable, the management of Public Private Partnership (PPP) related commercial activities. This ensures that value, margin, risk and contractual exposure are actively managed across the full project lifecycle.

The role exists to protect and enhance project outcomes by shaping commercial positions, strengthening contractual frameworks, supporting robust pricing and risk allocation, and ensuring that all customer commitments are aligned with delivery capability, legal advice and business governance requirements.

Acting as the commercial interface between the customer, project leadership, consortium partners, Sales, Legal, Procurement, Finance and internal governance stakeholders, the Commercial Director ensures that client obligations, PPP interface obligations, supplier flow-down, intercompany arrangements, approvals and commercial decisions are structured coherently and managed consistently.

The role also supports disciplined decision-making in public-sector and major infrastructure environments, ensuring commercial positions are transparent, defensible and aligned with customer governance, probity expectations and whole-of-life project outcomes.

This position plays a critical role in leading commercial stakeholder management, including engagement across PPP participants where relevant, improving bid and project quality, protecting profitability, enabling effective contract management and ensuring that lessons learned from live and completed projects are embedded into future commercial strategies.
Essential Requirements

•            Senior commercial leadership experience within complex, contract-led project environments, preferably across transport, infrastructure, rolling stock, energy, defence, PPPs or similarly regulated sectors.

•            Strong capability in managing the legal and commercial aspects of major projects, including customer contracts, project obligations, contractual risk, liability, claims, disputes and value protection.

•            Proven experience acting as a customer-facing commercial lead, including management of negotiations, variations, contractual correspondence, notices, claims and commercial issue resolution.

•            Demonstrated ability to work closely with Legal to interpret, negotiate and manage contractual positions while ensuring appropriate governance, approvals and compliance with internal control frameworks.

•            Strong understanding of contract law principles, commercial risk allocation, flow-down obligations, change control, claims strategy and contractual compliance without needing to be legally qualified.

•            Experience leading internal and public-sector commercial governance, including risk reviews, approval papers, executive reporting, escalation management, probity considerations, audit readiness and decision support for senior stakeholders.

  Highly Regarded Requirements

•            Experience working on Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, including consortium structures, project company obligations, financing interfaces and whole-of-life commercial considerations.

•            Experience working directly with government clients, public authorities or regulated customers, particularly in transport or infrastructure environments where public-sector governance, probity and accountability expectations are central.

•            Exposure to international or multi-region project environments, including matrix organisations with multiple internal and external stakeholders.

•            Background in organisations with formal project, bid, contract or investment governance committees.

•            Commercial, legal, finance or project management qualifications, such as an MBA, Masters in Commercial Law, LLM, quantity surveying, contract management or equivalent professional training.

Leadership and Personal Attributes

•            Executive presence with the credibility to operate confidently with customers, Project Directors, Legal Counsel, Sales Directors, consortium partners and senior executives.

•            Sound judgement and high integrity, with the ability to balance commercial opportunity, contractual entitlement, legal advice, public-sector accountability and long-term relationship management.

•            Strong stakeholder management skills, able to align customer, partner and internal priorities into a coherent and defensible commercial position.

•            Calm, credible and resilient under pressure, particularly during negotiations, claims, disputes, executive reviews and governance decisions.

•            Commercially courageous, with the confidence to challenge assumptions, raise risks early and recommend positions that protect project and business value.

•            Highly analytical yet pragmatic, able to translate complex legal, contractual, financial, governance and commercial matters into clear, transparent and decision-ready advice.

•            Collaborative and influential within matrix environments, balancing firmness on commercial protections with a constructive approach to delivery and customer relationships.

•            Outcome-focused, proactive and disciplined, with a strong bias toward early intervention, prevention of value leakage and consistent commercial governance.

At Hitachi Rail, we know that a diverse business is a sustainable business. Working collaboratively with a range of internal networks, we’re continuously improving our policies and products. From accessible, sustainable design to achieving a better gender balance.  

 We base these efforts on our core values: Harmony, Sincerity, and Pioneering spirit. And by aligning with these, we’re able to create a workplace where people not only feel comfortable but are given opportunities to thrive. 

What we offer: 

 ·         Salary continuance. 

·         Annual performance, development, and salary review process.  

·         Invitations to purchase discounted Hitachi products.  

·         Employee Assistance Program (employees and family).  

·         Flu Vaccinations.  

·         Invitation to attend and participate in Company sponsored social events throughout the year.  

·         Health and Wellbeing initiatives throughout the year. 

·         Days off per year sponsored by the company in addition to the statutory public holidays and leave entitlements. 

·         Ongoing professional development and training. 

Thank you for your interest in Hitachi Rail. If your application is of interest, we will be in contact. Please do not hesitate to discover more about us and our latest jobs at  https://www.hitachirail.com/careers.

At Hitachi Rail, there is a place for everyone. We welcome and value differences in background, age, gender, sexuality, family status, disability, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, and world view. It is our commitment to create an inclusive environment - we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

We would be delighted if you would be one of our followers at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hitachirail