FIDIC Engineer (Site Based) in Newcastle upon Tyne

Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.

We are more than 34,000 people, in over 30 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life.

Everyone has an important role to play.

With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world's most complex challenges and deliver more impact together.

Project Overview

This role supports a major £10 billion hyperscale data centre campus in Northumberland, North East England- one of the largest data centre developments in Europe.

The project spans 540,000 sqm across 10 data centre buildings and includes extensive enabling works, substation construction, and environmental remediation.

First-phase enabling works commenced in late 2025, with main construction beginning in 2026.

The development will create thousands of jobs and represent a transformative investment in the region.

Role Overview

The FIDIC Engineer acts as the Engineer under the FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Construction (Red Book), as amended by the Particular Conditions.

The role is responsible for administering the Contract, issuing contractual communications and certificates, managing determinations, and supporting proper contract administration throughout delivery of the Works.

The FIDIC Engineer plays a critical role in maintaining contractual compliance, supporting dispute avoidance, and ensuring that decisions, records, and communications are clear, timely, evidence-based, and auditable.

This role requires a strong understanding of FIDIC Red Book administration, a disciplined approach to records and process, and the ability to act fairly, independently, and neutrally when making determinations under the Contract.

Key Responsibilities

• Administer the Contract in accordance with the General Conditions, Particular Conditions, and agreed governance procedures.
• Issue and manage notices, instructions, certificates, determinations, correspondence, registers, and logs.
• Review the Contractor’s programme, monitor progress, assess time-related risks, and administer Extension of Time processes where required.
• Administer Contractor’s Documents, technical submissions, quality procedures, inspections, tests, defects, and associated records.
• Coordinate with the Employer’s Personnel, project management team, technical consultants, cost consultant, health and safety advisors, and Engineer of Record.
• Review payment applications, administer variations, assess claims, and support commercial administration where this sits within the Engineer’s role.
• Administer Taking-Over, Defects Notification Period, and Performance Certificate processes.
• Maintain transparent, complete, and auditable records to support decision-making, dispute avoidance, and contractual compliance.
• Daily Deliverables
• Administer day-to-day contractual communications under the Contract, including notices, responses, instructions, and other formal correspondence.
• Maintain accurate and current registers and logs for notices, instructions, submissions, variations, claims, payments, defects, and actions.
• Review contractor submissions and issue acknowledgements, comments, no-objection notices, or requests for revision or resubmission, as applicable.
• Monitor daily progress information and identify matters affecting contractual compliance, programme, completion, quality, and health, safety, and environmental obligations.
• Record and administer issues arising from inspections, testing, non-conformances, and defects.
• Coordinate with the project management team, technical consultants, cost consultant, and health and safety advisors on matters requiring Engineer action, review, or determination.
• Maintain contemporaneous records to support payment certification, variation assessment, EOT review, claims management, and dispute avoidance.
• Provide day-to-day advice on contractual risks, non-compliances, and required actions.
• Weekly Deliverables
• Prepare a weekly contract administration summary covering notices, instructions, submissions, outstanding actions, variations, claims, and contractual risks.
• Review the Contractor’s weekly progress reports and updates, including progress against programme, critical path activities, and risks to key milestones.
• Attend, support, and where required convene and/or chair weekly progress and contract administration meetings, with minutes and action trackers issued thereafter.
• Review outstanding contractor submissions, overdue responses, pending technical reviews, unresolved instructions, and open defects or non-conformances.
• Coordinate with the Cost Consultant on payment applications, variations, commercial change, and claims interfaces.
• Review delay events, emerging entitlement issues, and supporting record requirements.
• Update the Employer on matters requiring decision, approval, or escalation.
• Monthly Deliverables
• Prepare the monthly FIDIC Engineer Report for the project governance pack.
• Report on overall contract administration status, including notices, instructions, certificates, determinations, claims, variations, and formal correspondence.
• Assess programme and time-related contractual risks, including EOT status and key delay events under review.
• Summarise payment certification, variations, valuations, and claims status from the Engineer’s perspective.
• Report on Contractor submissions and no-objection status.
• Summarise quality, inspection, testing, defects, and completion status from a contract administration perspective.
• Report on dispute avoidance, escalations, and matters requiring Employer decision, legal input, or senior stakeholder intervention.
• Review and update key registers, including variations, claims, delay / EOT, instructions, submissions, and defects.
• Provide recommendations to the Employer on approvals, remedies, mitigation measures, and dispute avoidance strategy.
• Key Interfaces
• Construction Director and Project Director for contractual approvals, escalations, and governance decisions.
• Arcadis Senior Project Director for project management consultancy leadership, reporting alignment, and issue escalation.
• MEPH PM and CSA PM for technical input, programme status, interface risks, readiness constraints, and delivery evidence.
• Cost Consultant for payment, valuation, variation, and claims input.
• Engineer of Record and Technical Consultants for design compliance and no-objection recommendations.
• EHS Manager / Employer’s health, safety, and environmental advisors for assurance inputs.
• Commissioning Agent for testing records, readiness status, handover criteria, and completion documentation.
• General Contractor for contractual communications, submissions, programmes, claims, notices, and close-out.

Experience and Skills Required

• Strong experience administering FIDIC Red Book contracts on major construction projects.
• Detailed understanding of notices, instructions, determinations, variations, payment certification, EOTs, claims, and Taking-Over processes.
• Ability to act neutrally and fairly when undertaking determinations.
• Strong record keeping, audit trail, and correspondence discipline.
• Experience working with project management teams, cost consultants, technical consultants, and contractors.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce clear, precise, and evidence-based contractual correspondence.
• Ability to work effectively in a complex, fast-paced, multi-stakeholder project environment.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple live contractual matters simultaneously.
• Key Behaviours
• Independent and contractually disciplined.
• Clear, precise, and evidence-based communicator.
• Neutral and fair in determinations.
• Detailed and organised record keeper.
• Able to challenge appropriately while maintaining professional relationships.
• Proactive in identifying contractual risk and recommending actions.
• Calm, structured, and credible in high-pressure project environments.
• What This Role Is Not
• Not responsible for contractor construction works, means, methods, or sequencing.
• Not responsible for design or Engineer of Record duties unless expressly stated.
• Not the MEPH PM, CSA PM, EHS Manager, OFCI Manager, Commissioning Agent, or Cost Consultant.
• Not authorised to amend the Contract or alter Employer / Contractor obligations outside the Contract.
• Not responsible for Employer decisions reserved to the client.
• Why This Role Matters

This is a high-profile role on a landmark development of regional and European significance.

The FIDIC Engineer will be central to ensuring that contract administration is carried out properly, transparently, and consistently across a complex, high-value programme.

Success in the role will support effective delivery, sound governance, reduced dispute risk, and confidence in the contractual administration of the project.

Why Arcadis?

We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best.

We believe everyone's contribution matters.

It’s why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together.

You’ll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you’ll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet.

Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.

Together, we can create a lasting legacy.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions.

Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people.

We believe that by working together diverse people with different experiences develop the most innovative ideas.

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of how we improve quality of life and we work closely with our people across six ED&I Workstreams: Age, Disability, Faith, Gender, LGBT+ and Race.

A diverse and skilled workforce is essential to our success.

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