Associate Director - Construction Delay

ABOUT THE FIRM

Secretariat professionals are entrusted with the world’s most high-stakes legal, financial, and regulatory matters. When you join Secretariat, you’re not just joining a firm – you’re joining a rapidly growing, elite team of experts and innovators dedicated to solving the most complex challenges that impact global business decisions.

From day one, your skills and expertise will be put to work alongside the world’s most renowned law firms, leading corporations, and influential institutions. Our teams are united by a passion for excellence, and together, we tackle intricate issues that shape pivotal financial, economic, and strategic decisions.

At Secretariat, we believe in the power of collaboration and continuous growth. Our open, inclusive culture is built on trust, recognition, and support, ensuring that every professional thrives in an environment that values diversity and innovation. Your professional journey is as important to us as the clients we serve.

Make your impact at Secretariat!

ABOUT OUR CONSTRUCTION DELAY TEAM

When it comes to understanding the details that have an impact on costly and disruptive construction delays, we have built a reputation that stands above all with decades of experience as engineers, project managers, architects, schedulers, and accountants. Our team is trusted for their sophisticated delay analysis involved in the biggest projects developed around the world, including notable buildings, infrastructure, power & utilities, and oil & gas works.

RESPONSIBILIITES:

We are looking for an Associate Director who wants to play a significant role in the development of the practice. You will lead substantial parts of complex engagements, work directly with senior experts, lawyers and clients, develop junior colleagues and increasingly contribute to case strategy, client relationships and business development. For the right individual, the role provides a platform to develop toward greater expert and market-facing responsibility. You will work primarily on disputes involving delay, disruption, project controls, causation and associated financial impacts. You will join a growing practice in Germany at a stage where you can meaningfully influence how it develops.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Reviewing project schedules, progress records, correspondence, contracts, technical documentation, cost records and other contemporaneous evidence.
• Performing and directing forensic delay and critical path analyses, including establishing and testing causation.
• Analysing disruption, productivity impacts and the financial consequences of delay and disruption.
• Quantifying impacts such as prolongation, acceleration, additional resources, productivity loss and other project-related cost consequences.
• Integrating schedule, cost, factual and technical evidence to establish and test causation.
• Analysing large project datasets and using data analytics and visualisation to identify relevant patterns and relationships.
• Critically reviewing opposing expert analyses and opinions.
• Drafting substantial sections of expert reports and translating complex analysis into clear and defensible conclusions.
• Leading workstreams and smaller engagements, including planning the analytical approach, managing teams, budgets and deadlines.
• Working directly with clients, counsel and other experts.
• Supervising, coaching and developing junior colleagues.
• Contributing to proposals, client development, conferences, publications and other thought-leadership activities.
• Using emerging technologies, including AI-enabled tools where appropriate, while applying appropriate professional judgement and verification.

REQUIREMENTS:

We are looking for people with intellectual rigour, independent judgement, curiosity and ownership. You should be willing to challenge assumptions, follow the evidence where it leads and distinguish the issues that genuinely matter from the volume of information surrounding them. You should also want to develop beyond technical analysis, toward stronger writing, communication, leadership, client relationships and ultimately expert judgement.

You will ideally have:

• Approximately 10+ years of relevant experience in construction, engineering, project controls, planning, scheduling, cost management or construction disputes.
• Strong practical understanding of how complex projects are planned and delivered.
• Experience in construction disputes, claims or expert consulting, preferably including international arbitration.
• Strong knowledge of forensic delay analysis and critical path methodologies.
• Experience analysing disruption, productivity and/or project-related financial impacts.
• Strong scheduling capability, including Primavera P6 or comparable scheduling software.
• Experience analysing large and sometimes incomplete or conflicting project datasets.
• Strong written and spoken German and English, with experience drafting technical, advisory or expert material.
• The ability to communicate complex technical and financial matters clearly to lawyers, clients and other non-technical audiences.
• Experience managing and developing junior team members.
• A relevant degree or equivalent professional background in engineering, construction management, project management, project controls, quantity surveying, commercial management or a related discipline.
• Additional European or international language skills are advantageous.