APAC Capital & Commercial Manager

Job Description 

The APAC Capital & Commercial Manager is a strategic cost and capital planning leadership role within real estate project delivery—not a sales, leasing, or revenue-generating position. The role oversees the commercial management function for the Client’s Capital Management Team across the APAC region, ensuring alignment between market realities, project scope, cost strategy, and the Client’s enterprise objectives. 

This role is responsible for defining project scope of work, conducting benchmarking and market trend analysis, and translating industry insights into actionable commercial strategies that drive cost certainty, value assurance, and risk mitigation across the Client’s property portfolio. 

The position establishes regional commercial frameworks, ensures compliance with Client and JLL financial systems, and serves as the single point of accountability for all commercial outputs—including data-backed recommendations that directly influence annual funding decisions across APAC. 

What this job involves: 

General Responsibilities 

• Lead multiple stakeholders in developing, recommending, and approving strategic commercial plans and regional budgets during client planning cycles 

• Interact with appointed consultants to provide steerage and guidance on Client requirements.  

• Strategic oversight of financial accounting and planning processes, including budget forecasting, variance analysis, and financial modelling across the APAC region 

• Expert knowledge in commercial management, capital planning, and project cost management theories and principles with strong strategic thinking skills and judgment 

• Demonstrate ability to research, analyze, and prioritize multiple commercial concepts and regional initiatives 

• Communicate effectively across the APAC Region and with the Client's Global Team for diverse audiences, recognizing sensitive commercial situations 

• Proficiency in maintaining commercial management systems, financial reporting tools, and technology platforms. 

• Strategic time and priority management while overseeing both Client and JLL technology systems integration and commercial data management 

• Responsible for monitoring performance against commercial-related KPI’s.  

• Strategic oversight of project budgeting and estimating 

• Leadership of the Client's annual commercial planning, accruals management, and strategic budgeting processes 

Market Intelligence & Benchmarking 

• Lead comprehensive benchmarking analysis of construction costs, delivery models, and commercial terms across APAC markets using internal databases and external sources. 

• Monitor and interpret regional construction market trends, including material pricing, labour availability, regulatory changes, and supply chain dynamics, to inform budgeting and risk positioning. 

• Use market data to substantiate cost assumptions, challenge estimates, and validate value engineering opportunities. 

• Maintain and enhance a robust, auditable APAC cost benchmarking database to support pre-project feasibility, business cases, and client approvals. 

Strategic Commercial Alignment 

• Assess client requirements and define clear scope of work for capital projects in collaboration with technical and delivery teams. 

• Translate firm-wide strategy into region-specific commercial approaches that balance cost, speed, quality, and risk. 

• Ensure all project budgets, forecasts, and commercial positions are aligned with the Client’s strategic priorities (e.g., ESG, workplace transformation, portfolio & transactions). 

• Present data-driven commercial insights to senior stakeholders, linking project-level decisions to enterprise outcomes. 

Financial & Cost Leadership 

• Develop and govern regional CAPEX strategies, annual budgets, and forecasts based on validated market intelligence. 

• Lead variance analysis by diagnosing deviations against benchmarks, not just internal plans. 

• Drive continuous improvement in estimating accuracy through lessons learned, post-completion reviews, and market recalibration. 

• Oversee cost optimization, value engineering, and alternative delivery model assessments using comparative market evidence. 

Client & Stakeholder Engagement 

• Serve as the primary commercial advisor to the Client’s Capital Planning & strategy team. 

• Articulate how proposed scopes, costs, and commercial structures reflect current APAC market conditions and strategic intent. 

• Challenge or validate scope assumptions early in the project lifecycle to prevent cost creep or misalignment. 

Operations & Governance 

• Embed market-based benchmarking into standard workflows for feasibility, approval gates, and change control. 

• Ensure consistency in how scope, cost, and commercial risk are defined, documented, and reported across all APAC countries. 

• Collaborate with relevant teams to integrate benchmarking tools and market data feeds into commercial platforms 

• Lead the development and improvement of commercial processes for the account 

• Source, evaluate, and implement commercial best practices across the regional account 

• Oversee preparation of strategic commercial reporting to the satisfaction of the Client 

Leadership 

• Establishes the vision and strategy for commercial management across regional projects, ensuring the client receives exceptional commercial delivery and value optimization 

• Understand and translate the client's key business drivers into commercial strategies, ensuring team priorities align with strategic deliverables 

• Lead and mentor the APAC Cost Manager and regional commercial team members 

• Drive commercial excellence and innovation across the regional portfolio 

Job Requirements 

• Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in commercial management, capital planning, or quantity surveying within corporate real estate, construction, or facilities management, including at least 5 years leading APAC-wide commercial or cost functions. 

• Demonstrated ability to:  

• Define and validate project scope of work for fit-outs, base build, or infrastructure projects 

• Conduct robust benchmarking and market trend analysis across diverse APAC jurisdictions 

• Use external market data (not just historical internal data) to substantiate cost positions and strategic recommendations 

• Translate complex market dynamics into clear, actionable insights for non-technical stakeholders 

• Proficiency in cost databases (e.g., BCIS, RLB), advanced Excel modelling.  

• Understanding of construction programme, dependencies and risks and lifecycle cost drivers in APAC. 

• Strategic thinker with strong analytical rigor, independent judgment, and executive communication skills. 

• Good command of both spoken and written English. Cantonese and Mandarin useful, but not mandatory 

• Strategic thinking, independent, self-motivated, flexible, accountable, and able to perform under pressure while leading commercial teams 

Reporting Structure: Reports to APAC Strategy Lead within the on-account PMO Team