Getting a Construction Claims job in Hong Kong

Construction claims professionals are greatly in demand in Hong Kong due to the significant cost and time overrun of the major civil and railway projects in recent years. As a recruitment consultant who specializes in recruiting claims consultants with various levels for my international and Hong Kong based claims clients, I would like to share what makes an attractive talent for my clients and why Hong Kong is worth moving to!

New Joiners

Due to the high workload claims consultants have, very few of my clients will consider employing candidates in a construction claims role without previous claims experience. Applicants usually need to have a proven track record in being able to work independently. However, a few exclusive clients of mine in Hong Kong do provide excellent training, education support and exciting opportunities to work with experienced claims consultants on major projects in Hong Kong or travel to different Asian locations for short term assignments. These roles are typically open to Quantity Surveyors or Engineers who have 3+ years of work experience dealing with either contractor contractual matters or planning/scheduling/delay related matters. In addition, for similar other roles, the right profile of QS applicants should have a strong Quantity Surveying background with a major contractor or consultancy and preferably have been involved in large scale projects previously. He/she should show a strong interest in getting into the claims field and have plans to prepare themselves for that - for example, have already enrolled in claims related courses, such as Post-graduate diploma or MSc in Construction Law and Arbitration. Candidates who are already members of RICS or working towards chartership would be highly preferred.

Experienced Consultants

If you are already working on claims work, no matter whether in Hong Kong, Asia Pacific, Middle East or in the UK, you are in high demand in Hong Kong (Cantonese/Chinese language skills not required)! An experienced claims consultant should have claims related qualifications and education: a MCIArb and/or MRICS and further law and arbitration educations would be highly preferred. Strong background in Quantity Surveying or Construction Management with proven track record of claims experience in major civil projects across the world is the key to getting a claims job in Hong Kong.

What Makes Hong Kong a Better Place for Claims Consultants?

Lifestyle: Hong Kong, as an international city and Asia’s financial center, and can offer one of the best lifestyles in the world. It’s energetic, fun and multicultural. Expats can enjoy high quality of life with convenience and fun in this modern city. You get a life with a good combination of busy city and relaxing nature (over 70% of the land in Hong Kong is country parks!)

Hong Kong Asia Exposure: No doubt that Hong Kong is one of the cities in the world that has ongoing major construction projects. It also very convenient to get to other Asian locations, therefore some of the claims jobs I have available are regional. Want to gain international/Asian exposure? Then come to Hong Kong!

Salary and Tax: If Middle East offers the best salary (without tax) in construction industry, I would say Hong Kong is not far behind it. Salary for claims consultants are very competitive and tax is relatively low compare to many places in the world (2-17% depends on how much you earn)!

Interested in getting a claims job in Hong Kong? Want to know more about the jobs and Hong Kong? You are more than welcome to submit your CV via the Maxim website or phone me in the Hong Kong office to discuss your options further.

SEARCH THESE JOBS

Claims Consultants (HK)
Dispute Resolution (HK)

Scarlett Ku
Maxim Recruitment
Hong Kong and Asia Region