Head of Engineering - UK & Ireland United Kingdom Bristol, Derby, Glasgow, London, York Applica[...]

Do you want to be part of our senior leadership team? Can you deliver strategic and operational directions? Are you experienced in contributing to business growth? Then, read on. This could be the perfect opportunity for you.

Create Solutions that will enable a better tomorrow. We are looking for a Vice President Head of Engineering to join our UK & Ireland business. You’ll be part of the Senior Leadership team and will support the delivery of strategic, commercial, and operational direction, commercial growth, and operational efficiency. You’ll also act as a visible ambassador for COWI, building effective client relationships and developing market opportunities.

Your key responsibilities will be:

• Lead and role model according to COWI’s leadership behaviours and values.
• Working with the Senior Leadership Team delivering the strategic direction of the UK&I business and driving growth.
• Responsible for strategic workforce planning, actively driving the medium‑to‑the‑term capability development of the unit, in coordination with other Senior Leaders across the Group.
• Responsible for driving employee engagement and encouraging a high‑performance, diverse and inclusive culture.
• Provides ongoing sparring and performance management for Heads of Discipline, responsible for overall professional/technical development and talent management within the allocated engineering disciplines.
• Ensure optimal performance of the resource account, driving both high billability and Engineering Design Centre (EDC) share, acting as point‑of‑contact for all staffing requests (with support from resource manager), and ensuring close coordination within the unit and with other executing units and EDC.
• Promote our position as an established name within your area through involvement in relevant industry bodies, technical publication, and facilitating the same in others.
• Support our Discipline Leadership Team by communicating and role‑modelling leadership messages and encouraging a high‑performance, diverse and inclusive culture.

Your skills. Our team. Together we design the future. Like us, you believe that leadership success comes from setting a clear and meaningful direction for your team and supporting them in taking ownership of their work. You always delegate responsibility and ensure an open and safe dialogue, and you coach your people to achieve their aspirations through constructive, fact‑based feedback. Attracting and nurturing a diverse group of high‑potential team members is at the top of your agenda, as is creating an inclusive, caring and trusting culture in your team.

On top of that, you’ll have:

• Experience as an effective people leader having built and mentored senior teams, able to communicate effectively, engage and lead teams supporting their performance and professional development.
• Degree‑qualified in engineering or a related discipline; Chartered Engineer status preferred.
• Senior leadership experience in engineering, construction, or professional services.
• Experience in a similar role with technical, commercial, business development and line responsibilities.
• Expertise in a design environment working on major or complex heavy civil projects in the UK & Ireland or internationally at a senior leadership level.
• Experience working within a matrix organisation, including both direct and dotted‑line leadership.

A place to work and so much more. At COWI, we work together with our customers to shape a sustainable and liveable world. We do it by applying our knowledge and curiosity – and sometimes even our courage – to create the solutions the world needs today to enable a better tomorrow. We support our customers’ transition towards increased sustainability. We strive to lead by example by embedding environmental management, social responsibility and good governance into our business practices and the options we provide to our customers. We value differences and development and cultivate an environment of belonging and having fun. Because that is what brings out the best in you, at work and at home.

With offices primarily located in the Nordic region, the UK, North America and India, we are currently more than 7,500 people who bring their expertise in engineering, architecture, energy and environment into play.

What we also offer:

• 28 days holiday (plus bank and public holidays)
• Formalised development plans and yearly promotion opportunities
• Private health care for you and your immediate dependents
• Flexible and hybrid working conditions
• Annual subscription fees paid for your membership of two professional institutions
• Group personal pension scheme – salary exchange
• Life assurance
• Cycle‑to‑work scheme
• Corporate gym membership

Got more questions? If you have any unanswered questions about the role or what we have to offer, please reach out to Ciaran Gilfedder at CIGI@COWI.COM. Get to know us even better at our website, www.cowi.com, where you can learn more about our projects, our strategy, what we want to achieve and what life is like at COWI.

Equal opportunity employer. COWI provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to ethnicity, colour, religion, gender, national origin, age or disability. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.