Associate Director – Power Systems & Energy Infrastructure in Holywood

The Team

Cundall is a global engineering consultancy known for innovative and sustainable design across energy, infrastructure and the built environment. With a 50-year history, we deliver projects that shape the future of energy systems, from grid transmission and distribution to renewable energy and critical infrastructure. Our Power Systems team specialises in high-voltage design, protection and control systems, power system studies and technical advisory services, delivering technically demanding projects in the UK and internationally.

The Role

We are looking for an experienced Associate Director to provide senior operational leadership across Cundall’s growing Power Systems discipline. Working closely with the Director of Power Systems, you will help run and scale the business by owning delivery and commercial performance across a portfolio of complex projects. This is primarily an operational leadership role. You will create the structure, accountability and commercial discipline needed to deliver consistently across primary design, protection and control, power system studies and multidisciplinary energy infrastructure projects. You will provide direction and challenge across the team, act early where delivery or commercial risk emerges, and act as a credible senior interface with clients. There will be periods where the focus shifts towards winning work, and you will be expected to flex into that. You will bring enough power and energy sector knowledge to understand the work, integrate technical disciplines and exercise sound engineering judgement. Specialist leads own technical delivery; your focus is enabling them, owning outcomes and strengthening the operation as it grows.

Key Responsibilities

• Operational and portfolio leadership
• Own operational performance across a portfolio of Power Systems projects, maintaining clear accountability for delivery, programme, quality and commercial outcomes.
• Establish and maintain effective delivery rhythms, resource planning, project reviews and forecasting processes, with consistent workflows and quality standards across the discipline.
• Provide direction across primary design, P&C and studies workstreams, resolving priorities and addressing delivery constraints early.
• Provide senior oversight on selected major projects and programmes, acting as lead client contact where needed and, on multidisciplinary schemes, leading Cundall’s wider project team.
• Ensure robust design assurance, quality management and health and safety practice, including CDM designer responsibilities, across the portfolio.
• Commercial leadership
• Take senior responsibility for project financial performance, including fee, margin, forecasting, scope control, risk and change.
• Challenge scope creep and support project leaders in managing commercial issues proactively.
• Support pricing strategy, fee development, bid and contract reviews, and commercial positioning for major opportunities.
• Advise on bid/no-bid decisions and risk/opportunity assessments within Cundall governance.
• Clients and work winning
• Lead difficult client conversations where delivery, programme, scope or commercial issues need senior input.
• Maintain key client relationships and help convert strong delivery into repeat work.
• Step into work winning when the business needs it, supporting proposals, interviews and key pursuits while keeping delivery on track.
• Strengthen Cundall’s profile within the power and energy infrastructure market.
• People and capability
• Provide leadership, coaching and challenge to senior engineers and project leaders, helping them strengthen their delivery and commercial judgement.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, capability development and succession planning as the team grows.
• Help align resources across projects and resolve competing priorities.
• Build a culture of ownership, collaboration and constructive challenge.
• Strategy and operating model
• Work closely with the Director to evolve the discipline’s operating model and ways of working as the business scales.
• Contribute practical delivery and commercial insight to team strategy, targeted growth and investment decisions.
• Ensure strategic ambition remains grounded in deliverable capacity, commercial discipline and client need.

The Skills

Essential Experience and Capabilities:

• A senior engineering or operational leader, typically with 12–15+ years’ relevant experience, who has already worked at Associate Director level or with equivalent responsibility.
• Chartered Engineer (or equivalent professional accreditation).
• Proven experience owning delivery and commercial performance across multiple complex engineering projects.
• Strong background in power systems, energy infrastructure, substations, electricity networks or comparable multidisciplinary infrastructure delivery.
• Demonstrable commercial responsibility, including project financial performance, forecasting, fee management, scope control, risk and change.