Associate Director - Risk in London

At Mace, our purpose is to redefine the boundaries of ambition. We believe in creating places that are responsible, bringing transformative impact to our people, communities, and societies across the globe. Within our consult business, we harness our unique combination of leading-edge practical expertise and project delivery consultancy to unlock the potential in every project. Our values shape the way we consult and define the people we want to join us on our journey, they are:

• Safety first - Going home safe and well.
• Client focus - Deliver on our promise.
• Integrity - Always do the right thing.
• Create opportunity - For our people to excel.

Leads the implementation and delivery of a comprehensive range of risk services to support commissions and provide line management leadership and guidance for others within the PMO and planning centre of excellence and the wider Mace business as required. You’ll be responsible for:

• Accountable for the risk management performance on assigned commission(s).
• Creates/designs effective risk management framework(s)/strategy(s).
• Manages and directs clients, consultants, contractors, project team on all risk management matters.
• Is a trusted advisor to and builds strong professional relationships with client organisations.
• Acts as the risk management subject matter expert on assigned project(s)/programme(s)/portfolio(s).
• Leads and directs the delivery of quantitative risk analysis (cost and time).
• Advises on the adequacy of contingency as part of the regular reporting cycle as required.
• Ensures all activities/operations are carried out in line with Mace control centre, client requirements and prevailing legislation.
• Provides line management to more junior risk managers and other project/programme staff as required.
• Utilises expertise to mentor and assist the personal and career development of junior members of risk team.
• Innovates and aligns with industry best practice to ensure continued service excellence.
• Leads the delivery of a high performing risk team on the assigned commission.
• Supports the hub risk lead with resourcing and recruitment for the assigned commission.

Works collaboratively towards the common goal of net zero carbon transition and shares responsibility for the proactive identification and management of the associated carbon emissions and reductions during the delivery of work.

You’ll need to have:

• Significant experience of effective risk leadership on significant construction projects.
• Significant experience of setting up effective risk management/assurance frameworks/strategies.
• Expert knowledge of risk tools, techniques and software (e.g., active risk manager, riskHive, @risk, Primavera risk analyser).
• Ability to manage activities with significant uncertainty of solution or outcome.
• Comprehensive knowledge planning tools (e.g. Programme P6, Astra, MS project).
• Practical knowledge of Power BI and other reporting suite tools.
• Strong understanding of construction projects, decencies, and interfaces within the project lifecycle.
• Deep domain knowledge of providing risk leadership in multiple sectors (e.g. rail, highways, nuclear, public sector, hospitals).
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to form working relationships.
• Ability to collaborate with and influence others.
• Proven ability to articulate complex information and ideas for a non-technical audience.
• Manages, influences, and negotiates with senior stakeholders (up to C-Suite).
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to ‘deep dive’ into topics.
• Ability to solve challenging problems.
• Leads by example and champions Mace behaviours.
• Commercial acumen in relation to business development and bids/winning work.
• Expertise in setting a vision and direction for risk management within their Portfolio(s).
• Advanced communication and engagement skills.
• Develops internal connections, working in collaboration with stakeholders, identifying and analysing business risks.
• Builds and leads a high performing team, identifying, developing, and coaching talented individuals.
• Effective leadership and influencing skills.
• Ability to manage challenging behaviours, relationships and still secure a positive outcome.
• Manage multiple competing priorities and secures positive outcome(s).
• Resilient/robust in the face of challenging situations, clients, personalities.
• Self-awareness - good knowledge of own weaknesses and when to ask for help.
• Self-help - knows when to escalate something and when to work it out themselves.
• Flexible, pragmatic, and adaptable but also knows when to fight their corner.
• At least 10 years experience or equivalent as risk management leader delivering a range of project risk management services on major construction programmes.

You’ll also have:

• General awareness and some practical knowledge and application of risk/data analytics.
• Experience of working client side as well as consultancy.
• Very high political and cultural acuity.
• Creating and delivering persuasive and engaging presentations to a wide range of audiences in our industry.
• Relevant university degree (e.g. risk management, engineering) or equivalent.
• Chartered (or equivalent) membership of relevant professional institution(s) e.g. Association of Project Managers/Institute of Risk Management.
• Actively engages with peers out with Mace within professional bodies and other forums to maintain professional knowledge and work across industry to advance the profession.

Mace is an inclusive employer and welcomes interest from a diverse range of candidates. Even if you feel you do not fulfil all of the criteria, please apply as you may still be the best candidate for this role or another role within our organisation. We are also open to discussing part-time, flexible, and hybrid working options if suitable within the role.