At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead high-impact projects, manage teams, and drive strategic planning for national significance.
- Company: Obsidian, a specialist firm tackling global security and resilience challenges.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, dynamic work environment, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Join a rapidly growing team with a strong focus on collaboration and integrity.
- Why this job: Make a real-world impact while leading innovative projects in complex environments.
- Qualifications: Senior leadership experience in high-stakes settings and proven team management skills.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 75000 £ per year.
Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract
Location: Middle East
Hours of work: 40 hours per week (some evening and weekend work may be required)
Company Overview
Obsidian is a specialist professional services firm working in complex and challenging environments around the world. We partner with governments, inter-governmental organisations and third sector actors to address security, stability and resilience challenges, delivering practical and ethical solutions with real-world impact. Our work combines deep contextual understanding with on-the-ground delivery, often in places where others cannot operate effectively. Our team draws on experience from government, military, private and third sectors, united by a strong purpose and professional integrity. We value judgement, collaboration, and delivery over hierarchy. Following a period of rapid growth, Obsidian continues to expand its geographical footprint and scale of its work, while strengthening the foundations that support our people and long-term impact.
Role Overview
We are seeking an experienced and driven Project Director to lead one of our key client programmes. This is a high-impact leadership role, responsible for both delivery success and strategic planning of both current activity and future strategic design of an ambitious project of national significance for our client. The successful candidate will operate at the intersection of strategy, leadership, and delivery—working closely with senior stakeholders to shape long-term capability, guide strategic intent, and translate vision into actionable, result-driven activity. The role combines project leadership, operational & capability planning, and client mentorship. It is an exciting blend of both strategic thinking and hands-on execution.
Core Responsibilities
- Leadership & Decision Support
- Lead and deliver the project success against defined objectives
- Build, lead, and develop a team of up to 30 operational specialists
- Foster a high-performance culture built on accountability, trust, and collaboration
- Establish trusted relationships with senior client leadership, acting as a strategic advisor
- Provide clear, structured, and calm leadership in complex environments
- Empower and develop subordinate leaders to maximise team effectiveness
- Identify and resolve delivery challenges, escalating where appropriate
- Manage project budgets proactively and contribute to wider cost efficiency
- Collaborate with internal leadership to drive innovation, shared learning, and resource optimisation
- Operational & Capability Planning
- Co-develop with the client a multi-year capability development pathway of both capability and operational optimisation
- Align quarterly delivery plans with commercial commitments and regional objectives
- Maintain a clear and consolidated view of project risks, with effective mitigation strategies
- Identify and resolve cross-project dependencies and constraints
- Design and deliver leadership and planning training to partner teams
Requirements
Essential
- Significant experience operating at a senior or executive level in complex, high stakes environments
- Proven leadership of large teams, and resource accountability
- Proven high performance leadership of a special operations capable military grouping
- Evidenced high-quality completion of OF3 military Staff Officer Course
- Experience of delivery success in differing cultural environments
- A proven track record for delivering success through change, either as part of a change management team, or in a leadership role
- Evidenced people-focused approach
- Strong stakeholder management skills
Desirable
- Direct experience of military operational or strategic headquarters roles
- Experience working in the Middle East
- Competitive completion of UK Advanced Command & Staff Course (a client benchmarked course)
Project Director in London employer: Obsidian
Obsidian is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment where collaboration and integrity are at the forefront. With a strong focus on employee growth, we provide opportunities for professional development in complex and challenging settings, particularly in the Middle East. Our commitment to meaningful impact and ethical solutions ensures that our team members are not only part of a high-performance culture but also contribute to significant national projects, making their work both rewarding and impactful.
