Role Description
As a Project Director, you will lead the delivery of complex rail infrastructure projects and programmes, taking overall responsibility for safe, compliant and commercially successful outcomes.
You will set the delivery direction, translate business and client objectives into robust operational and financial plans, and provide senior leadership across client, contractor, partner and design interfaces.
Key Accountabilities
- Project & Programme Leadership
- Direct the implementation and delivery of complex rail infrastructure projects or programmes, ensuring achievement of agreed scope, programme, cost, quality, safety and assurance outcomes.
- Set the overall delivery approach, governance framework and leadership structure, ensuring appropriate controls are in place to assure delivery.
- Lead teams through complexity, change and challenge, maintaining a clear focus on client outcomes, delivery certainty and Arcadis performance.
- Commercial & Financial Leadership
- Translate business and client objectives into operational and financial targets, establishing robust delivery plans, budgets, forecasts and programme baselines.
- Hold overall accountability for project or programme financial performance, including profitability, cashflow, risk exposure, forecasting and recovery actions.
- Lead significant commercial and contractual matters, including NEC3/NEC4 obligations, major change, complex negotiations and key contractual decisions within delegated authority.
- Monitor delivery management performance, ensuring controls, reporting and corrective actions protect Arcadis’ position while supporting successful delivery.
- Design, Engineering & Assurance Leadership
- Provide senior design leadership and, where appropriate, act as design authority for complex rail infrastructure projects and programmes.
- Ensure delivery complies with relevant Network Rail, HS2, Irish Rail and client‑specific technical standards, assurance requirements and approval processes.
- Embed CDM 2015 duties and "safe by design" principles into design development, optioneering, assurance reviews and delivery decision‑making.
- Client & Market Leadership
- Build and maintain strategic senior relationships with key rail clients and delivery partners, including Network Rail, HS2, Irish Rail, Tier 1 contractors and joint venture organisations.
- Act as a trusted advisor at senior client level, providing credible leadership on complex delivery, commercial, stakeholder and assurance matters.
- Influence strategic project and portfolio decisions, providing senior leadership in resolving sensitive, high‑impact or reputationally significant issues.
- Support portfolio performance, repeat work generation and market growth by shaping delivery strategies, building client confidence in Arcadis’ capability, and contributing to bids and major proposals where appropriate.
- Contractor, D&B & Partner Integration
- Lead effective integration across client, consultant, contractor and supply chain teams, creating clear interfaces, responsibilities and decision routes.
- Act as a senior interface with Tier 1 contractors, joint venture partners and delivery organisations while maintaining clear accountability.
- Resolve complex design, construction and delivery interface issues, balancing delivery certainty, compliance and client outcomes.
- Leadership, Capability & Team Performance
- Lead operational teams by setting clear objectives, managing performance and ensuring that staff have the capability, structure and support needed to deliver successfully.
- Provide line leadership, mentoring and development to Associate Project Managers, Senior Project Managers and wider project delivery teams.
- Drive a positive, high‑performing and inclusive team culture, supporting succession planning and strengthening capability across the project management community.
- Risk, Safety, Health & Sustainability
- Take ownership of major delivery, commercial and reputational risks, ensuring that mitigation strategies are established, monitored and adjusted as appropriate.
- Champion a strong safety, health, environmental and wellbeing culture across project teams and interfaces.
- Ensure sustainable and responsible practices are embedded into project strategy, decision‑making and delivery execution.
- Governance, Compliance & Assurance
- Ensure projects are aligned with PACE and relevant client governance, assurance and stage‑gate frameworks.
- Maintain audit‑ready records, decisions, assurance evidence and compliance documentation across the project lifecycle.
- Oversee assurance reviews, corrective actions and reporting to support controlled delivery.
- Digital, Quality & Continuous Improvement
- Direct the integration of core project management functions, ensuring consistent performance across delivery, commercial, planning, controls, quality and stakeholder management.
- Promote the effective use of digital tools, data and delivery systems to improve performance, insight and client value.
- Lead continuous improvement by embedding lessons learned, improving project delivery practices and strengthening project management standards across complex work.
Qualifications & Experience
- Extensive experience managing and directing complex rail infrastructure or built‑environment projects and programmes.
- Experience delivering major programmes of significant scale and complexity, for example £50m+ CAPEX or equivalent complexity across scope, stakeholders, risk, interfaces and assurance requirements.
- Proven delivery experience within design and build, contractor, Tier 1 contractor, joint venture or comparable delivery partner environments.
- Strong commercial, contractual and financial leadership capability, including programme baselines, change control and NEC3/NEC4 contract environments.
- Strong familiarity with rail standards, PACE, major programme environments and equivalent client governance, assurance and stage‑gate frameworks.
- Clear knowledge and practical application of CDM 2015 duties, including safe by design principles.
- Demonstrated ability to shape project delivery strategy, strengthen capability and lead cultural and operational improvements.
- Chartered professional status with a recognised institution.
Personal Attributes
- Provides visible safety leadership in complex, multidisciplinary and high‑pressure delivery environments.
- Operates credibly and confidently at Executive, Sponsor and senior client levels, bringing clarity, judgement and authority to strategic discussions.
- Manages complex stakeholder, commercial and delivery pressures with resilience, sound judgement and a collaborative leadership style.
Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We believe that by working together diverse people with different experiences develop the most innovative ideas. Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of how we improve quality of life and we work closely with our people across six ED&I Workstreams: Age, Disability, Faith, Gender, LGBT+ and Race. A diverse and skilled workforce is essential to our success.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Project Director (Rail Design and Engineering)
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How to prepare for a job interview at Poutrix
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