Managing Director - Projects in London

Managing Director to lead a Projects Division. The role is based at offices in Central London, with work predominantly across London and the South East, though there is an appetite to expand nationally. Salary and benefits are fully negotiable. We're looking for someone who can hit the ground running and will pay within reason for the right person. As a guide, we'd suggest a salary in the region of £100,000.

Reporting to: Group CEO / Board

Division turnover: £5m (current), with a mandate to scale to £10m+ in the short term

Sector: Building Services / MEP, working alongside the Group's Hard FM division

Role Purpose

To take full P&L ownership of the Projects division, driving commercial performance, operational delivery, and aggressive but sustainable growth — while building close working alignment with the Hard Services FM division to unlock cross-sell opportunities, shared client relationships, and integrated service delivery across the MEP lifecycle, from reactive/planned maintenance through to capital projects.

Key Responsibilities

• P&L ownership — full accountability for the £5m+ division, including budgeting, forecasting, margin control and commercial risk management
• Growth strategy — develop and execute a plan to double turnover to £10m minimum, through organic growth, new client wins, and expanded scope with existing FM accounts
• Business development — personally lead high-value client relationships and major bids/tenders, building a pipeline that supports sustained growth beyond the initial £10m target
• Cross-divisional integration — work hand-in-glove with the Hard FM/MEP division to identify project opportunities within existing maintenance contracts (and vice versa), creating a joined-up client offer
• People leadership — build, motivate and retain a high-performing project team across delivery, commercial and engineering, instilling a strong culture of performance and accountability
• Operational governance — ensure projects are delivered safely, on time, and to margin, with robust commercial and contract management disciplines
• Board reporting — represent the division at Board/SLT level, providing clear commercial and operational visibility

Person Specification

• Proven track record running a projects/contracting business (or substantial division) within MEP, building services, or hard FM — ideally having grown a business through a similar £5m–£10m+ growth
• Strong commercial acumen, comfortable owning P&L, pricing risk, contract terms, and margin protection
• Demonstrable business development track record — winning and growing client relationships, not just managing existing ones
• A genuine "people person" — a natural relationship builder with clients and internally, with a visible, credible leadership style
• Experience working in or alongside FM organisations, with an understanding of how projects and hard FM services interact commercially and operationally
• Comfortable in an SME environment — hands-on and entrepreneurial, not reliant on large corporate infrastructure
• Engineering, MEP, or building services technical background (or sufficient fluency to hold credibility with technical teams and clients)
• Existing network of client relationships in the FM/MEP/projects space
• Experience of scaling a division through a step-change (e.g. £5m to £10m+)

Success Measures (first 12–24 months)

• Division turnover trajectory toward £10m+
• Sustained or improved margin performance
• Demonstrable pipeline growth and new client wins
• Evidence of effective collaboration with the Hard FM division (cross-sell, shared accounts)