Project Services Director in Birmingham

Who we are VIVO provides facilities management and accommodation maintenance for the UK military and its partners. VIVO embodies both experience and innovation.

What we do We put our Customers and Families First. They are the driving force behind everything we do. We drive forward improvements for them to ensure the service they receive, whether reactive repairs or a major project, is completed safely and on time. In order to achieve this, we have 4 core values: open, caring, agile and collaborative. These are at the heart of everything we do.

VIVO delivers critical infrastructure, engineering, construction and facilities services across some of the UK's most important estates. As our portfolio of capital investment and infrastructure programmes continues to grow, we're looking for an exceptional leader to build and develop a best-in-class Project Services function that will drive consistency, governance and delivery excellence across the business. This is a rare opportunity to lead a strategically important function responsible for project management, programme controls, technical assurance, design governance and BIM across a diverse portfolio of construction, engineering, infrastructure and capital investment programmes valued at approximately £500m annually.

Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer and operating as a key member of the senior leadership team, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping how projects are delivered, improving organisational capability and supporting future growth across the business.

As Project Services Director, you will provide strategic leadership across project delivery governance, assurance and capability development, ensuring projects are delivered safely, compliantly, efficiently and in line with customer expectations. You’ll establish consistent standards, frameworks and controls across the organisation whilst supporting operational teams to deliver successful outcomes across a diverse portfolio of construction, engineering, infrastructure and capital investment programmes.

Key responsibilities include:

• Defining and delivering the strategic vision for the Project Services function.
• Providing executive oversight across a portfolio of construction, engineering, infrastructure and capital investment programmes valued at approximately £500m annually.
• Driving consistency in project management, programme controls, governance and assurance across the business.
• Strengthening organisational capability across project delivery, technical assurance, BIM and programme management disciplines.
• Improving programme certainty through effective planning, forecasting, reporting and risk management.
• Leading governance, assurance and project controls frameworks that support safe, compliant and predictable delivery.
• Driving commercial performance, operational efficiency and value for money across project activities.
• Supporting major projects and strategically significant programmes where senior leadership intervention is required.
• Championing innovation, digital delivery and modern project management methodologies.
• Acting as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, customers and stakeholders on project delivery and investment programmes.

About You

This role combines strategic leadership with practical delivery expertise. We're particularly interested in individuals who have led complex construction, engineering and capital investment programmes and can bring the governance, assurance and project services capability required to deliver consistently successful outcomes at scale. You will bring:

• Significant leadership experience delivering construction, engineering, infrastructure or capital investment programmes within complex and highly regulated environments.
• A proven track record of delivering complex, multi-million-pound programmes and portfolios.
• Experience leading project management, programme controls, governance or assurance functions.
• Strong understanding of construction delivery, engineering project lifecycles, contractor management and programme governance.
• Demonstrable success improving project delivery performance, organisational capability and programme certainty.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including experience balancing delivery excellence with business performance.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at executive, customer and partner level.
• Experience operating across multiple contracts, business units or large-scale programme portfolios.
• Strong leadership capability with a track record of building and developing high-performing teams.

Desirable

• Experience within Defence, Government, Utilities, Infrastructure or other highly regulated sectors.
• Chartered status or membership of a recognised professional institution.
• Expertise in BIM, digital project delivery or modern methods of construction.
• Experience leading transformation, organisational change or capability improvement programmes.

The Leadership Style We Value

• Combines strategic thinking with a practical focus on delivery.
• Creates clarity, consistency and accountability.
• Builds credibility through expertise, integrity and results.
• Develops high-performing teams and future capability.
• Drives collaboration across organisational boundaries.
• Champions innovation, continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Inspires confidence with customers, stakeholders and colleagues alike.

Why Join VIVO?

This is an opportunity to influence how a major organisation delivers infrastructure, construction, engineering and capital investment programmes at scale. You’ll lead a critical function with significant executive visibility, shape the future direction of project delivery across the business and help drive the standards, capability and innovation that will support VIVO's future growth.

Working closely with the COO and Executive Leadership Team, you'll have the opportunity to make a lasting impact across a diverse and strategically important portfolio, supporting the successful delivery of major construction, engineering and capital investment programmes that underpin critical UK defence infrastructure.

At VIVO, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. Therefore, we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working and operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly a Disability Confident Leader. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.