Project Director - Dungeness
Aureos · Dungeness
If you are looking to work for a growing business who truly value and care for their employees, then look no further!
Aureos is seeking a Project Director to lead the demolition of one of the UK’s largest single decommissioning projects let to date in Dungeness.
Operating within a nationally critical infrastructure project environment, the role carries full accountability for the safe, efficient and commercially successful delivery of a decommissioning project in a nuclear environment including radiological assessment and clean, asbestos removal, demolition, specialist bespoke heavy lifting and complex programme coordination.
The Project Director will provide strategic leadership across all aspects of programme delivery including, design engineering, construction, radiological, asbestos and inert waste removal, commercial management, programme controls, safety and sustainable leadership and stakeholder engagement.
Working closely with NRS and government stakeholders, the role requires a highly experienced infrastructure leader capable of operating confidently within complex governance environments while delivering disciplined project performance.
The role holds full accountability for programme delivery including safety performance, cost and cash management, programme and schedule adherence, risk mitigation and stakeholder relationships.
Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership & Programme Direction
- Provide executive leadership for the delivery of the Dungeness Boilers programme, ensuring alignment between programme objectives, organisational strategy and client requirements.
- Define and implement the overall programme delivery strategy including organisational structure, design and engineering strategy, procurement approach and delivery model.
- Establish a clear programme governance framework ensuring disciplined decision-making, accountability and performance management across all project functions.
- Lead the programme through all phases of delivery including mobilisation, NRS methodology and temporary works approval processes, discharge of planning conditions, deplant, demolition, waste management and handover.
Major Infrastructure Programme Delivery
- Ensure all project milestones are achieved safely and in accordance with contractual obligations, programme schedules and quality standards.
- Ensure robust technical assurance processes across temporary works design, engineering, and methodology
- Maintain clear integration mobilisation, deplant and demolition and final asset handover.
Project Board Leadership & Governance
- Act as the senior delivery representative within the Project Board governance structures.
- Ensure alignment across partners, programme boards, executive committees and client governance frameworks.
- Provide strategic leadership within programme leadership teams.
- Maintain clear accountability for delivery performance across all partners and supply chain organisations.
- Foster a collaborative delivery culture across NRS and Aureos partners and project stakeholders.
Commercial & Financial Leadership
- Hold full accountability for programme financial performance including budget control, cost forecasting, margin protection, cash management and value recovery.
- Ensure strong commercial governance across the project including NEC contract administration, compensation events and change management processes.
- Lead procurement strategy and supply chain engagement for major infrastructure packages.
- Drive value optimisation through disciplined cost control, productivity improvements and commercial performance management.
- Maintain transparent financial reporting to Aureos boards, executive leadership and client organisations.
Client & Strategic Stakeholder Leadership
- Act as the senior programme representative with NRS and key government stakeholders.
- Build trusted relationships with senior client representatives, regulatory bodies and other NRS functions.
- Represent the project in strategic programme discussions, governance boards and industry forums.
- Ensure transparent communication with key stakeholders to maintain trust and programme confidence.
Safety, Culture & Performance
- Champion a world-class safety culture across the programme, ensuring safety leadership is embedded across all teams and supply chain partners.
- Provide visible leadership on behavioural safety initiatives, ensuring safety remains the first priority in all project activities.
- Ensure robust risk management processes are embedded across all project operations.
- Maintain exemplary safety performance while delivering complex construction activities across a large workforce.
Leadership Style & Project Culture
- Demonstrate a visible, values-led leadership style that promotes safety, accountability and collaboration across the programme.
- Lead from the front, setting clear expectations for safety performance, delivery discipline and professional conduct.
- Build trust and credibility with engineering, operational and commercial teams through strong technical understanding and clear decision-making.
- Promote open communication and early escalation of risks and issues to ensure proactive problem solving.
- Foster a collaborative project culture across NRS and supply chain organisations
People Leadership & Organisational Capability
- Build and lead a high-performing leadership team capable of delivering complex infrastructure programmes.
- Provide leadership across a workforce of direct staff and a wider delivery workforce potentially up to 300 personnel.
- Develop organisational capability across engineering, commercial, programme controls and demolition/decommissioning functions.
- Ensure strong succession planning and leadership development across the project organisation.
Key Business Objectives
- Deliver the Dungeness Boilers programme safely, on schedule and within agreed financial parameters.
- Maintain strong cost control and financial discipline across the programme.
- Strengthen delivery predictability through robust programme controls and governance.
- Build a high-performing delivery organisation capable of executing complex infrastructure programmes.
- Maintain strong relationships with NRS and other key programme stakeholders and delivery partners.
- Enhance the organisation’s reputation for delivering complex national infrastructure projects in highly regulated nuclear environment, with radiological and asbestos hazards.
- Support the organisation’s broader infrastructure growth strategy across transport, nuclear and energy markets.
- Industry leading safety and sustainability performance.
Key Performance Indicators
Financial Performance
- Delivery of programme financial performance in line with the approved business plan, including revenue, margin and EBITDA contribution.
- Maintenance of strong cost discipline across the programme, ensuring delivery within approved budgets and commercial targets.
- Improvement in project margin performance through disciplined commercial governance, value optimisation and proactive management of change and compensation events.
- Effective working capital management, including improved cash flow performance, timely commercial recovery and reduction in aged receivables.
Commercial & Contract Performance
- Successful management of NEC contractual mechanisms including compensation events, change management and risk recovery.
- Achievement of commercial recovery targets through proactive management of client negotiations and contractual entitlement.
- Strengthening of supply chain commercial performance through disciplined procurement, contract management and cost control.
Programme Delivery
- Achievement of programme milestones and delivery performance against agreed schedule commitments.
- Improvement in delivery predictability through robust programme controls, planning discipline and performance management.
- Operational productivity improvements across the programme through improved resource planning and delivery efficiency.
Governance & Risk Management
- Accuracy of financial and programme forecasting across project delivery.
- Effective identification, management and mitigation of commercial, operational and delivery risks.
- Strong governance performance across programme reporting, client assurance processes and internal oversight.
Client & Strategic Stakeholder confidence
- Maintenance of strong client relationships and confidence with NRS and programme stakeholders.
- Achievement of key client satisfaction and programme assurance benchmarks.
- Positioning of the organisation as a trusted delivery partner for future infrastructure opportunities.
- Actively drive for repeat projects of a similar nature across the NRS fleet
Safety & Sustainability
- Achievement of exemplary safety, wellbeing and sustainability performance across all programme activities.
- Demonstrable safety leadership and proactive risk identification across the workforce and supply chain.
- Compliance with environmental and sustainability standards across programme delivery.
Competencies
Commercial & Financial Acumen
- Maintains strong commercial awareness with a clear focus on margin protection, value optimisation and financial discipline.
- Applies rigorous commercial judgement when managing contracts, procurement strategies and supply chain relationships.
- Ensures strong financial governance across programme delivery including forecasting accuracy, cost control and working capital management.
Operational Excellence and Major Programme Delivery
- Leads complex infrastructure delivery organisations with clarity, discipline and accountability.
- Ensures robust programme governance, planning and performance management processes are embedded across the project.
- Maintains a relentless focus on delivery predictability, operational efficiency and continuous improvement.
- Drives high standards of engineering, demolition, construction and handover performance across multidisciplinary teams.
Safety Leadership
- Demonstrates visible and authentic safety leadership, embedding a strong safety culture across the programme and supply chain.
- Promotes behavioural safety principles and ensures safety remains the primary focus in all project activities.
- Encourages proactive risk identification, transparent reporting and continuous improvement in safety performance.
- Maintains exemplary safety performance across large and complex infrastructure programmes.
Stakeholder & Client Leadership
- Builds trusted relationships with senior client representatives, government stakeholders and infrastructure partners.
- Communicates complex programme issues clearly to executive stakeholders, boards and regulators.
- Maintains credibility with clients through transparent communication, reliable delivery and strong governance.
- Represents the organisation confidently within major infrastructure programme environments.
Project Leadership
- Operates effectively within Aureos governance structures, ensuring alignment between partners, client organisations and corporate leadership.
- Promotes collaboration across Project partners and supply chain organisations to achieve shared programme objectives.
- Maintains clear accountability for programme performance while balancing the interests of multiple delivery partners.
Leadership Style & Team Development
- Demonstrates a visible and decisive leadership style that builds trust, accountability and high performance across the programme.
- Develops strong multidisciplinary leadership teams capable of delivering complex infrastructure programmes.
- Promotes collaboration, professional respect and shared accountability across engineering, commercial and operational teams.
- Supports leadership development and succession planning across the programme organisation.
Transformation & Performance Improvement
- Identifies opportunities to improve programme performance, delivery efficiency and commercial outcomes.
- Seeks opportunity to manage data for benchmarking purposes
- Leads initiatives that strengthen programme governance, operational discipline and financial performance.
- Drives continuous improvement across engineering delivery, project controls and supply chain management.
- Ensures lessons learned from major infrastructure programmes are embedded into future delivery practices.
Experience and Qualifications:
- Minimum 20 years’ experience delivering major infrastructure programmes within the UK or international infrastructure sectors.
- Proven track record operating as Project Director, Delivery Director or equivalent senior leadership role on complex infrastructure programmes valued at £100M+
- Significant experience delivering nationally significant infrastructure programmes, such as decommissioning and demolition programmes or nuclear sector major complex projects.
- Demonstrated experience leading large multidisciplinary projects in organisations delivering complex civil engineering and demolition, typically comprising of several hundred direct staff and a wider workforce.
- Extensive experience working within highly regulated and security-controlled delivery environments, with significant hazards to be considered, managing complex governance structures involving multiple delivery partners and stakeholders.
- Strong experience delivering projects under NEC contracts (particularly NEC Option C or collaborative contract models), including management of compensation events, commercial negotiations and risk recovery.
- Demonstrable track record of improving programme performance, including turnaround of complex or challenging infrastructure projects through strong leadership, governance and delivery discipline.
- Experience managing complex demolition, decommissioning and civil engineering programmes,
- Strong experience engaging with government clients, infrastructure owners and regulators, including organisations such as NRS, NDA, Magnox or equivalent public infrastructure bodies.
- Demonstrates the ability to lead complex, large-scale infrastructure programmes within politically visible and highly regulated environments.
- Translates strategic objectives into clear programme delivery plans, ensuring alignment between project execution, organisational objectives and client requirements.
- Maintains a long-term strategic view while ensuring disciplined day-to-day delivery performance across complex engineering programmes
- Evidence of continuous professional development (CPD) and commitment to maintaining professional capability and industry knowledge.
Education & Qualifications:
- Degree in Civil Engineering or Demolition practitioner
- Chartered Professional (MICE, MIDE, MCIOB)
- Evidence of ongoing professional development and leadership capability development through CPD.
- Knowledge of Nuclear environments, asbestos awareness and radiological waste experience beneficial.
- Experience in complex temporary works and specialist lifting systems is beneficial
- Formal training or certification in major project leadership, programme management or NEC contract management desirable.
In return you will receive
- Generous Salary
- 25 days Holiday with the option to buy more
- Pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Free parking
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Employee benefits portal.
- On-site parking
- Private medical insurance
- Referral Scheme
Whether you are looking for progression in your new role or for your forever job, we will happily welcome your application.
Equal Opportunities
Aureos are an equal opportunities employer, and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status or race, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable.