Industrial Project Manager

Coalesce Management Consulting; Vlaanderen; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Coalesce Management Consulting is seeking an experienced owner-side Project Manager to drive major CAPEX programmes at a Belgian site. You will manage end-to-end projects from concept to handover, defend the business case and investment requests, and own the integrated schedule and budget while coordinating EPCM partners across disciplines.

The role requires 15+ years in industry, 10+ years as owner-side PM, and fluent Dutch and English.

Qualifications

• 15+ years industrial experience.
• 10+ years owner-side PM with end-to-end accountability.
• 3 completed CAPEX projects of €5M+ in process/chemicals/metals/pharma last 10 years.
• Business cases and investment requests prepared by you; you own the budget.
• Direct experience steering at least one EPCM/EPC contractor.
• MS Project baselines owned and used for scheduling.
• Engineering background with Master’s degree.
• VCA-VOL certification.
• Dutch and English fluent.
• Full on-site presence available.

Responsibilities

• Own industrial CAPEX projects end to end, from concept through handover.
• Defend the business case and investment request through approval.
• Own the budget: commitments, forecast-to-complete, contingency and change control.
• Build and own integrated baseline schedule in MS Project with shutdown windows.
• Steer EPCM/EPC partners and contractors, challenge designs and schedules, manage changes.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams across process, mechanical, piping, electrical, automation, civil and EHS.
• Single point of accountability to site management, operations and steering committee.
• Set safety standards during engineering and execution in a live plant.

Skills

Owner-side PM

CAPEX management

MS Project

EPCM contracts

Engineering basics

VCA-VOL

Dutch fluent

English fluent

On-site presence

Education

Engineering degree

Master’s in engineering

Tools

MS Project

Job description

The opportunity

A leading global materials technology group is scaling up fast at one of its flagship Belgian production and R&D sites. Several large investment programmes are running in parallel through 2028-2029, and they need owner-side Project Managers who can carry them from first idea to handover.

The site produces high-tech materials that go into rechargeable batteries, solar cells, satellites and infrared optics. Your projects will be part of the physical build-out behind the energy transition.

The department is also changing how it works. It is moving away from designing in-house toward steering and challenging external engineering firms and EPCM partners. You will be the person who holds them to their numbers, their schedules and their commitments.

What you'll do

• Own industrial CAPEX projects of €5-15M end to end, from concept and feasibility through commissioning and handover
• Write and defend the business case and investment request yourself, including the estimate, contingency and basis of estimate, through to approval
• Own the budget: commitments, forecast-to-complete, variance, contingency and change control
• Build and own the integrated baseline schedule in MS Project, including shutdown and tie-in windows in a live plant
• Steer EPCM/EPC partners and contractors, challenge their designs, estimates and schedules, and manage deviations, change orders and claims
• Lead multidisciplinary teams, internal and external, across process, mechanical, piping, electrical, automation, civil and EHS
• Be the single point of accountability to site management, operations, EHS and the steering committee
• Set the safety standard during engineering and execution in an operating process plant

What this role is not

This is not a project engineer, project coordinator, portfolio or project-controls role, and it is not a contractor-side PM seat. You carry the accountability. If your projects were run for you rather than by you, this isn't the one.

Who we’re looking for

Must-haves:

• 15+ years of industrial experience, of which 10+ years as an owner-side Project Manager with personal end-to-end accountability
• At least 3 completed CAPEX projects of €5M+ in the process industry (chemicals, metals, pharma or similar), led from concept to handover within the last 10 years
• Business cases and investment requests you prepared yourself, and the resulting budget you owned
• Direct experience steering at least one EPCM or EPC contractor
• Experience in pre-feasibility and concept studies, CAPEX budgeting and investment approval, and commissioning and handover
• Hands-on MS Project, with baselines you built and owned
• An engineering background (mechanical, electrical, piping, civil or similar), ideally 5+ years as a project engineer, and a Master’s in engineering or equivalent level through experience
• VCA-VOL certification
• Dutch (native/fluent) and English (fluent)
• Availability for full on-site presence

A plus:

PMP, Prince2 or IPMA

The person behind the CV:

autonomous, with natural authority in a complex industrial environment. You challenge senior stakeholders and contractors with facts, communicate equally well on the shopfloor and in the steering committee, and have the analytical depth to test a contractor's estimate line by line. You also want to stay with a project long enough to see it through.

Why this one stands out

• Real ownership. You hold the business case, the budget and the baseline from day one.
• Scale and variety. Multiple investment programmes, new installations and major modifications of existing assets.
• Work with a purpose. The materials you help produce go into cleaner mobility, renewable energy and advanced electronics.
• Continuity. This is a long-term collaboration with a growing department, not a six-month fill-in.