Principal Adviser Project Management

Rio Tinto; Kitimat; On-site; CAD 131,000 - 197,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Career development & education support

Leave for all life’s reasons (vacation

Domestic relocation program

Exclusive employee discounts

Job summary

Rio Tinto seeks a Principal Adviser Project Management in Kitimat, BC, to lead a portfolio of capital and operational projects at a live aluminum smelter. You will guide a small team of Project Managers and Construction Supervisors, ensuring safety, timeliness and strong delivery across Project Engineering.

The role emphasizes coordinating between technical priorities and operational stakeholders, with relocation assistance available and a long-term presence in Kitimat.

Qualifications

• A commitment to the safety of yourself and your team.
• Demonstrated experience leading projects through to completion in a production, industrial or other safety-critical operational environment.
• Experience leading people, including setting direction, balancing priorities and supporting performance through coaching, active listening and collaboration.
• An engineering qualification or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience and relevant credentials.
• Experience using Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel, together with project scheduling software such as Primavera P6 or a comparable system.
• A valid driver’s license for travel associated with this site-based role.
• Project Management Professional certification or other advanced project management education.
• Experience managing capital and operating budgets, procurement strategies and contractor or cross-functional stakeholder relationships.

Responsibilities

• Lead safety and compliance across the project portfolio in line with health, safety and environmental requirements, Rio Tinto standards, and The Way We Work.
• Deliver the project portfolio against agreed safety, scope, schedule, cost and quality objectives in alignment with the engineering strategy.
• Lead and support Project Managers and Construction Supervisors by setting direction, balancing priorities and coaching the team through delivery challenges.
• Apply and strengthen project management practices, tools and systems to improve consistency, governance and delivery performance.
• Prepare, manage and control capital and operating budgets, using clear cost information to support portfolio decisions.
• Oversee procurement and technical delivery strategies to support effective planning, cost control and value-focused decisions.
• Build productive relationships with operational teams, technical specialists, procurement partners, contractors and other internal and external stakeholders.
• Mobilize cross-functional teams and directly manage high-priority projects when required, while identifying improvements to project processes and systems.

Skills

Leadership / Team management

Safety management

Stakeholder collaboration

Communication

Education

Engineering qualification or related discipline

Tools

Primavera P6

MS Office

Job description

• Lead a portfolio of capital and operational projects that directly supports safe, reliable performance at a live aluminum smelter operation.
• Guide a small team of Project Managers and Construction Supervisors while strengthening project delivery practices across Project Engineering.
• This permanent, full-time, role is based in Kitimat, BC. The perfect place to live and work, combining the tranquility of a small community with an unrivaled love for the great outdoors.

We’re Finding Better Ways™ to provide materials the world needs, now and in the future. Our values – care, courage and curiosity – guide how we work and how we treat each other.

About The Role

We are looking for a Principal Adviser Project Management to lead a portfolio of projects and programs within the Project Engineering Department. In this role, you’ll help deliver safe, timely and effective outcomes across a live operational site, while leading a small team of Project Managers and Construction Supervisors and directly overseeing priority projects when required.

This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys bringing people, technical priorities and operational stakeholders together and wants to influence project delivery and business performance.

While we don’t offer fly-in-fly-out arrangements, we do offer domestic relocation assistance, to help you settle in and thrive. Join us and become an integral part of our vibrant community. Located on British Columbia, Canada's northwest coast, Kitimat is a welcoming, family‑friendly community set between the mountains and the sea. Known for its strong local economy, modern amenities, short commutes, and endless opportunities for outdoor adventure, it’s an ideal place to build both a career and a life.

What You’ll Be Doing

Reporting to the Manager Project Management you will

• Lead safety and compliance across the project portfolio in line with health, safety and environmental requirements, Rio Tinto standards, and The Way We Work.
• Deliver the project portfolio against agreed safety, scope, schedule, cost and quality objectives in alignment with the engineering strategy.
• Lead and support Project Managers and Construction Supervisors by setting direction, balancing priorities and coaching the team through delivery challenges.
• Apply and strengthen project management practices, tools and systems to improve consistency, governance and delivery performance.
• Prepare, manage and control capital and operating budgets, using clear cost information to support portfolio decisions.
• Oversee procurement and technical delivery strategies to support effective planning, cost control and value-focused decisions.
• Build productive relationships with operational teams, technical specialists, procurement partners, contractors and other internal and external stakeholders.
• Mobilize cross-functional teams and directly manage high-priority projects when required, while identifying improvements to project processes and systems.

About You

We’re looking for someone whose experience aligns with the key requirements below. You do not need to meet every “helpful for success” item to apply, if you bring relevant experience and are excited by the opportunity, we encourage you to submit an application.

Required for Success

• A commitment to the safety of yourself and your team.
• Demonstrated experience leading projects through to completion in a production, industrial or other safety-critical operational environment.
• Experience leading people, including setting direction, balancing priorities and supporting performance through coaching, active listening and collaboration.
• An engineering qualification or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience and relevant credentials.
• Experience using Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel, together with project scheduling software such as Primavera P6 or a comparable system.
• A valid driver’s license for travel associated with this site-based role.

Helpful for Success

• Project Management Professional certification or other advanced project management education.
• Experience managing capital and operating budgets, procurement strategies and contractor or cross-functional stakeholder relationships.

Applications close on Sunday the 27th of September 2026 (Rio Tinto reserves the right to remove advertised roles prior to this date).

What We Offer

Be recognized for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress.

The base salary range for this role is $131,360 - $197,040 CAD in addition to allowances, bonus, equity, health or retirement benefits, and any other discretionary benefits offered at Rio Tinto. Our base salary ranges are based on role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by the skills, experience, and impact you bring to the role. Our talent acquisition partners can share more during the hiring process.

At Rio Tinto, we offer a competitive reward package that reflects the value that each person brings to our business. As part of our pay philosophy, we believe equity represents fairness, and is rooted in our values and aligns with what we stand for.

• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority
• Career development & education assistance to further your technical or leadership ambitions
• Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual, paid parental, sick leave)
• Exclusive employee discounts
• Domestic relocation program, based on eligibility

Where you’ll be working

Rio Tinto’s BC Works is a part of the Atlantic Operations of the Aluminium product group and has been operating in British Columbia for over 70 years. With industry leading new technology and four generations of employee expertise, as well as our hydropower facility at Kemano and the Nechako Reservoir, the Kitimat smelter is one of the world’s most competitive aluminium smelters, producing aluminium with one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry.

Rio Tinto is proud to operate in BC alongside our 1,000 employees, partners, community stakeholders and First Nations, and we look forward to the next 70 years.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQ+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

À propos de Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto est un chef de file mondial du secteur des sociétés minières et des matériaux. Nous sommes établis dans 35 pays où nous produisons du minerai de fer, du cuivre, de l’aluminium, des minéraux critiques et d’autres matériaux nécessaires à la transition énergétique mondiale et à la prospérité des personnes, des communautés et des nations.

Nous exerçons nos activités depuis 150 ans, en nous appuyant sur les connaissances accumulées au fil des générations et sur les différents continents. Notre mission – trouver de meilleures façons de fournir les matériaux dont le monde a besoin – nous guide dans notre quête d’innovation et d’amélioration continue, dans le but de fabriquer des produits à faibles émissions et répondant aux bonnes normes environnementales, sociales et de gouvernance. Mais comme nous ne pouvons pas y arriver seuls, nous nous attachons à créer des partenariats nous permettant de résoudre des problèmes, de créer des situations mutuellement avantageuses et de saisir des occasions.

Chez Rio Tinto, nous accueillons favorablement et encourageons les candidatures d’Autochtones, de femmes, de membres de la communauté LGBTQ+, de travailleurs âgés, de personnes handicapées et de représentants d’origines diverses. Nous sommes déterminés à créer un milieu inclusif où les employés se sentent à l’aise d’être eux-mêmes. Nous souhaitons de plus que chacun ait l’impression que sa voix compte, que toutes les cultures sont respectées et que les points de vue, aussi variés soient-ils, sont non seulement bienvenus, mais également essentiels à notre succès. Nous nous traitons mutuellement avec équité et dignité, sans égard à la race, au genre, à la nationalité, à l’origine ethnique, à la religion, à l’âge, à l’orientation sexuelle ou à tout autre aspect distinctif.