Project Manager (Minerals & Metals)

Ausenco; Burnaby; Hybrid; CAD 209,000 - 265,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Career advancement

Hybrid work model

Parental leave benefits

Wellness program

Job summary

Ausenco Canada seeks an experienced Project Manager to guide a major mining capital project from development through to handover, initially based in the corporate office and then transitioning to a FIFO site-based role. You will lead engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and handover, ensuring safety, schedule, cost and quality objectives are met.

The ideal candidate has 8–15+ years on major capital mining projects, with proven EPCM/EPC delivery experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management or a related discipline.
• 8–15+ years of experience in major capital projects, preferably within the mining, minerals processing or metals industry.
• Proven experience as a Project Manager, Senior Project Manager or Project Director on major mining or metals projects.
• Significant experience delivering projects through engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning.
• Demonstrated experience working within an EPCM or EPC project environment.
• Strong experience managing multidisciplinary project teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall direction to the site construction organization.
• Lead the construction management team and coordinate multiple contractors.
• Ensure construction activities executed safely and efficiently.
• Establish construction priorities and execution strategies.
• Monitor construction progress against the approved schedule.
• Ensure site activities remain aligned with project objectives.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Communication

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Decision making

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Construction Management/Project Management or related

Job description

If you’re like us, you don’t have much time for the way things are. Ausenco is a global company redefining what’s possible. Our team is based across 22 offices in 9 countries, with projects in over 80 locations worldwide. Combining our deep technical expertise with a 30-year track record, we deliver innovative, value-add consulting studies, project delivery, asset operations and maintenance solutions to the mining & metals, oil & gas, and industrial sectors. Join our team and be part of an exciting execution-phase project in the North American mining industry. You’ll play a key role in critical project phases, from Basic Engineering and Detailed Engineering to Construction, gaining hands‑on experience across a variety of commodities. This is your opportunity to make a real impact in a dynamic and fast‑paced environment. We are seeking an experienced Project Manager with a strong background in the mining and metals industry to lead the successful delivery of a major capital project through its complete lifecycle. The successful candidate will initially be based in the corporate/project office, providing leadership during project development, engineering, procurement planning, contracting strategy, project controls and preparation for execution. Following the award of the EPCM contract, the Project Manager will transition into a FIFO site‑based role, assuming overall responsibility for project execution through construction, commissioning, start‑up and handover. This is a senior leadership position requiring a combination of strong project management capability, mining and metals industry experience, commercial awareness, technical understanding and proven construction execution experience. The Project Manager will be responsible for ensuring the project is delivered safely, on schedule, within budget, to the required quality standards and in accordance with the client’s contractual and operational requirements.

About The Role

• Provide overall leadership and direction for the project from project development through engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and handover.
• Establish clear project objectives, priorities, execution strategies and performance expectations.
• Lead the project team in achieving approved safety, cost, schedule, quality and operational objectives.
• Establish a strong project culture based on accountability, collaboration, safety and high performance.
• Provide leadership to multidisciplinary engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, project controls, HSE, quality and commercial teams.
• Ensure appropriate resources are available throughout each stage of the project.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, reporting structures and decision‑making authorities.
• Act as the senior project interface with the client, EPCM organization, contractors, consultants, vendors and other stakeholders.
• Maintain overall accountability for project performance.

Responsibilities Include

• Establish project execution strategies and delivery methodologies.
• Support development of the EPCM scope of work and execution requirements.
• Participate in EPCM tendering, contractor prequalification and technical/commercial evaluations.
• Review EPCM proposals, schedules, execution plans and resource requirements.
• Support contract negotiations and EPCM award activities.
• Establish preliminary project organization structures.
• Develop project governance and reporting frameworks.
• Establish project controls requirements, including cost, schedule, risk and change management.
• Support development of the project master schedule.
• Identify critical project interfaces and execution constraints.
• Establish project risk registers and mitigation strategies.
• Develop project execution plans, management plans and procedures.
• Establish procurement and contracting strategies.
• Support long‑lead equipment identification and procurement planning.
• Review engineering progress and ensure engineering activities remain aligned with the overall project strategy.
• Participate in design reviews, constructability reviews, value engineering and project optimization initiatives.
• Ensure the project is sufficiently developed and construction‑ready before mobilization to site.

Responsibilities Include

• Establish effective governance between the owner/project team and EPCM contractor.
• Monitor EPCM performance against contractual requirements.
• Review EPCM engineering, procurement and construction execution strategies.
• Ensure EPCM resources and key personnel are appropriate for the project.
• Monitor EPCM deliverables against approved schedules and milestones.
• Review EPCM cost forecasts and schedule performance.
• Ensure effective management of project changes and variations.
• Challenge assumptions, schedules and forecasts where required.
• Ensure EPCM contractor maintains effective risk and opportunity management.
• Monitor EPCM performance against project KPIs.
• Maintain a strong focus on safety, quality, cost and schedule performance.
• Escalate significant project risks and issues to senior management/client leadership.
• Develop and maintain the overall project execution strategy.
• Establish project milestones and key performance objectives.
• Ensure alignment between engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning schedules.
• Maintain focus on the project critical path.
• Identify potential delays and implement recovery strategies.
• Ensure appropriate construction sequencing and work packaging.
• Coordinate project interfaces between contractors and disciplines.
• Ensure project resources mobilized in line with execution requirements.
• Establish effective communication and reporting processes.
• Ensure project decisions made in a timely manner to prevent delays.
• Provide senior oversight of engineering activities.
• Ensure engineering deliverables support project schedule and construction requirements.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary engineering activities.
• Review engineering progress, design development and technical risks.
• Ensure constructability is considered throughout engineering.
• Participate in design reviews, HAZOPs, HAZIDs, value engineering and technical risk reviews.
• Ensure engineering changes are appropriately controlled.
• Coordinate engineering interfaces between EPCM, client, vendors and contractors.
• Ensure engineering deliverables issued in accordance with construction priorities.
• Support resolution of major technical issues affecting project execution.
• Oversee procurement activities in coordination with the EPCM and project procurement team.
• Ensure procurement strategies align with the project schedule and execution plan.
• Monitor long‑lead equipment and critical material procurement.
• Review procurement progress and identify potential schedule risks.
• Ensure appropriate expediting and vendor management processes are implemented.
• Participate in major equipment and contractor evaluations.
• Support commercial negotiations where required.
• Monitor supplier and contractor performance.
• Ensure procurement decisions consider technical, commercial, schedule, quality and operational requirements.

Responsibilities Include

• Provide overall direction to the site construction organization.
• Lead the construction management team and coordinate multiple contractors.
• Ensure construction activities executed safely and efficiently.
• Establish construction priorities and execution strategies.
• Monitor construction progress against the approved schedule.
• Ensure adequate resources, equipment, materials and engineering support available.
• Coordinate construction interfaces between contractors and disciplines.
• Resolve major construction constraints and technical issues.
• Ensure construction activities comply with approved drawings, specifications and quality requirements.
• Participate in daily, weekly and monthly project meetings.
• Conduct regular site inspections and leadership walks.
• Maintain strong relationships with contractors and site personnel.
• Ensure site activities remain aligned with project objectives.
• Drive timely completion of construction milestones and mechanical completion.
• Provide leadership during commissioning, pre‑commissioning and start‑up.
• Ensure commissioning activities integrated into the overall project schedule.
• Coordinate construction completion and commissioning turnover.
• Ensure systems released for commissioning in accordance with approved procedures.
• Monitor commissioning progress and resolve project‑level constraints.
• Coordinate commissioning interfaces between EPCM, construction contractors, vendors and operations.
• Support operational readiness activities.
• Ensure punch‑list and outstanding work effectively managed.
• Drive timely project completion and handover to the client/operations team.
• Maintain overall accountability for project cost performance.
• Review project cost forecasts and commitments.
• Monitor actual costs against approved budgets.
• Identify potential cost overruns and develop mitigation strategies.
• Ensure changes properly evaluated and approved.
• Monitor contractor and EPCM variations and claims.
• Review contingency utilization.
• Support commercial teams evaluating major claims and changes.
• Ensure cost impacts considered in project decisions.
• Maintain strong cost discipline throughout the project lifecycle.
• Maintain overall accountability for project schedule performance.
• Review and approve integrated project schedule.
• Ensure engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning activities properly integrated.
• Monitor critical path activities and milestones.
• Identify schedule risks and potential delays.
• Develop and implement schedule recovery plans.
• Ensure contractors maintain accurate and realistic schedules.
• Monitor progress against baseline schedules.
• Challenge schedule assumptions and forecasts.
• Provide senior management with clear visibility of schedule performance.
• Establish and maintain the project risk and opportunity management process.
• Identify technical, commercial, construction, procurement, schedule and operational risks.
• Develop mitigation and contingency strategies.
• Ensure risk owners assigned and mitigation actions implemented.
• Regularly review project risk exposure.
• Identify opportunities for cost reduction, schedule improvement and project optimization.
• Escalate high‑impact risks appropriately.
• Ensure risk management integrated into project decision‑making.
• Demonstrate visible and proactive safety leadership.
• Establish safety highest priority across the project.
• Ensure EPCM and contractors comply with project HSE requirements.
• Participate site safety inspections and leadership walks.
• Review significant incidents and ensure corrective actions implemented.
• Promote hazard identification and proactive risk management.
• Ensure appropriate emergency response and crisis management plans in place.
• Maintain strong environmental and community considerations throughout project execution.
• Never compromise safety to achieve schedule or cost objectives.
• Ensure project quality objectives established and achieved.
• Oversee implementation of the project quality management system.
• Ensure contractors and EPCM comply with approved quality requirements.
• Monitor inspection and testing activities.
• Review significant quality issues and non‑conformances.
• Ensure corrective and preventive actions implemented.
• Support quality audits and inspections.
• Ensure documentation and turnover records meet project requirements.
• Maintain strong awareness of contractual obligations and commercial exposure.
• Ensure project scope clearly defined and controlled.
• Review contractor claims, variations and change requests.
• Ensure changes properly assessed and authorized.
• Monitor contractor performance against contractual requirements.
• Support resolution of commercial disputes.
• Work closely with commercial and contracts teams to protect the client’s interests.
• Ensure project decisions consider contractual implications.
• Maintain effective relationships while ensuring strong commercial discipline.
• Serve as senior point of contact for the client and key project stakeholders.
• Establish professional relationships with client representatives.
• Lead project steering committee and senior management meetings as required.
• Communicate project performance, risks, opportunities and key decisions clearly.
• Manage expectations and ensure transparency regarding project performance.
• Coordinate with regulatory authorities, local stakeholders and community representatives where required.
• Represent company professionally with clients, contractors and external stakeholders.
• Establish comprehensive project reporting requirements.
• Provide accurate forecasts and early warnings of emerging issues.
• Ensure project reporting timely, transparent and fact‑based.
• Present project performance to senior management and client leadership.

About You

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management or a related discipline.
• 8‑15+ years of experience in major capital projects, preferably within the mining, minerals processing or metals industry.
• Proven experience as a Project Manager, Senior Project Manager or Project Director on major mining or metals projects.
• Significant experience delivering projects through engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning.
• Demonstrated experience working within an EPCM or EPC project environment.
• Strong experience managing multidisciplinary project teams.
• Proven construction execution experience.
• Experience managing large contractors and EPCM organizations.
• Strong understanding of project controls, cost management, scheduling and risk management.
• Experience working on greenfield and/or brownfield mining projects.
• Previous experience working in remote mining environments is strongly preferred.
• Ability and willingness to transition to a FIFO site‑based role.
• Professional Engineering designation such as P.Eng.
• PMP or equivalent project management certification.
• Experience with major mining capital projects.
• Experience in remote/cold‑weather mining environments.
• Experience managing projects involving significant civil, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation scopes.
• Experience with project values ranging from major multi‑million‑dollar projects to billion‑dollar capital programs.
• Ability to establish and execute a clear project vision.
• Strong understanding of project lifecycle and capital project delivery.
• Ability to balance technical, commercial and operational considerations.
• Proven ability to lead large multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to build high‑performing teams in both office and site environments.
• Strong delegation and accountability skills.
• Ability to motivate teams through challenging project phases.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving capability.
• Ability to make timely decisions using incomplete or changing information.
• Comfortable managing complex technical, commercial and operational issues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with executives, clients, engineers, construction teams, contractors and site personnel.
• Strong negotiation, presentation and meeting‑management skills.
• Strong understanding of project budgets, contracts, claims and change management.
• Ability to understand the commercial consequences of project decisions.
• Strong contract and contractor management skills.

We’re committed to a fair and human hiring process. All applications are reviewed by a member of our team and are not automatically screened or rejected by AI.

Why Ausenco?

We Support Individual Growth And Aim To Allow You To Work In a Way That Plays To Your Strengths. Beyond a Competitive Remuneration Package We Offer: Career advancement - Embark on a journey of continuous growth through technical training, mentorship initiatives, and networking opportunities. Work Life Balance – Experience the best of both worlds with our hybrid work model, allowing you to balance office days with working from home; and progressive parental leave benefits to foster family needs and professional life. Holistic approach to wellness – Take a proactive approach to your overall wellbeing. Access to confidential counselling, information services and a benefits program that supports your health & wellness. Accessible leadership team – Work with highly reputable industry leaders who value your contribution.

Salary range: $150,000 - $190,000 annually

Expected Salary: Variation in salary is determined by factors such as qualifications, relevant years of experience, and prevailing market conditions for the specific role.

Join us and work a better way.

LI-Hybrid