Area Project Director

SCS Railways; Greater London; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive benefits package

Career development opportunities

Job summary

SCS Railways is looking for a senior delivery leader to drive the HS2 London Tunnels JV area, guiding cross-functional teams and embedding the project culture of safety, quality and client satisfaction.

You will manage the area within the target budget, oversee planning, forecasting, governance and change control, and maintain strong relationships with IPLT, the Commercial Director and the client to ensure delivery of time, cost and performance objectives.

Qualifications

• Hold relevant university degree or equivalent.
• Chartered member or fellow of a professional institution or similar qualification.

Responsibilities

• Lead all aspects of delivery for the area in line with project procedures.
• Maintain area culture and serve as role model for the team.
• Manage area within target budget with Commercial Director.
• Review and improve business planning and forecasting within the area.
• Develop and maintain client relationships and manage risks.
• Ensure governance and adherence to change control.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Stakeholder engagement

Health & Safety leadership

Commercial acumen

Change management

People management

Education

University degree or equivalent

Chartered member or fellow

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - London - West Ruislip

Competitive with excellent benefits package

Working Hours:

40

Location:

London - West Ruislip

Closing Date:

20/10/2026

Function:

Structures & Earthworks

Function:

Structures & Earthworks

Team:

PMT

Job Introduction

Job location: West Ruislip

Accessible by public transport?

Working hours: Weekdays

Contract: Permanent

Flexible working: We welcome you to ask about the flexibility you need. This might be part-time, remote working, or compressed hours for example. Anyone who applies for a role can ask about flexibility at interview. In return, we will explore what is possible for the role.

Role

To lead all aspect of a delivery of the area, in accordance with SCS project’s procedures and best practice guidance. To underpin the successful delivery of the area to the agreed targets and to work collaboratively with the wider programme to ensure the overall delivery of the programmes strategic objectives, such as time cost quality and client’s satisfaction. .
To maintain the SCS Project culture in all aspect of the delivery and be a role model for the team.

Creating a balance between leadership, operational expertise, strategic emphasis and senior level stakeholder engagement.

Main Responsibilities

• Accountability for the SCS culture around business, health, safety and wellbeing.
• Manage the area in line with the target budget in collaboration with the Commercial director for the area.
• Reviewing and improving the business planning and forecasting within the area.
• Proactively manage IPLT, client and industry relationships to further develop and enhance the JV reputation within the industry.
• Actively promote and ensure good governance across the Area and interaction with other areas.
• Ensure that robust procedures exist for management of Area during the development and implementation phases.
• Act as principal client contact on all aspects of the Area during the delivery phase. Develop and maintain effective client relationships, monitor client satisfaction levels and respond urgently to any client concerns and ensure improvement plans are developed, implemented and progress against plans is shared with clients.
• Manage and pro-actively engage in mitigating risks to the area across the portfolio, support contractual performance and total project delivery, including anticipating problems and developing actions plans.
• Full project life cycle management.
• Ensure that the Area fully complies with all statutory and regulatory provisions including HMRI, ORR and the CDM Regulations.
• Ensure project change control procedures are established and adhered to and reported to IPLT in a timely and effective manner to minimize impact on project delivery.
• Regularly review project forecast with the Commercial Director and report to the IPLT, ensuring any discrepancies are resolved.
• Approve the mobilization plan for the area including supporting recruitment when necessary

The Ideal Candidate

Required qualifications:

• Hold relevant University Degree or Equivalent
• Chartered Member or Fellow of an appropriate professional institution or similar professional qualification

Experience and skills:

• Proven track record at a senior leadership level, of leading cross functional teams within large and complex project environments internally and externally
• Current knowledge of the applicable Health and Safety standards and the adoption of best practice in delivery of tunneling and associated works
• Demonstrable commercial acumen and a track record of pre-construction, project procurement and project execution
• Previous experience in delivering work within set timeframes and in accordance with a defined project strategy and allocated budget.
• Understanding of the impact of change and the mechanisms to record and communicate the impact of change within the team and the entire organization
• A proven advocate for innovation and technology driven by a desire to promote continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• An ability to define expectations, establish measurement of performance and hold individuals and teams to account for their outcomes and celebrate their achievements.
• Demonstrable ability to adapt to different cultures drawn from a diverse background with an inclusive and equitable approach to team selection and appointment.

Key Behaviors and attributes:

• Strategic Skills – Innovative Management / Strategic Agility
• Operating Skills – Priority Setting
• Energy & Drive – Drive for results / Perseverance

About The Company

The role will work on the HS2 project. HS2 is the UK’s new high speed rail network. It will be a catalyst for economic growth across Britain, freeing up space on the existing railways and connecting 8 out of the UK’s 10 biggest cities with fast, reliable and frequent high speed services

The Skanska | Costain | STRABAG (SCS JV) is delivering the HS2 London Tunnels Contract. Scope of works includes twin-bored tunnels (TBM), SCL tunnels, shaft sinking, bridge demolition and reconstruction, services diversions, earthworks and the construction of site compounds.

You’ll be a welcomed member of the wider team, with opportunities to take on additional responsibility, join our EDI Champions program or support the local community (e.g. as a STEM ambassador).

Your personal and professional development is important to us. We welcome a discussion about how we can support you with further study, or professional membership or attainment for example.

HS2 – working with Skanska, Costain and STRABAG, closely monitors job applications, to ensure an inclusive recruitment process. To ensure we are able to maintain this, and to recruit a diverse workforce, we require candidates to complete the diversity form as part of their application so we are able to monitor and improve our approach to diversity. Please note, all responses are anonymous and we will not share any of your data with other parties. All data will be held securely, (as stated within the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR) and will be reported to HS2.

It is an SCSJV requirement that all employees, Design House, and Supply Chains must implement and comply with the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System, ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System with guidance for use", OHSAS 18001:2017 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems and ISO/IEC 27001:2013 Information Security Management System, Policies, Plans, Procedures and Processes, and statutory requirements as they affect the Joint Venture ‘s operations and ensure that the requirements, as applicable within their discipline, are effectively implemented on the project. Develop a culture of safety on the project through the absolute commitment to the Zero Accidents target and ethos, and develops a wider awareness of quality, environmental issues and demonstrates commitment to achieve continual improvement and Zero tolerance.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. we do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, or sexual orientation

SCS Railways is a Disability Confident Leader. We want to encourage disabled people to apply for our roles and have an opportunity to display your skills, talent, and abilities. We will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview.

Please see the disability confident commitments:

To be considered for an interview under this scheme you have:

• A physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term effect (over 12 months) adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities
• Demonstrated in your application and pre-interview stage that you meet the minimum job criteria and person specification for the role