Project Controls Director

Simply Blue Group; West of England; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Simply Blue Energy seeks a Project Controls Director to lead cost, schedule, change and risk across a portfolio of offshore wind projects. The role sits in the Project Excellence Services team and may be seconded to Erebus, targeting Financial Close in 2028.

You will own the project controls discipline, report to the Project Managing Director, and work with lenders, sponsors and advisory teams to maintain a defensible cost/ schedule picture and support decision making.

Qualifications

• Relevant degree in engineering, quantity surveying, project management or related discipline.
• At least 6 years’ experience in offshore wind sector with PMO leadership.
• Demonstrable experience leading project controls on major offshore wind/infrastructure projects.
• Strong cost control, budgeting, forecasting and change management experience.

Responsibilities

• Own the project controls workstream (cost, schedule, change, risk) to support Final Investment Decision.
• Maintain cost and schedule status with input from engineering, procurement, finance.
• Track FID critical path and flag risks that could affect Financial Close.
• Provide inputs to investment case, financial model and board papers.

Skills

PMO leadership

Cost control

Schedule management

Stakeholder communication

English fluency

Team leadership

Risk management

Microsoft Office

Primavera P6

Education

Engineering degree

Quantity surveying

Tools

Primavera P6

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Job Title: Project Controls Director

Reporting to: Director of Programme and Risk

Location: This position will be based in the Project Office in Bristol for a minimum of three (3) days per week, with travel to lender, sponsor and adviser locations as required.

About Simply Blue Energy:

Founded in 2011 under the brand Simply Blue Group in, Simply Blue Energy (SBE) was formally established in 2025 to recognise Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.’s ("KEPCO") Share Subscription Agreement with Simply Blue Energy (OSW) Ltd, the offshore wind division of Simply Blue Group.

Simply Blue Energy is an ambitious, values-driven company at the forefront of the global blue economy and is actively developing a significant offshore wind portfolio comprising of 8 GW of floating offshore wind and 4 GW of fixed-bottom wind projects across multiple markets.

Our offshore wind portfolio includes Erebus, a 100MW test and demonstration project, which was awarded a Contract for Difference (CfD) in 2026, and the Salamander project in Scotland. The portfolio also comprises Emerald, Western Star and Aird Mhòr na Mara in Ireland, as well as projects in Spain and Portugal developed under the IberBlue Wind platform. To find out more about us, please visit www.simplyblueenergy.com

About Erebus by Blue Gem Wind:

Erebus is a world leading 100 MW test and demonstration floating offshore wind project located off the coast of Pembroke and is being developed by Simply Blue Energy’s Blue Gem Wind project company. Erebus was awarded a CfD in Allocation Round 7 and as a fully consented project now enters late-stage development, targeting a COD in 2030. The project is progressing through project finance structuring towards Financial Close.

Purpose of the role:

The Project Controls Director is responsible for supporting Simply Blue Energy’s portfolio of offshore wind projects through the effective management of project controls discipline – cost, schedule, change, risk and reporting. The role resides within the Project Excellence Services (PES) function. In accordance with SBE portfolio needs and priorities, the Project Controls Director may be seconded to a project. This position will be seconded to the Erebus project, to work as part of the project leadership team, to support bringing the project to Financial Close in 2028.

The Erebus project requires a highly experienced Project Controls candidate with a track record of late-stage development of offshore wind. Reporting to the Project Managing Director and working as part of the project leadership team, the Erebus Project Controls Director will own the project controls discipline including cost, schedule, change and reporting; and be able to say, with confidence, exactly where the project stands against budget and programme at any point on the road to FID.

Key Responsibilities:

Supporting the Project to Financial Close

• Own the project controls workstream (cost, schedule, change and risk reporting) and ensure it delivers the information project leadership and sponsors need to reach a robust, well-evidenced Final Investment Decision.
• Maintain overall responsibility for project cost and schedule status, coordinating inputs from engineering, procurement, commercial and finance teams into one consistent, defensible picture.
• Track and report on the FID critical path and decision calendar, proactively flagging risks, dependencies and cost or schedule pressures that could delay Financial Close.
• Support the Commercial and Procurement Director and Business Case Manager with robust cost and schedule inputs into the investment case, financial model and board papers.

Cost Control

• Manage project budget and cost control strategy, including DEVEX variation and change management.
• Lead all aspects of project cost control: budget setting, cost breakdown structures, commitments, accruals, forecasting, variance analysis and change control.
• Own the project cost baseline and ensure disciplined change management, with every contract variation, scope change and claim properly evaluated and reflected in the forecast.
• Provide early warning of cost overruns or emerging risks to budget, with clear mitigation recommendations, ahead of them becoming board-level issues.
• Work closely with the Financial Advisor and finance team to ensure cost data feeds cleanly into the project financial model and sensitivity analysis.

Planning & Schedule Control

• Maintain and continuously assure the integrated project schedule, ensuring PMO, Commercial, HSE, Consenting, Stakeholder and Technical workstreams are properly sequenced and interdependencies are visible.
• Run regular schedule risk analysis and scenario planning, particularly around contracting strategy and long-lead procurement decisions.

Team Management & Leadership

• Build, lead and develop the project controls team, setting clear standards, ways of working and reporting cadence across cost and planning functions.
• Manage the performance, workload and development of direct reports, and act as a credible, visible leader across a matrixed, multi-disciplinary project team.
• Manage relationships with third-party cost and planning consultants, ensuring their outputs meet the standard required for lender and board scrutiny.

Governance & Reporting (including Risk and Change Management)

• Produce regular, board-ready cost and schedule status reporting for project leadership, the Blue Gem board, sponsor representatives and lenders.
• Maintain the project controls risk register in line with the wider Erebus commercial and procurement risk register.
• Oversee risk and change management and ensure the risk and change management registers are current and applied.
• Ensure project controls activity complies with sponsor SBE governance and approval requirements.

Core responsibilities include financial controls, change management, programme management, document control and IT support, with especial emphasis on cost control and risk management in the short term.

Experience and Qualifications:

Required:

• Relevant degree in engineering, quantity surveying, project management, or a related discipline with at least 10 years’ relevant experience
• At least 6 years’ experience in the offshore wind sector with PMO leadership experience
• Demonstrable experience leading project controls (cost and/or planning) on at least one major project, ideally through to Final Investment Decision, in offshore wind, renewables or large-scale infrastructure
• Strong, hands‑on cost control experience — budgeting, forecasting, variance and change management on complex, multi-contractor capital projects
• Proven experience building and managing a project controls team, including direct line management responsibility.
• Strong working knowledge of planning and scheduling tools and integrated project schedules for large capital projects.
• Ability to communicate cost and schedule status clearly and credibly to senior stakeholders, including boards, sponsors and lenders.
• Experience of offshore wind project development in the UK
• Excellent organisation skills with the ability to manage own workload, meet timescales and coordinate a number of external and internal stakeholders
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to enable effective discussion and transfer of information between contractors, team members and other stakeholders
• Fluent in English (written and spoken)
• The technical skills to understand complex offshore operations and the ability to exchange with and understand subject experts
• Ability to work as a member of a large, multidisciplinary and international team
• Ability to use Microsoft Office and project management software e.g. Primavera P6, Sarfan
• Ability to create and communicate complex technical information clearly.

Your application:

Applications for this role will close on 26 October 2026. Please note that applications received after this date will not be considered. We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date if a sufficient number of suitable applications are received; however, the vacancy will remain open for a minimum of five days.

At Simply Blue Energy, we know we are only as good as our people. We value diversity and are proud of our inclusive culture, making Simply Blue Energy a great place to work and where our people feel valued, have their voices heard and can be true to their authentic selves. Diversity is one of our core values, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it will help us be more innovative and more effective in our mission of working with the oceans to fight climate change.

We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone is valued and respected. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. We particularly encourage applications from people who are currently underrepresented within our industry, including women, people with disabilities and people from ethnic minority backgrounds.