Project Director - Dungeness

Aureos; Dungeness; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days Holiday

Pension

Cycle to work

Free parking

Employee benefits portal

On-site parking

Private medical insurance

Referral Scheme

Job summary

Aureos is seeking a Project Director to lead the Dungeness Boilers decommissioning programme, one of the UK’s largest single projects in this field. You will be accountable for safe, timely, and commercially successful delivery in a regulated nuclear environment.

You will provide strategic leadership across design, radiological control, asbestos removal, demolition, heavy lifting, and stakeholder engagement, building governance, risk management, and value recovery.

Qualifications

• Minimum 20 years’ experience delivering major infrastructure programmes.
• Proven track record as Project Director or Delivery Director on complex programmes valued £100M+.
• Experience in decommissioning, demolition or nuclear sector projects.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership for the Dungeness Boilers programme.
• Define and implement the overall programme delivery strategy.
• Establish a governance framework with disciplined decision-making and performance management.
• Lead mobilisation, deplant, demolition, waste management and handover phases.
• Ensure milestones, safety, and quality standards are met.
• Maintain robust risk management and technical assurance across disciplines.
• Lead procurement strategy and supply chain engagement.
• Drive value optimisation and commercial governance.
• Report transparently to Aureos boards and client governance.

Skills

Executive leadership

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Commercial management

Programme controls

Safety leadership

Team leadership

Governance

Risk management

Delivery discipline

Education

Civil Engineering degree

Demolition practitioner

Chartered professional (MICE/MIDE/MCIOB)

CPD commitment

Job description

Aureos is seeking a Project Director to lead the demolition of one of the UK’s largest single decommissioning projects let to date in Dungeness.

Operating within a nationally critical infrastructure project environment, the role carries full accountability for the safe, efficient and commercially successful delivery of a decommissioning project in a nuclear environment including radiological assessment and clean, asbestos removal, demolition, specialist bespoke heavy lifting and complex programme coordination.

The Project Director will provide strategic leadership across all aspects of programme delivery including, design engineering, construction, radiological, asbestos and inert waste removal, commercial management, programme controls, safety and sustainable leadership and stakeholder engagement.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership for the delivery of the Dungeness Boilers programme, ensuring alignment between programme objectives, organisational strategy and client requirements.
• Define and implement the overall programme delivery strategy including organisational structure, design and engineering strategy, procurement approach and delivery model.
• Establish a clear programme governance framework ensuring disciplined decision-making, accountability and performance management across all project functions.
• Lead the programme through all phases of delivery including mobilisation, NRS methodology and temporary works approval processes, discharge of planning conditions, deplant, demolition, waste management and handover.
• Ensure all project milestones are achieved safely and in accordance with contractual obligations, programme schedules and quality standards.
• Ensure robust technical assurance processes across temporary works design, engineering, and methodology
• Maintain clear integration mobilisation, deplant and demolition and final asset handover.
• Act as the senior delivery representative within the Project Board governance structures.
• Ensure alignment across partners, programme boards, executive committees and client governance frameworks.
• Provide strategic leadership within programme leadership teams.
• Maintain clear accountability for delivery performance across all partners and supply chain organisations.
• Foster a collaborative delivery culture across NRS and Aureos partners and project stakeholders.
• Hold full accountability for programme financial performance including budget control, cost forecasting, margin protection, cash management and value recovery.
• Ensure strong commercial governance across the project including NEC contract administration, compensation events and change management processes.
• Lead procurement strategy and supply chain engagement for major infrastructure packages.
• Drive value optimisation through disciplined cost control, productivity improvements and commercial performance management.
• Maintain transparent financial reporting to Aureos boards, executive leadership and client organisations.

Client & Strategic Stakeholder Leadership

• Act as the senior programme representative with NRS and key government stakeholders.
• Build trusted relationships with senior client representatives, regulatory bodies and other NRS functions.
• Represent the project in strategic programme discussions, governance boards and industry forums.
• Ensure transparent communication with key stakeholders to maintain trust and programme confidence.

Safety, Culture & Performance

• Champion a world-class safety culture across the programme, ensuring safety leadership is embedded across all teams and supply chain partners.
• Provide visible leadership on behavioural safety initiatives, ensuring safety remains the first priority in all project activities.
• Ensure robust risk management processes are embedded across all project operations.
• Maintain exemplary safety performance while delivering complex construction activities across a large workforce.

Leadership Style & Project Culture

• Demonstrate a visible, values-led leadership style that promotes safety, accountability and collaboration across the programme.
• Lead from the front, setting clear expectations for safety performance, delivery discipline and professional conduct.
• Build trust and credibility with engineering, operational and commercial teams through strong technical understanding and clear decision-making.
• Promote open communication and early escalation of risks and issues to ensure proactive problem solving.
• Foster a collaborative project culture across NRS and supply chain organisations

People Leadership & Organisational Capability

• Build and lead a high-performing leadership team capable of delivering complex infrastructure programmes.
• Provide leadership across a workforce of direct staff and a wider delivery workforce potentially up to 300 personnel.
• Develop organisational capability across engineering, commercial, programme controls and demolition/decommissioning functions.
• Ensure strong succession planning and leadership development across the project organisation.

Experience And Qualifications

• Minimum 20 years’ experience delivering major infrastructure programmes within the UK or international infrastructure sectors.
• Proven track record operating as Project Director, Delivery Director or equivalent senior leadership role on complex infrastructure programmes valued at £100M+
• Significant experience delivering nationally significant infrastructure programmes, such as decommissioning and demolition programmes or nuclear sector major complex projects.
• Demonstrated experience leading large multidisciplinary projects in organisations delivering complex civil engineering and demolition, typically comprising of several hundred direct staff and a wider workforce.
• Extensive experience working within highly regulated and security-controlled delivery environments, with significant hazards to be considered, managing complex governance structures involving multiple delivery partners and stakeholders.
• Strong experience delivering projects under NEC contracts (particularly NEC Option C or collaborative contract models), including management of compensation events, commercial negotiations and risk recovery.
• Demonstrable track record of improving programme performance, including turnaround of complex or challenging infrastructure projects through strong leadership, governance and delivery discipline.
• Experience managing complex demolition, decommissioning and civil engineering programmes,
• Strong experience engaging with government clients, infrastructure owners and regulators, including organisations such as NRS, NDA, Magnox or equivalent public infrastructure bodies.
• Demonstrates the ability to lead complex, large-scale infrastructure programmes within politically visible and highly regulated environments.
• Translates strategic objectives into clear programme delivery plans, ensuring alignment between project execution, organisational objectives and client requirements.
• Maintains a long-term strategic view while ensuring disciplined day-to-day delivery performance across complex engineering programmes
• Evidence of continuous professional development (CPD) and commitment to maintaining professional capability and industry knowledge.

Education & Qualifications

• Degree in Civil Engineering or Demolition practitioner
• Chartered Professional (MICE, MIDE, MCIOB)
• Evidence of ongoing professional development and leadership capability development through CPD.
• Knowledge of Nuclear environments, asbestos awareness and radiological waste experience beneficial.
• Experience in complex temporary works and specialist lifting systems is beneficial
• Formal training or certification in major project leadership, programme management or NEC contract management desirable.

In return you will receive

• 25 days Holiday with the option to buy more
• Pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Free parking
• Employee benefits portal.
• On-site parking
• Private medical insurance
• Referral Scheme

Aureos are an equal opportunities employer, and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status or race, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable.