Project Delivery Lead

Codema - Dublin's Energy Agency; Dublin; Hybrid; EUR 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

4-Day work week

Flexible & hybrid working

Pension

Life Assurance

Wellbeing programme

Job summary

Codema, Dublin's Energy Agency, seeks a Project Delivery Lead for its District Heating team. The role drives feasibility, procurement and delivery of district heating schemes, coordinating with Dublin Local Authorities and public bodies. You will lead a team, manage budgets, and shape project strategy.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years in project delivery leadership, strong stakeholder skills, and a background in infrastructure projects. Hybrid working with a Dublin-based office is offered.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years' experience in managing a project delivery team in infrastructure.
• Strong leadership and people development skills.
• Excellent communication with elected members, officials, funders and the public.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor and develop the District Heating team across multiple projects.
• Grow the team's technical capability and plan resources with the CEO/COO/finance.
• Serve as the primary contact for Dublin Local Authorities and other stakeholders on district heating.
• Lead DH schemes from inception through procurement to operation.
• Coordinate district heating with local area plans and other infrastructure programmes.
• Prepare funding applications (SEAI, Climate Action Fund, EIB ELENA) within deadlines.

Skills

Team leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Project management

English fluency

Strategic planning

Education

Engineering / Infrastructure degree

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Position: Project Delivery/District Heating Team lead

Location: The Grainstore at The Digital Hub, Dublin 8 / Hybrid

Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Sector: Not-for-Profit / Social Enterprise / Energy & Climate Action

About Codema

Codema is Dublin’s Energy Agency, a public-good social enterprise dedicated to accelerating Dublin's low‑carbon transition. For nearly 30 years, we have worked on behalf of the four Dublin Local Authorities to mitigate climate change and improve the lives of citizens. We achieve this through innovative energy planning, policy research, citizen engagement, and facilitating the delivery of large-scale energy efficiency and renewable energy projects (such as district heating networks and Energy Performance Contracting).

At Codema, we believe our success is driven by our highly-skilled, passionate team. We offer a culture focused on growth, inclusivity, and a strong work-life balance, proudly operating as a participating employer in the Four-Day Work Week model.

Role Purpose

Codema is recruiting a Project Delivery Lead to lead our District Heating team and drive Dublin's district heating projects from feasibility through procurement and into delivery.

The District Heating Team is an established team of four, spanning technical modelling and feasibility, scheme operation and implementation support, business case and commercial development, and EU project development. The Team Lead reports to the CEO and works alongside the leads of Codema's other cells.

The role is line management and technical leadership of that team: setting direction, allocating people across a portfolio of projects, deciding which opportunities to pursue and which to let pass, developing individual team members, and being accountable for the quality of the team's work.

Key Responsibilities

Manage a Team of Staff

• Lead, mentor and develop the team, and allocate people across a portfolio of projects
• Grow the Cell's technical capability, and plan its resourcing and income with the CEO, COO and finance team

Main Contact Point for All DH Work at the Company

• Serve as the primary point of contact for the four Dublin Local Authorities, other local authorities, public bodies, state agencies and private stakeholders on district heating
• Represent Codema on project boards, steering groups and national forums, and update the CEO, senior management team and Board
• Provide professional and technical support to the Heatworks District Heating Company and the Tallaght scheme
• Build and maintain the relationships that make schemes possible — with anchor customers, heat suppliers, utilities, developers and funders

District Heating (DH) Project Development

• Lead schemes from inception through procurement and construction, and into operation
• Oversee feasibility studies, and recommend on the evidence which projects should progress and which should not
• Assure the technical quality of the Cell's analysis, and the programme, budget and contractual compliance of scheme delivery
• Coordinate district heating with local area plans, Decarbonising Zones and other infrastructure programmes

Funding Applications

• Work with Codema’s Project Management and Development team on funding applications — SEAI District Heating Pre-Construction Fund, Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund, Climate Action Fund, EIB ELENA
• Work to a funding landscape with hard deadlines, including construction grant windows closing at end-2030
• Pursue new opportunities, and lead competitive tenders for external advisory work

Commercialisation of DH Projects

• Appraise delivery and ownership models - local authority SPV, development partner and golden share, traditional design-bid-build - and advise partners on the trade-offs in risk, cost, control and timeline
• Support partners through procurement, including competitive dialogue, and manage technical, commercial and legal advisors
• Develop business models, services agreements, and tariff and heat supply propositions

Liaise with Policy Makers

• Engage the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, the SEAI District Heating Centre of Excellence, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and other key stakeholders to shape the framework as it develops
• Prepare Codema and its member authorities for the obligations arriving under the Heat Bill
• Advocate for supportive policy and funding, drawing on Codema's project evidence

Other relevant tasks as may be required to contribute to the wider objectives of the company

The ideal candidate

• A strong leader who will manage, support and develop an established team, and drive DH projects in a market that is still forming
• A self-motivated, target-driven and well-organised person with the ability to work autonomously
• Has strong attention to detail, maintaining high standards for delivery, quality and accuracy
• A persuasive communicator with strong negotiation skills
• A strong networker with a talent for building and maintaining strong stakeholder relationships
• Has a broad understanding of technical, financial and legal aspects of infrastructure projects while maintaining a 'big picture' view of the team’s projects and work streams
• Minimum 5 years' experience managing a project delivery team in the infrastructure sector and/or relevant experience in a similar role
• A degree qualification relevant to the delivery of infrastructure projects (minimum NFQ Level 7 or 8)
• Strong leadership skills, with the ability to guide an existing team, manage competing priorities across a portfolio and support individual development
• Demonstrable experience of developing business models, commercial structures and contracts for public, private or joint venture energy or infrastructure projects
• Experience of public procurement and an understanding of the routes used for major infrastructure, including where competitive dialogue or a development partner model is appropriate
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, able to explain complex technical and commercial material to elected members, senior officials, funders and the public
• Experience of building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, including local authorities and public bodies
• Comfort operating in an unsettled policy and regulatory environment, with the judgement to progress projects ahead of full clarity and to adapt when the framework changes
• Meticulous attention to detail, and drive to deliver on time and within budget
• Well networked and actively keeping abreast of developments in district heating
• Passionate about addressing climate change and advancing sustainable energy solutions
• Fluency in English, and proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, essential

Additional skills that would be a distinct advantage

• Solid understanding of heat networks, heat pumps, thermal storage and waste and ambient heat recovery, sufficient to lead and challenge technical work and to make investment recommendations from technical reports
• Direct experience of managing all aspects of district heating infrastructure projects — technical, financial, legal and commercial
• Experience of a district heating scheme in construction or operation, in any market
• Working knowledge of the Irish infrastructure guidelines and financial rules for public, private and joint venture infrastructure projects
• Experience with grant funding applications and the management of grant-funded programmes, for example SEAI funds, the Climate Action Fund, EIB ELENA or EU programmes
• Experience working with, or within, the Irish public sector, including Part 8 planning, wayleaves and local authority governance
• Familiarity with the emerging Irish heat regulatory framework, or with heat network regulation in another jurisdiction
• Experience of energy or heat network modelling tools
• Business management or project management qualifications
• Eligible to work in Ireland

Why work with Codema

We believe that to take care of the planet, we must take care of our people. Codema is a learning organization with a growth mindset, recently awarded for Best Place to workin the 2025 Workplace Excellence Awards.

Benefits include:

• The 4-Day work week: 100% pay for 80% time, maintaining 100% output to champion true work-life balance (eligible after 6 months probationary period).
• Flexible & hybrid working: Blended working options from our historic Dublin 8 office.
• Time off: 4 weeks annual leave plus additional designated Christmas leave.
• Financial & security: Competitive salary, Company Pension with Employer Contribution, Life Assurance, and Critical Illness Protection.
• Health & wellbeing: Employee Wellness Programme, Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), and Cycle-to-Work / Taxsaver Schemes. 12 weeks paid family leave available equally to new parents
• Development: One paid professional subscription per annum and excellent personal development and training opportunities.
• Salary: This role fits into Codema’s pay band Level 3 ‘Executive Manager’. The salary range for this band is €60,000 - €90,000. The exact salary will depend on relevant experience and how the candidate fits the role description as set out above.

To apply

Please submit your CV and a tailored cover letter detailing how your operational leadership experience aligns with Codema's mission to [e-mail] by 5pm, 9th October 2026.

N.B. As we may be hiring for several positions, please put "Project Delivery Lead" into the subject line of your email when applying.

Please refer to our careers page on our website for further information

Codema is an Equal Opportunities Employer