Position Title:  Director, Project

The project is a landmark heavy civil infrastructure project in Ontario's Kawartha Lakes and Barrie regions. As a key part of the Arctic Over the Horizon Radar Program, the project includes significant on-site and off-site material movement activities, extensive earthworks, deep and shallow foundation construction, structural concrete works, and the delivery of multiple buildings and supporting infrastructure.

As part of this project, Aecon's Civil team is advancing nation-building infrastructure through a strategic partnership with Pomerleau and Stantec. Delivered through a collaborative Integrated Project Delivery model, an Aecon-led joint venture is responsible for project delivery.

Purpose of the Position:

Reporting to the Integrated Project Delivery Director, the Project Director is responsible for leading the execution and performance of major project sites, ensuring delivery against safety, schedule, cost, quality, and operational objectives in alignment with the overall Integrated Project Program. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/allies-partners/norad/aothr.html

Key Responsibilities:

Project Management - Responsible for delivery against all budget, schedule & quality targets

• Construction Operations
  • Safety.  Establish safety, team, systems and procedures and ensure a safe work environment for everyone involved in the project.
  • Schedule. Develop, monitor and make decisions to ensure project is delivered on schedule.
  • Quality, ensuring key metrics and KPI’s are established and targets are consistently achieved.
  • Responsible for all aspects of project close out
• Commercial Management
  • Ensure teams understand and protect Aecon / Project interests under the Prime Contract
  • Financial / cash flow management
  • Identifies risks and implements mitigation and contingency plans   
  • Results.  Ensure everyone on the project has a commercial mindset to deliver the project at or exceeding budget.

Stakeholder Management

• Create and maintain excellent relationships with all stakeholders
  • The client, and all participants organization to this program
  • Joint venture partners
  • Government, the public, special interest groups

People Management

• Creates and maintains a culture and environment that is open and respectful 
• Hire, supervise, coach and mentor project personnel
• Ensure project has capacity and expert capability is in all engineering, procurement and construction activities
• Expertise required functional areas: Design management, Project Controls, Procurement, Contract Management, Quality, Commercial Management)
• Communicates with Aecon Sr. Management to ensure adequate resources are provided
• Ensure the project as required staffing and succession plans 

Communication

• Builds engagement through ongoing communications to all staff and stakeholders
• Provide all required project reporting / forecasting

Executive Responsibility 

• Aecon ambassador to employees, the client, partners the public and Aecon executive leadership.

Required Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in engineering or equivalent
• A minimum of 20 years of construction leadership experience on complex major projects, with a proven track record of delivering commercial success.
• Proven success leading projects valued at $500M+ to $1B+ through the full project lifecycle.
• Significant experience working within highly collaborative project delivery models, including Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), Alliance, or Progressive Design-Build environments.
• Strong understanding of commercial, contractual, financing, and governance frameworks on major projects.
• Demonstrated expertise in risk management, change management, claims, and commercial negotiations.
• Proven ability to lead organizations of 100+ personnel, including senior project leadership teams.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Necessary Competencies"

Collaboration

• High degree of emotional intelligence and self-awareness
• Able to work with and communicate to executives from JV partners, owner/clients, governments, etc., in complex and ambiguous political situations 

Stakeholder Management 

• Communication in all forms, articulating the project vision in a meaningful and compelling way to all stakeholders.
• Organizational and politically savvy. Able to engage with and seek input and involvement from all stakeholders within the project’s ecosystem.

Adaptive Thinking

• Change Leadership. Ability and willingness to always challenge the status quo, in the interest of the success of the project
• Critical thinking capability by applying sound analysis and logical reasoning to evaluate ideas, decisions and outcomes.  Able to properly evaluate the quality of evidence and reasoning, then draw appropriate conclusions.
• Ability to take a broad perspective and to think laterally; analyzing risks, which incorporates being proactive, assessing the potential cost of a risk and solving any problems associated with it; negotiating; communicating; and team working.

Strategic Orientation

• Strategic mindset to envision and shape the future while always keeping in mind the basic project needs
• Commercial acumen.  A strong sense of urgency to quickly assess and understand the key business drivers that influence or impact the project and the broader organization
• Breadth of market knowledge.   Deep understanding of all aspects of mega project work within this sector.  

Dealing with complexity

• Comfortable with ambiguity
• Able to operate comfortably in a VUCA environment (Volitivity, Complexity, Uncertainty, Ambiguity)  

Successfully builds high performing teams

• Motivate and build trust
• Balanced decision making – allowing for discussion and collaboration but driving to decisions, driving accountability and ensuring there are lessons learned from poor decisions 
• Creates an open and diverse work environment

Character based Leadership

• Integrity, Humility, Transparency, Courage, Drive, Energy, Passion

Ambassador for the company internally and externally

• Lives the Aecon leadership Expectations Project Director