FCDO Services
Deputy Director Construction and Project Delivery
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Location
London, Milton Keynes, East Kilbride
Job Summary
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office works to make the UK safer, stronger and more prosperous by leading the Government’s diplomatic, development and consular work around the world. Our estate is central to that mission. It enables our people to operate safely and effectively across a global network, supporting UK interests in some of the most complex and challenging environments.
This is a significant leadership opportunity within the FCDO’s Estates Directorate. Our estate spans 170 countries and territories, with 282 officially designated overseas posts, including Embassies, High Commissions, Consulates and our work across the Overseas Territories. Alongside this, we manage a major UK estate in London, Milton Keynes and East Kilbride.
As Deputy Director for Construction and Project Delivery, you will play a critical role in shaping and delivering the next phase of our estate strategy. You will lead a major capital delivery portfolio, drive improvements across our global estate, reduce operational risk, and help address backlog maintenance at pace.
Job Description
This is a senior leadership role within the FCDO’s Estates Directorate, with responsibility for leading the delivery of a significant capital projects portfolio across the UK and global estate. The Deputy Director for Construction and Project Delivery reports to the Director of Estates and is a member of the Estates Senior Leadership Team.
- You will play a central role in delivering the infrastructure that enables the FCDO to operate safely and effectively around the world.
- The portfolio includes new build facilities, major refurbishments, replacement of end-of-life assets, and significant mid-life and end-of-life upgrades to building services and systems.
- Delivery takes place across a complex international operating environment, often involving challenging logistical, security, environmental and stakeholder considerations.
You will lead a dynamic, fast-paced, multi-million-pound capital programme, with an annual budget of approximately £120 million. This will require strong strategic oversight, commercial judgement and delivery discipline, ensuring projects are delivered to time, cost and quality standards while demonstrating value for money and compliance with public sector financial and accounting requirements.
As Deputy Director, you will lead ten Project Directors and a wider multidisciplinary team, including five further direct reports located across London, Hanslope Park and East Kilbride. You will provide visible, inclusive and confident leadership, setting clear direction, building capability and creating the conditions for high performance across the team and wider delivery network.
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- The role requires close working with the other Deputy Directors within the Estates Directorate, whose responsibilities cover planning, delivery, running the global estate and complex projects.
- You will need to work collaboratively across organizational boundaries, ensuring alignment between estate strategy, capital delivery, asset management and operational priorities.
You will be responsible for financial planning, forecasting and accounting for the operational and programme budgets within your remit. You will approve projects within your delegated authority, chair the Asset Management Portfolio Board for projects up to £5 million, and lead the development and presentation of business cases for larger projects requiring approval by the Estates Committee and the FCDO Corporate Investment Committee.
- A key part of the role will be building trusted relationships with a wide range of senior stakeholders, including colleagues across the FCDO, Ministers, Heads of Mission, other government departments, consultants, contractors and senior leaders across the supply chain.
- You will provide leadership across the full project lifecycle, from requirements, design and construction through to commissioning, handover and benefits realisation.
You will also ensure that projects are delivered with a strong focus on whole-life asset management. This includes robust handover arrangements, effective documentation, clear interfaces with maintenance teams and a continued focus on benefits, value for money and operational resilience.
- You will report clearly on progress, issues, risks and mitigations to the Programme Executive and Board, maintaining an evidence-based view of delivery confidence.
- You will be expected to identify and manage risks, dependencies and emerging issues proactively, bringing pace, grip and sound judgement to a complex and high-profile portfolio.
Person Specification
Working at the FCDO will be the most challenging and rewarding time of your career. We want to be the best diplomatic and development ministry in the world, with jobs that are the envy of Whitehall and the rest of the world. We aim to recruit and retain the best people; those who are delivery focused and have a strong track record in high impact outcomes.
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The Civil Service is open to talented people from any career background; we will always seek to identify transferable skills from the individual’s experience. The Essential Criteria to succeed in this role and be selected are:
- Inspiring, people-focused leadership through change: A proven track record of leading, developing and empowering high-performing, multidisciplinary teams in complex delivery environments. You will be able to demonstrate visible, inclusive and confident leadership, setting clear direction, building capability, managing performance and creating the conditions for people and suppliers to deliver successfully across diverse stakeholder and customer groups.
- Delivery of major, complex construction programmes: Demonstrable experience of leading major, technically complex construction or infrastructure programmes, ideally across multi-site or international portfolios. You will bring the credibility and professional judgement to work effectively with senior delivery partners, contractors, consultants, surveyors, engineers and construction professionals to deliver high-quality outcomes in challenging operating environments.
- Governance and assurance of major projects and programmes: Strong experience of governance, assurance and senior oversight for complex projects and programmes, including managing risk, dependencies, benefits, value for money and delivery confidence. This may include experience of the Government Major Projects Portfolio, or comparable major project governance and assurance frameworks.
- Regulatory, legal and financial understanding of complex programmes: A sound understanding of the regulatory, legal, commercial and financial considerations involved in delivering complex, technical and design-led programmes. You will be confident engaging with regulatory authorities, statutory bodies, commercial partners and senior decision makers to ensure compliant, affordable and deliverable outcomes.
- Professional credibility and sector expertise: Professional membership of a recognised accrediting body, such as RICS, ICE, CIOB, CIBSE, RIBA or equivalent, or a willingness to work towards this. You will bring the professional credibility, technical awareness and sector insight needed to lead confidently across a complex construction and estates portfolio.
It is important that your application provides evidence and examples that meet these criteria.
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