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Project Principal
Project Principal ( Buildings) – UK-wide
About the Business Unit
The Buildings Unit (BLD) operates across Mott MacDonald’s regional offices in the UK and mainland Europe, focusing on delivering complex buildings projects spanning multiple sectors:
- Health
- Defence
- Education
- Justice
- Aviation
- Commercial
- Mixed-use developments
- Significant city and community infrastructure projects
We provide both local delivery and technical leadership across the Group’s buildings portfolio.
Overview of the Role
The Project Principal is a senior leadership role, responsible for single-point accountability in successful bidding, mobilisation, and delivery of complex, multidisciplinary buildings projects across diverse sectors.
Key characteristics of the role:
- Operates with high levels of autonomy, shaping delivery strategy and assuring performance.
- Acts as the senior authority on assigned commissions, intervening to mitigate risks to programme, commercial, safety, quality, and reputational outcomes.
- Best suited for candidates with experience in Design & Build and contractor-led environments, requiring strong commercial judgement, governance skills, and risk management capabilities.
Key Responsibilities
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End-to-end project leadership: Oversight from bid stage through mobilisation, delivery, and handover.
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Delivery strategy ownership: Define and approve scope, programme, resources, budget, risk profile, and governance for each project.
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Specialist project control: Lead Design & Build, framework, and contractor-led projects, focusing on:
- Managing design risk and interfaces.
- Ensuring delivery on timeline, cost, quality, and safety targets.
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Client, commercial, and senior stakeholder engagement:
- Escalation point for critical issues (delivery, commercial, safety, quality, reputation).
- Senior commercial governance (fee strategy, risk forecasting, change management, contract administration).
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Team development and mentoring:
- Lead and challenge multidisciplinary teams (project managers, technical leads).
- Ensure elevated design quality and delivery performance.
- Sponsor key project reviews and escalate risks appropriately.
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Resource and assurance responsibilities:
- Secure skilled, competent teams for project delivery.
- Establish and oversee effective assurance processes.
- Maintain strict safety, health, and wellbeing oversight.
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- Strategic advisory and relationship management:
- Act as a trusted executive advisor to clients, contractors, and delivery partners.
- Build and manage strong senior relationships, aligning project outcomes with client expectations.
Candidate Specification
Essential Criteria
- Degree (or equivalent) in: Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, or a related built environment discipline.
- Significant postgraduate experience delivering complex, multidisciplinary buildings projects in a consultancy or professional services environment.
- Proven senior project leadership (equivalent to Project Principal/Director), with personal accountability for successful delivery.
- Design & Build/contractor-led delivery experience, including design risk and interface management.
- Strong commercial acumen with expertise in:
- Contract management
- Financial forecasting
- Change control
- Risk management
- Familiarity with collaborative contract forms (e.g., NEC or equivalent).
- Ability to lead and influence multidisciplinary teams and senior stakeholders.
- Authority, independence, and judgement in high-pressure environments to act decisively where outcomes are threatened.
Desirable Qualifications
- Experience across multiple buildings sectors (e.g., healthcare, education, defence, aviation, infrastructure-related buildings).
- Hands-on experience with bid management and early-stage project shaping.
- Chartered professional status (e.g., APM, ICE, CIOB, RICS).
- Work experience in regulated or security-conscious environments.
- Security clearance or eligibility (where applicable to project).
Corporate Commitments
UK Immigration Policy
Mott MacDonald does not currently sponsor candidates under the UK Skilled Worker Visa route. We welcome applicants eligible for alternative visa routes that do not require sponsorship.
Agile Working
We practice an hybrid working model, balancing client, team, and personal commitments with flexibility and well-being in mind.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
- Commitment to fair employment practices:
- Promote diversity and equal opportunities for all.
- Encourage individual expression and inclusive workplace culture.
- Supportive recruitment process:
- Offer disability access and reasonable accommodation—contact reasonable.adjustments@mottmac.com for needs-based support.
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Benefits
Financial Wellbeing
- Pension matching (4.5% to 7%).
- £400k life assurance (extendable to £600k).
- Income protection scheme with long-term illness support.
- Flexible benefits: Life assurance upgrades, critical illness cover, payroll savings, and will-writing services.
Employee Ownership Model
- No external investors; profits reinvested to benefit colleagues.
- Stake in the business grows with your career tenure.
- Bonuses (personal and group) aligned to company success.
- Direct pathways to partial ownership in senior roles.
- Open communication channels to influence leadership decisions.
Health & Wellbeing
- Private medical insurance.
- Health cash plan for everyday treatments.
- Menopause support via Peppy.
- Wellbeing programs (including family coverage).
- Flexible salary options to customise health benefits for your needs.
Lifestyle Benefits
- 33–35 days’ holiday annually (minimum 35 days* after 5 years’ service).
- Ability to buy/sell leave.
- Shop DC saving schemes and retail discounts.
Enhanced Family & Carers Leave
- Enhanced parental leave:
- 26 weeks paid maternity/adoption leave.
- 2-week paid paternity/partner leave.
- Shared parental leave = maternity-level pay for up to 24 weeks.
- 5 additional leave days for carers (though 2 are paid).
Learning & Development
- Primary subscription to leading professional institutions.
- Activate system for skills mentoring.
- Training, networking, and upskilling resources.
Social and Community Impact
- Advanced Employee Networks (LGBTQ+, gender/race inclusion, disability, parent/carer communities).
- Social impact initiatives through community programmes.
Location(s): Birmingham, London, Edinburgh, Croydon, Glasgow, Southampton, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Cambridge, Manchester, Liverpool
Contract Type: Permanent
Work Pattern: Full Time
Apply now for more information. Contact: Andrea Gaffney.
Job Ref: 14581
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