Project Director

Dowds is a long established, multidisciplinary engineering and construction Building Services Engineering company headquartered in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1978, our expertise spans the full lifecycle of complex-built environments from initial design and systems integration through to installation, commissioning, and handover. Across specific sectors: life science, commercial, education and healthcare.

Operating at a gold standard for best managed company and investors in people, our vision is to set the standard for excellence, driving progress, responsibility, and lasting impact. While keeping our clients and our people at the heart of what we do.

We are seeking

Dowds are seeking a Project Director to join our delivery team, where you will have full accountability for programme, cost, quality, and safety. Dowds are evolving through growth and transformation, strategically partnering with our clients to deliver MEP across various locations. This opportunity will suit a driven individual who can lead, manage and develop projects, staff and relationships.

What you'll be responsible for

• Provide strategic leadership and governance across assigned MEP programmes, embedding Dowds Group values, ensuring effective reporting, escalation, and board level assurance.
• Take full accountability for programme delivery, including safety, quality, cost, and schedule performance, driving design certainty, planning excellence, and critical path control.
• Own commercial and financial performance, protecting margin through robust CVR forecasting, cost control, and proactive risk and opportunity management.
• Lead a strong safety first culture, ensuring full statutory and contractual H&S compliance and clear assurance reporting to senior leadership and the Board.
• Provide technical and quality oversight across all MEP disciplines, ensuring compliant design, commissioning, testing, handover, and delivery of digital O&M and asset data.
• Act as the senior client-facing representative, leading key governance forums, managing senior stakeholder relationships, and progressing modern methods of construction (MMC), BIM, and digital delivery to improve productivity and outcomes.

What we are looking for

• Proven ability to deliver complex projects of comparable size, value and sector, with full accountability for programme, cost, quality and safety.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of UK construction and engineering statutory requirements, delivery methods, and governance processes.
• Demonstrable knowledge of Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) systems of work and a visible safety first leadership approach.
• Evident leadership and management capability, able to set direction, lead multidisciplinary teams, and model behaviours aligned to company values and brand.
• Strong commercial awareness, with experience managing cost control, forecasting, margin protection, and contractual risk at programme level.
• Excellent analytical, reporting and communication skills, with experience using project controls, document management and reporting systems (e.g. document control platforms, cost and programme tools, Excel)
• Professional membership of a relevant body (e.g. CIBSE, IET, CIOB) or working towards chartership.
• IOSH Managing Safely, SMSTS or equivalent senior health & safety qualification.
• Broad technical qualification or background enabling effective challenge and assurance across MEP disciplines.
• Experience working within an SME or high growth environment, demonstrating a broad commercial and operational mindset.
• Experience using a wider range of digital delivery and reporting systems (e.g. SharePoint, Dynamics, Asta Powerproject, Anaplan, or equivalent).
• Experience operating at board or executive stakeholder level, including governance forums, assurance reporting, and senior client engagement.
• Formal M&E or Project Management qualification (e.g. APMP, PRINCE2, MSP, or equivalent).

Why Join Dowds

• 41 Days Holiday
• Early Finish Fridays
• Private Medical
• Bonus
• Pension
• Work from home
• Plus, many more

Dowds is an Equal Opportunities Employer