Position Overview

Describe the purpose and scope of the role.

The scale of the UK & Ireland cement business, together with its associated capital investment requirements, necessitates a centralised, highly skilled technical support and monitoring function to ensure that strategic projects are developed and delivered successfully. 

Working collaboratively with business stakeholders and CRH Group support functions (including Procurement, Legal and Group Technical Services), this role has end to end, overarching responsibility for the governance and delivery of key development projects across the business. 

Core aspects of the role include shaping and prioritising the strategic development portfolio, leading the UK & Ireland central strategic projects team to manage the design, approval and development of these projects; and establishing effective interfaces with equipment designers and manufacturers, research and technical advisory providers, and contractors. 

Position Overview:

In the context of a significant and multi-year capital investment pipeline across the UK & Ireland cement platform, the business seeks to appoint a senior leader with responsibility for developing and overseeing major, UK & Ireland cement capital projects. The role will focus primarily on leading projects through the ideation, concept development, feasibility and investment approval phases of the project life cycle, while providing oversight and governance through execution and commissioning 

This is a highly complex operating environment, requiring a comprehensive understanding of technical, commercial and operational risks across all stages of the project life cycle, including concept development, feasibility, execution and commissioning. 

The project portfolio will encompass new construction, demolition and major revamping activities across a wide range of technical disciplines. These may include kiln upgrades, alternative fuels, cement milling, decarbonisation initiatives, renewable energy projects and automation, sometimes delivering in live operating environments. 

The Projects Portfolio Director will demonstrate ambition, strategic vision and strong leadership capability, supporting the business in shaping and delivering key strategic initiatives. The role requires a high level of credibility, influence and decision-making authority across all levels of the organisation. 

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Key Tasks and Responsibilities

Describe the tasks of the candidate within the role.

The primary objective of the role is to ensure the successful development of the project pipeline through the ideation, concept, feasibility and execution stages, ensuring the core objectives of safety, budget management, operational efficiency, schedule certainty, and risk management are met.  This will require the following: 

• Coordination and management of internal stakeholders (Business and Group Functions – Technical, Legal, Procurement, Finance Etc.) and external stakeholders (OEMs, designers, consultants and contractors etc.) through the project lifecycle.  
• Early and Proactive identification, assessment, management and mitigation of risk during all phases of the project 

Project Concept / Feasibility / Approval Phases: 

• Coordinate the successful development of the project pipeline through the concept and feasibility study phase, ensuring projects are developed and approved in accordance with technical and financial requirements, and project approval timelines.   
• Develop robust technical specifications and employer requirements documentation specific to each project, in collaboration with Group functions (e.g. Legal, Procurement, Insurance)   
• In collaboration with the GTS contract manager and business legal advisors, develop the appropriate contract strategy (EPC, EP+C, Package etc.) and documentation for each project 
• Deploy the required analytical and commercial skills to develop the final detailed study including project scope, budget, program, delivery strategy, organization, hiring program, and risk analysis and mitigation. 

Project Execution Phase 

• Support the successful development of the project pipeline in accordance with the primary objectives of safety, quality, budget and program, including commissioning and handover to the OpCos 
• Oversee interfaces and impacts with other parallel projects and existing facilities. 
• Define and implement a clear and effective communication and reporting plan. 
• Support the commercial close-out of contracts, including dispute resolution where required 

Key Characteristics

Describe the character/personality/profile of a preferred candidate.

For this role you should be/have: 

• A strong track record in major project delivery in the cement industry (or other relevant industrial sectors), across all phases of the project lifecycle  

• Strong understanding of cement and concrete production processes, raw materials, equipment and cement/concrete products, and awareness of current and future technical challenges to the cement sector 

• Operational exposure, with knowledge of the broader business, and commercial environment, to enable effective collaboration with the senior stakeholders in the business (Plant Managers and staff), and Group functions (technical, financial, legal etc.)  

• Possessing a highly strategic mindset, with a proven ability to assess risk across multiple dimensions and develop pathways to success in complex and multi-cultural environments 

• 10+ years of People Management experience, including interpreting strategy and policy in order to set and deliver objectives within medium to long time frames (Over 10 years to 15 years) 

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and influence multiple internal and external stakeholders at both executive and operational levels, including on a global level  

• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical and commercial concepts clearly and concisely. 

• An ability to handle a range of work-streams simultaneously, without compromising quality or governance   

• Highly organised, detail-orientated and results driven, with a strong bias for delivery and accountability 

• Appetite for continual professional development, particularly in the contract / legal domain 

• Available for regular travel across UK&I, and internationally as required. 

Key Functional Competencies

Describe the functional competencies required for candidate to be successful in the role. Do not include experience, this is covered further down.

You possess the following: 

• Shape our future 

• Drive our Impact  

• Inspire our People 

• Lead our Industry 

• Delivering at Scale 

• Broadening Perspective 
• Excellence Project Management skills
• Organised
• Strong Communication skills

Experience / Education

Describe the experience and academic background required for the role

You are/have:

• A degree in Engineering with at least 15 years’ experience in the cement industry, primarily within the engineering domain.  
• Master’s Degree level an advantage 
• Experience of managing multiple large scale projects simultaneously 
• Contract law training an advantage 
• Complementary Financial / Business qualifications an advantage 

CRH MyCareer Behaviors & Experiences

CRH Level Behaviors

Shape our future

Customer Focus - Understands the customer and recognizes opportunities for designing value-adding solutions for customers, driving the delivery of customer-centric solutions.

Drive our impact

Manages Ambiguity - Operating effectively, even when things are not certain or the way forward is not clear.

Plans & Aligns - Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals.

Inspire our people

Cultivates Talent - Attracting, growing and retaining people.

Drives Engagement - Creating a climate where people are motivated to do their best to help the organization achieve its objectives.

Fosters Inclusivity - Recognizes the value that different perspectives bring to the organization, seeking out, embracing and leveraging differences to ensure that all talent flourishes.

Lead our Industry

Embraces the use of Technology - Guides team and allocates resources to experimenting with (new) technologies, with a focus on how these will add value for customers.

Facilitates Innovation - Proposes new or better ideas to solve known challenges and to support the organization to be successful.

CRH Level Experiences

Delivering at Scale

Business partnering (Functions) 

Has advised stakeholders on best practice and supported or enforced implementation of key processes and practices.

Business planning

Has developed and proposed, or contributed to the development and proposal of annual business plans for an area ensuring alignment with strategy.

Has recommended financial and headcount budgets, KPIs, scheduled projects integrating with other parts of the business.

Continuous improvement

Has challenged existing procedures and driven greater efficiencies within assigned area and potentially beyond.

Financial management

Has established and monitored performance against KPIs and financial budgets to optimize business performance.

Has translated business objectives into budgets / business cases to support the running of their area with some guidance from senior colleagues.

People management and development

Has recruited, motivated and developed an operational team, promoting a culture of safety and continuous improvement.

Setting and communicating direction

Has set and communicated action plans to team members and how it related to the broader strategy vision.

Broadening Perspective

Business exposure 

Has had exposure through roles and projects across different parts of the business gaining an understanding of different functions and teams.

Key Challenges

Crisis management

Played a significant role in responding to, or managing an expected or unexpected crisis.

Inherited problems and challenges

Played a significant role in taking over a struggling organizational unit (e.g., with weak financial performance), renegotiated agreements or contracts to reverse operating losses, led cost-cutting efforts, and implemented a reorganization or downsizing.