Project Director Jobs
No matter how competent a company’s operative team is, any major project needs a representative at board level to ensure the milestones are conceived based on the realistic aims of the board and that they are met. The project director oversees this process by advising the board when change or transformation is planned and then seeing it through by liaising with the relevant managers.
It is important that someone with executive powers and experience fills this role, as well-intentioned managers might be reluctant to challenge impossible goals set from the top, and change and transformation may stall when issues build up to a critical level. Having a director overseeing the project ensures the project has an advocate for both the board and the business operatives, thus ensuring it runs smoothly.
The skills required
Previous project management at senior level or project directorship will be a key requirement, with demonstrable delivered benefits to the company. Experience will be sought at a similar level to the position being filled; there is a big difference between project directing a three-month plan for an SME and overseeing the transformation of a multinational. Although good employers will recognize ambition and ability, they will not want to engage someone who is under- or over-qualified.
For long-term appointments, it’s possible to have several different projects running simultaneously, so an ability to juggle, prioritize and delegate is required. Even when projects run consecutively, there is an inevitable merging at the beginning and end as strategies are laid down, so the same skills apply. Experience within the same or a similar sector as the company seeking a PD will also be of great benefit due to the specific needs of each industry.
Project Director Jobs in Derry
Derry is often called Londonderry after being granted a royal charter by James I (and is called Derry-Londonderry on its UK City of Culture 2013 website). The county, city and district variously share the name, but they all refer to the same place. Derry was the last city in Europe to be walled, in the early 17th century, and most if not all of the wall remains today. It was an important seaport, and played a huge part in World War II owing to its position as the westernmost port in the UK, indeed Allied Europe, as Iceland was neutral.
In peacetime, the city had a reputation as a shirt maker, with several factories springing up to make men’s shirts for export and domestic use. As with the Northern mill towns of England, however, this industry was all but gone by the 1980s, with most of this kind of work moving to Asia.
An important employer in the city has been Du Pont, who made Neoprene there for years, and more recently switched production to Kevlar and Lycra. There is also a burgeoning hi-tech manufacturing sector in the city. Seagate Technology, one of the world’s top hard disk drive manufacturers, makes more than half of its read/write heads in the Derry factory. The city is also home to Northern Ireland’s largest private company, Desmonds, plus a healthy smattering of multinationals.
With a population of around 100,000, a thriving shopping centre and a good deal of industry popping up in this regenerating city, Derry would appear to be a prime location to look for Project Director positions.
Popular locations
Find Project Director Jobs with Cast UK
Cast UK is a recruitment consultancy that deals exclusively with management and director-level appointments over a focused range of sectors, and this gives us the much-needed expertise to match the most appropriate candidates with any given position.
Our offices are in London, Birmingham and Manchester, but our reach is throughout the whole of the UK, and we recruit overseas when required. We have become the vital conduit between our clients’ recruitment aims and the talent to fill them, so if you’re looking to change your career, phone us today on 0333 121 3345.
Contact us