Project Director recruitment is the search for the person who will lead one major scheme end to end: mobilisation, team, client, programme, commercial position and handover. It is retained, research led and handled personally, from brief to placement, and it is timed around the scheme rather than the calendar.
Project Director Recruitment
One major scheme, end to end, and the person accountable for it.
The brief I usually receive
A major scheme has been won and mobilises in six months, and the business has nobody free to lead it. A scheme in delivery has lost its Project Director mid-programme and needs a replacement who can take over a live site. Or a client-side body, a developer or a delivery partner, needs a Project Director for a scheme it will procure a contractor for.
The first conversation is about the scheme: value, form of contract, client, programme, the state of the design and the team already in place. A Project Director for a £300 million hospital under a two-stage contract is a different person from one for a £150 million data centre under a hard date, and the brief says which.
The scheme is the CV
A Project Director is assessed on the schemes they have delivered: their value, their form of contract, what went wrong, and what they did about it.
The best ones are on a scheme now, and the search is how you reach them.
What I assess
Every Project Director on a shortlist has delivered a scheme of comparable value, form and complexity. The assessment tests the record on programme and handover, the commercial outcome of the schemes led, the team the person built on site and what happened to safety and quality under them, and the relationship with the client's own leadership. I take a reference from the client side of a scheme the person led, not only from their own business.
The written appraisal that comes with each name covers capability, motivation and risk, and it names the reservations as well as the strengths.
Where the role sits
Project Director appointments arrive from the healthcare, data centre, nuclear, rail, highways and water programmes, from the civil engineering and building services contractors delivering them, and from the client side. The step above it, Operations Director, and the step above that, Managing Director, are set out under roles.
How the search runs
Brief, market map, direct approach, assessment and a managed offer. A Project Director search maps the people running comparable schemes today, which is a short and specific list, and the timetable is built around a handover date on both sides. The stages are set out on the method page.
Common questions
What does a construction Project Director do?
The Project Director leads one major scheme end to end: mobilisation, the project team, the client and consultant relationships, the programme, the commercial position with the Commercial Manager, safety and quality, and handover. On the largest schemes the role is a business in its own right, with turnover to match a regional division.
What does a Project Director earn in UK construction?
From my 2026 searches, a Project Director on a major scheme typically sits between £130,000 and £180,000 base plus package, with data centre and nuclear schemes paying above that for the specific experience they need. A Senior Project Manager on a major London building services package sits around £120,000.
When is the right time to start a Project Director search?
Six months before you need the person on site, and earlier on a scheme with a long mobilisation. The right Project Director is delivering a scheme now and will not leave it until it hands over, so the search is timed to two handover dates rather than one.
Do you recruit Project Directors for the client side?
Yes. Developers, water companies, health trusts and the delivery bodies on the major programmes appoint client-side Project Directors, and the profile that succeeds there is different from a contractor's. I write the brief for the side you are on.
Start a conversation
If you have a major scheme mobilising and need the person to lead it, I would welcome the chance to talk. No hard sell, no obligation.
