AREA DIRECTOR (ABU DHABI)

Black & White Engineering is a multi-award-winning engineering consultancy, with over 1000 employees in teams based in our UK, European, Middle East and Asia Pacific offices. We have been providing a wide range of engineering consultancy services since 2007.

Reporting to the Regional Director/MD the purpose of this strategically important role is to lead and oversee a Black & White office, the team development, growth and profitable project delivery.

The Area Director will collaborate closely with the Black & White teams across locations on all facets of staffing, client development and delivery. They will strengthen and grow Black & White’s client and partner relationships and maintain surveillance on market conditions, emerging opportunities and key sectors for growth.

• Manage the Black & White office in line with the values and culture.
• Lead, mentor and develop the team to achieve project and business goals in line with the ARI and working to maximum efficiency, adhering/improving on the POW (Plan Of Work) hours.
• Manage difficult issues as they arise in a fair and reasonable manner.
• Assist in planning and managing office recruitment requirements in compliance with current process.
• Support the delivery of projects in accordance with the expectations of the project delivery process from a project management, financial management, QA/QC and technical review perspective.
• Proactively manage and monitor programmes, change process and financial reporting for assigned projects to ensure commercial and relationship risk avoidance and management.
• Identify design scope change and manage design fee change orders.
• Review and forecast project financial performance. Identify and mitigate forecast fee challenges, maintaining the GPF.
• Ensure teams are working to maximum efficient and POW (plan of work) efficiency.
• Ensure risk and performance monitoring analysis takes place through effective systems of internal control and delegation.
• Advise on all technical issues, planning, programming and sequencing of works, relationship issues, reporting, quality, philosophy and culture.
• Provide high quality management information and reports to line manager and other leaders as required.
• Attend and contribute to monthly management meetings (RMM), ensuring relevant cascade of business updates to project leads (LMM).
• Organise and present monthly office updates.
• Contribute to the collation of information for monthly regional reports to the board.
• Lead the delivery of the ongoing Black & White strategy for continuous improvement at an office level, bringing new ideas in innovations and systems.
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with clients and client professional teams for all assigned Projects, personally troubleshooting as necessary.
• Represent the Company at technical meetings with customers, professional teams and contractor teams. Seek opportunities to attend industry events as a panel speaker for self and team.
• Travel locally and internationally as required to meet project and company needs
• Other reasonable duties as appropriate.

All roles include responsibility for health and safety in line with the requirements set out in the Employee Handbook.

• Proactively monitor project health & safety processes, culture and behaviours, ensuring compliance with the B&W QMS System
• Awareness of H&S policies and procedures and impact on yourself and team
• Ensure all staff members complete mandatory compliance training when required
• Report any accidents, incidents, near misses appropriately

• Office management
• Client acquisition and management
• Leading a multi-disciplinary office, maintaining a productive and efficient working environment.
• Responsibility for leading a team of line managers who are accountable for developing a team of engineers.
• Responsible for managing team performance against team plan, with a focus on profitability
• Ultimately responsible for project decision making and resource management

• BSc/BEng or HND/HNC in appropriate engineering discipline
• MCIBSE/MIET
• Chartered Engineer status (or working towards)

• Prior experience of multi disciplinary people leadership
• Prior experience of leading complex MEP design for a range of building projects, particularly data centre applications.
• Experience and knowledge of relevant design software (e.g. AutoCAD, NES, Cymap)
• Prior experience of managing projects internationally.
• Prior working knowledge of applicable legal/regulatory requirements, codes and standards
• Prior experience of specification design for a range of building types
• Sound knowledge & working application of key Health and Safety issues and legislation
• Knowledge of MS Office applications Word, Excel etc

The post holder will be expected to operate in line with our workplace values:

ACCOUNTABILITY > Everyone is accountable.

INTEGRITY > We are straight talking, respectful and fair.

SIMPLICITY > Both in our approach and solutions.

SUPPORTIVE > We are approachable, inclusive and recognise success.

QUALITY > We strive to get it right first time, every time.