Deputy Project Director

Aecon • Bowmanville, ON

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Deputy Project Director provides senior leadership, oversight, and integration for the assigned scope on the Darlington New Nuclear Project. Working with the Project Director, this role helps ensure work is planned, controlled, and executed safely, efficiently, and in alignment with project objectives, contract requirements, quality standards, and construction needs. This role provides visible leadership across construction readiness, project controls, engineering, procurement, quality, safety, and field execution. The Deputy Project Director ensures the team has the direction, resources, governance, and decision support needed to advance work, manage constraints, resolve issues, and meet schedule, cost, quality, and safety commitments. The position maintains an integrated view of execution readiness, cost and schedule performance, quantity changes, risks and opportunities, equipment and material procurement, turnover planning, and lessons learned for the assigned scope. As a senior project leader, the Deputy Project Director aligns the Project Director and functional teams so decisions are consistent, deliberate, transparent, and supportive of construction execution.

Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive experience in large construction, nuclear, energy, infrastructure, or EPC projects, with accountability for execution performance.
• Post-secondary education in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, or a related technical discipline; equivalent senior project delivery experience may be considered.
• Strong project controls knowledge, including scheduling, estimating, forecasting, trending, quantity management, risk and opportunity management, and performance reporting.
• Experience leading construction readiness, workface planning, constructability reviews, field execution support, turnover planning, and recovery planning in a regulated environment.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams, influence without direct authority, resolve complex issues, and align engineering, construction, procurement, quality, safety, and project controls stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of nuclear project requirements, quality programs, safety culture, construction procedures, contract obligations, and interface management.
• Advanced communication, leadership, decision-making, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to provide clear direction in a dynamic environment.
• Working knowledge of Primavera P6 and project reporting tools.

Nice To Haves

• project management certification or equivalent training is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior leadership and direction to support collaboration across internal teams, partners, subcontractors, and stakeholders.
• Support the Project Director in setting and reinforcing the vision for project success, including contract obligations, execution priorities, and performance expectations.
• Ensure a minimum Level 3 schedule is established, maintained, and aligned with construction, reflecting planned work, sequencing, constraints, and quality requirements.
• Ensure a minimum Class 3 cost estimate is maintained, with accurate forecasting, trend identification, and cost-saving or productivity opportunities.
• Work with Project Controls, Engineering, and Construction to monitor quantity changes, coordinate takeoffs, limit growth, and keep forecasts and schedules current.
• Lead adherence to the DNNP Readiness Procedure, including prerequisite and execution readiness activities.
• Coordinate schedule and risk reviews with construction, engineering, safety, quality, procurement, and subcontractors to confirm logistics, execution strategy, controls, and schedule compliance.
• Manage assigned risks and opportunities under the DNNP Functional Plan – Project Controls, including identification, mitigation, escalation, and follow-through.
• Prepare and sequence construction work with Engineering and Construction, including constructability reviews, work package documentation, and related engineering work packages.
• Provide technical direction to Construction during preparation and execution, including support for field changes and technical constraints.
• Monitor field execution, maintain regular site presence, and address schedule, cost, quality, and productivity variances within delegated authority.
• Support safe, efficient execution of assigned scope in compliance with quality requirements, procedures, and project commitments.
• Manage engineered equipment and material procurement interfaces to support construction priorities and address constraints and risks.
• Ensure turnover packages are planned and prepared progressively, aligned with quality, commissioning, handover, and completion requirements.
• Resolve issues, implement recovery plans as needed, and escalate matters affecting safety, quality, cost, schedule, or contract commitments.
• Report on progress, cost, schedule, risks, opportunities, procurement, field issues, and recovery actions to support decisions.
• Ensure lessons learned are documented, reviewed, and translated into actions that improve planning, readiness, execution, and turnover.
• Act for the Project Director when required, providing leadership coverage, decision support, and project representation within delegated authority.

Benefits

• services and benefits needed to support your mental, emotional, and physical well-being
• Aecon University
• tuition reimbursement
• Leadership Programs
• meaningful initiatives, training, partnerships with Veteran groups, our Aecon Women in Trades and diversity programs, as well as our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree