Buildings Director

Job Description

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy committed to delivering impactful work that shapes the future.

We are a team of over 20,000 experts working across the world in more than 50 countries.
We are proud to be part of an ever-changing global industry, delivering transformative work that’s defining our future. It’s our people who power that performance. As an employee-owned business, we invest in creating a space for everyone to feel safe and valued and empowered with the right tools and support.

Whether you want to pursue excellence in your specialism or broaden your experience with flexible roles across our business, you’ll be connected to a community of global experts championing you to be your best. Join us and shape your story with Mott MacDonald, where everyone has the opportunity to be brilliant.

About the Role

Our strategy focuses on growing our scale and impact by deepening our presence in core markets and strengthening client success. In the Middle East, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia. We are accelerating our focus on the Buildings market, spanning residential, commercial, mixed use, hospitality, venues, aviation and transport buildings, and major infrastructure submarkets.

The Buildings Director plays a pivotal role in driving sustainable market growth, building high value client relationships, and ensuring we deliver excellent, tailored solutions. The role centres on developing new and existing opportunities while enhancing our value proposition, especially around delivery efficiency and responding effectively to client challenges.

As a technical and strategic leader, the Buildings Director must bring strong commercial acumen, extensive experience across planning, design and development of multidisciplinary buildings projects, and the ability to lead both client engagements and high performing delivery teams.

Key responsibilities and duties are listed, but not limited to, the below:

Strategic Market & Client Leadership

• Build and leverage senior networks with clients, partners, and competitors to drive growth.

• Support the Unit Buildings Market Leader in shaping and implementing the Market Strategy, including prioritising strategic investments (client relationships, partnerships, bidding, innovation, staff hires).

• Identify new clients, services, and differentiated offerings to expand our Buildings market presence.

Winning Work & Pursuits

• Lead and support major pursuits by contributing strategic insight and engaging senior client stakeholders.

• Ensure effective business development oversight, including monitoring pipeline activity, proposal spend, and win/capture rates.

• Direct bid teams to produce compelling, compliant, and competitive proposals grounded in strong market understanding.

Project Delivery & Commercial Excellence

• Ensure we secure high-quality, commercially successful projects and oversee delivery excellence through strong PM, commercial, and client satisfaction oversight.

• Promote profitability, efficiency, digital enablement, and optimal use of Global Delivery Services and specialist groups.

• Ensure full compliance with HSE, BMS, STEP, and quality processes.

People & Capability Development

• Lead and mentor a high-performing Buildings team with clear resource planning, recruitment, and succession strategies.

• Support Discipline Leaders with best practice adoption, training plans, and innovation initiatives that improve efficiency and technical excellence.

• Identify and recruit strategic hires, ensuring their optimal deployment across opportunities.

Key Governance & Engagement

• Hold regular meetings with the Unit Market Leader, Account Leaders, and Talent Acquisition Manager.

• Provide quarterly updates on progress against the Unit Market Strategy for the territory

Candidate specifications

• Demonstrable leadership and management experience within a consulting engineering practice, with a strong track record in delivering Buildings projects across planning, design and construction.

• Significant experience as Project Director/Senior PM, overseeing commercial, financial and technical performance.

• Strong knowledge of professional and international standards, supported by excellent analytical, digital, verbal and written communication skills.

• Preferably a Chartered Engineer.

• Proven ability to build, grow and maintain strong client relationships in the Middle East, with a solid record in business development and successful bidding.

• Strong negotiation, influencing and stakeholder management skills at executive level.

• Middle East experience required; role based in the UAE.

• Demonstrated ability to grow, mentor and develop teams, including senior and intermediate staff.

• Skilled at creating effective working environments and fostering collaboration.

• Effective under pressure with the ability to meet tight deadlines.

• Dedicated team player with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate at all levels.

Our Purpose

At Mott MacDonald, our purpose is to improve society by considering social outcomes in everything we do; relentlessly focusing on excellence and digital innovation, transforming our clients’ businesses, our communities and employee opportunities.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is at the heart of our organisation. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate, rather take positive steps towards creating a diverse and inclusive working environment.

Flexible Working

At Mott MacDonald, we support our staff to create work-life balance which works for them and welcome candidates looking for career flexibility. We are open to discussing flexible working at interview stage.

We can offer:

• 90 calendar days’ paid maternity leave

• Competitive annual leave

• An annual professional institution subscription

• Annual company performance bonus scheme – Subject to company performance