Project Director – Planning & Front-End Development - Aviation

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At AECOM, we are seeking an experienced Project Director – Planning & Front-End Development to join our Dublin office. This is a strategic leadership role focused on driving the successful planning, statutory approvals, and front-end development of major infrastructure projects.

Focus: Lead the planning and front-end development of major aviation infrastructure projects, including MRO facilities, Hangar Demolition, Cargo developments, CBP, HV Substation, and other strategic capital projects.

Working within a multidisciplinary consultancy environment, you will provide leadership from project inception through planning, feasibility, stakeholder engagement, environmental assessment, and procurement readiness, ensuring projects are positioned for successful delivery.

This role will play a key part in shaping a multi-year capital investment programme supporting the transformation of nationally significant airport infrastructure.

We encourage applications from candidates with:

• 15+ years' experience leading the planning and front-end development of major infrastructure or aviation projects.
• Extensive experience managing planning applications and statutory approval processes for complex infrastructure developments.
• Strong understanding of Irish planning legislation, environmental assessment, and consenting processes.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary consultant teams across planning, engineering, environmental, and commercial disciplines.
• Proven ability to engage with planning authorities, statutory bodies, airport stakeholders, and government agencies.
• Strong leadership, commercial, programme management, and stakeholder engagement skills.

Here's what you'll do:

Planning & Front-End Development

• Lead the planning and front-end development strategy for major capital projects including MRO facilities, Hangar Demolition, Cargo developments, CBP, HV Substation, and other emerging infrastructure projects.
• Direct feasibility studies, option assessments, business case development, and project definition activities.
• Manage planning applications from initial concept through submission, determination, and planning compliance.
• Coordinate Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Appropriate Assessment (AA), transport studies, utilities strategies, and supporting technical documentation.
• Ensure projects meet statutory planning, environmental, regulatory, and airport operational requirements.
• Identify planning risks, constraints, opportunities, and mitigation strategies during project development.

Programme Leadership

• Develop and maintain front-end delivery programmes aligned with the wider capital investment strategy.
• Oversee multidisciplinary consultant teams delivering planning, design development, environmental, and technical workstreams.
• Establish governance processes, reporting frameworks, and project controls for the planning phase.
• Manage project budgets, consultant appointments, procurement activities, and programme milestones through the development stage.
• Ensure seamless transition from planning approval into detailed design and project delivery.

Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with airport stakeholders, planning authorities, statutory agencies, utilities providers, and regulatory bodies.
• Lead stakeholder consultation and engagement activities throughout the planning process.
• Present project proposals and progress updates to executive leadership, clients, and governance boards.
• Coordinate internal and external approvals to support timely planning submissions and programme delivery.

Project Governance & Performance

• Establish project governance structures, risk management processes, and reporting mechanisms during project development.
• Maintain project risk registers, action trackers, and decision logs.
• Lead multidisciplinary planning review workshops and design coordination meetings.
• Drive continuous improvement in planning processes, project controls, and front-end delivery methodologies.
• Ensure projects are developed in accordance with quality, safety, sustainability, and governance standards while supporting successful transition into the delivery phase.

Ready to push the limits of what's possible?

Here's what we're looking for:

As the successful candidate, you will bring extensive experience leading the planning and front-end development of major aviation infrastructure programmes, together with the following qualifications and experience:

• A minimum of 15 years' experience in the planning, development, and delivery of major infrastructure projects, including aviation or other projects of comparable scale, complexity, and strategic importance.
• Proven experience leading the planning and statutory approval process for major infrastructure developments, including the successful delivery of planning applications from concept through consent.
• Demonstrated understanding of planning within live operational airport environments, with a strong appreciation of operational constraints, regulatory requirements, safety, security, and stakeholder management.
• Extensive experience managing front-end project development, including feasibility studies, option assessments, business case development, environmental assessment, and procurement readiness.
• Strong knowledge of Irish planning legislation, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Appropriate Assessment (AA), and statutory consenting processes.
• Proven experience coordinating multidisciplinary consultant teams across planning, engineering, environmental, commercial, and technical disciplines to achieve planning and development milestones.
• Experience leading the planning and development of major aviation infrastructure projects, including MRO facilities, Hangar Demolition, Cargo developments, CBP, HV Substation projects, and other strategic capital investments.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement project governance frameworks, development programmes, risk management processes, and front-end delivery strategies.
• Experience acting in a client-side project leadership role, representing the Contracting Entity throughout project inception, planning, stakeholder engagement, and approvals.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage effectively with planning authorities, statutory agencies, airport operators, government bodies, utility providers, consultants, and executive leadership teams.
• Proven ability to influence decision-making, manage competing priorities, and drive collaborative outcomes across complex stakeholder environments.
• Commercially aware, with experience managing consultant appointments, development budgets, procurement strategies, and programme governance.
• Previous experience working under the NEC Suite of Contracts or similar collaborative contract models would be an advantage.
• Previous experience within the aviation sector or other highly regulated, operationally constrained infrastructure environments is highly desirable.

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For further information about the role, reach out to the recruiter on LinkedIn Colum Calnan

#ProjectDirector#Aviation#infrastructure#FrontEnd#Planning

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know using this email address [email protected] if you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.