Project Principal - Development Planning - DCO specialist

Location/s: UK – London, Croydon, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh 
Recruiter contact: David McFall
Hiring manager contact: Damian Price 

Closing Date: 21/02/2025
 

Development planning for major infrastructure projects is a core service offered by Mott MacDonald and is an integral part of our substantial transportation business. Our transport portfolio has recently included some of the largest, highest profile and most interesting transport infrastructure projects in the UK including HS2, East-West rail, major airport development and the Elizabeth line, as well as smaller scale infrastructure and development planning projects across the wider United Kingdom. 

This is a senior role in our Transport Planning Team and could be based in any of our major offices: Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff, London, Croydon, Birmingham, Glasgow or Edinburgh. This Projects Principal role will be responsible for helping to lead and co-ordinate our workload on Development Consent Order (DCO) related projects. The postholder will work within a range of large infrastructure development planning projects and assist in driving these projects forward.  This is a significant area of activity and growth within Mott MacDonald which we are looking to build on. 

This role will play an important part in the ongoing development of Mott MacDonald’s market presence in DCO related projects.  

The role requires business and commercial experience, allied to strong technical skills.  You will be expected to facilitate DCO transport services for TMS Division - growing the business across the UK. You will work with a range of industry stakeholders and public / private sector clients. You will also contribute to the development of new clients, supporting the overall growth of the Development planning / DCO related portfolio. 

The work includes option appraisal and technical feasibility assessments, design development and costing, and environmental assessments as part of multi-disciplinary teams. We need a talented individual to help develop and drive the planning strategy.  

Your role will depend on your experience and interests but is likely to include: 

• Support to engineering and project leadership in the project development phase 
• Understanding the needs of our clients and their major projects 
• Technical coordination and client facing technical leadership 
• Support our project teams to deliver the appropriate level of detail needed for public consultations, EIA and DCO 
• Coordinating across disciplines 
• Reviewing deliverables 
• Undertake technical mentoring role within projects, developing more junior team members 
• Work with project managers and project principals to ensure commercial success of projects.  l 

Candidate specification 

• Successful candidate will be a member of a relevant professional organisation (such as IHT, ILT, TPS or ICE) ideally a chartered professional or TPP.  
• Proven track record in developing planning applications of major infrastructure projects to a high quality. 
• Experience of DCO or other recent large project planning processes such as Transport and Works Order. 
• Significant experience in technical coordination and stakeholder engagement 
• Experienced in a commercial environment, business focused, and will be seeking to enhance career in a varied, dynamic and interesting role growing the development planning business in the UK 
• Success in business development activities, with an ability to demonstrate successfully winning new work 
• Demonstrable senior skills in planning for major infrastructure projects (particularly transport), demand modelling/forecasting, transport business cases, wider transport economics, transport policy & strategy 
• Professional, strong communication skills with both clients and colleagues, and good report writing abilities. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We put equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they have the opportunity to contribute.

Agile working

At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team and personal commitments. We embrace agility, flexibility and trust.