Project Director - Wakefield

Project Director Jobs

No matter how competent a company’s operative team is, any major project needs a representative at board level to ensure the milestones are conceived based on the realistic aims of the board and that they are met. The project director oversees this process by advising the board when change or transformation is planned and then seeing it through by liaising with the relevant managers.

It is important that someone with executive powers and experience fills this role, as well-intentioned managers might be reluctant to challenge impossible goals set from the top, and change and transformation may stall when issues build up to a critical level. Having a director overseeing the project ensures the project has an advocate for both the board and the business operatives, thus ensuring it runs smoothly.

The skills required

Previous project management at senior level or project directorship will be a key requirement, with demonstrable delivered benefits to the company. Experience will be sought at a similar level to the position being filled; there is a big difference between project directing a three-month plan for an SME and overseeing the transformation of a multinational. Although good employers will recognize ambition and ability, they will not want to engage someone who is under- or over-qualified.

For long-term appointments, it’s possible to have several different projects running simultaneously, so an ability to juggle, prioritize and delegate is required. Even when projects run consecutively, there is an inevitable merging at the beginning and end as strategies are laid down, so the same skills apply. Experience within the same or a similar sector as the company seeking a PD will also be of great benefit due to the specific needs of each industry.

Project Director Jobs in Wakefield

Wakefield is a city just south of Leeds that comprises the five towns of Pontefract, Castleford, Normanton, Featherstone and Knottingley, as well as other minor towns. With a population of around 325,000, it’s a moderately sized city that is overshadowed by its northern neighbour and Sheffield, which is 20 miles (31 km) to the south. Wakefield is well connected by rail and road, with the M62 and the M1 passing by its north and west respectively.

The city and its constituent towns boomed during the Industrial Revolution when vast seams of coal were discovered beneath them. The area dug hundreds of mines and this remained the key industry in the area until the 1980s when they were closed down one by one. The last remaining one is Kellingley Colliery, located at Knottingley, just east of Pontefract.

The city remains industrial, however, although the days of heavy industry are largely gone. The city’s excellent communications and central location have made it an ideal place to site warehouses, factories and distribution centres, so Project Director jobs regularly appear in the Wakefield area. There are also regeneration projects going on in the city designed to diversify and stimulate the economy, and this looks set to bring further growth to an area that has had to reinvent itself completely in thirty years.

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Find Project Director Jobs with Cast UK

Cast UK is a recruitment consultancy that deals exclusively with management and director-level appointments over a focused range of sectors, and this gives us the much-needed expertise to match the most appropriate candidates with any given position.

Our offices are in London, Birmingham and Manchester, but our reach is throughout the whole of the UK, and we recruit overseas when required. We have become the vital conduit between our clients’ recruitment aims and the talent to fill them, so if you’re looking to change your career, phone us today on 0333 121 3345.

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