Program Director (Water & Wastewater)

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At Parsons, you can imagine a career where you thrive, work with exceptional people, and be yourself. Guided by our leadership vision of valuing people, embracing agility, and fostering growth, we cultivate an innovative culture that empowers you to achieve your full potential. Unleash your talent and redefine what’s possible.

Job Description:

Program Director (Wastewater) Abu Dhabi, UAE

Parsons is looking for an amazingly talented Program Director to join our team in Abu Dhabi. In this role you will get to manage and develop major Utilities clients, as well as elevate and deliver Parsons’ brand position as a predictive, disruptive solutions provider.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Act as the Company's primary representative to the Client throughout the execution of the PMO/PMC program, serving as the principal point of contact and leading negotiations on scope changes, contractual matters, and strategic project decisions.

• Provide overall leadership, direction, and governance of all technical, commercial, financial, administrative, and operational aspects of the program to ensure successful delivery.

• Lead the development and implementation of the Project Execution Plan, Health & Safety Plan, Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Plan, risk management framework, and other project governance documents, ensuring compliance with client requirements and industry standards.

• Establish program objectives, execution strategies, budgets, schedules, resource plans, and performance metrics. Monitor delivery to ensure project objectives are achieved within scope, budget, schedule, quality, and safety requirements.

• Direct and coordinate multidisciplinary project teams, assigning responsibilities based on expertise, mobilizing company resources, and ensuring effective collaboration across all project functions.

• Lead the recruitment, development, performance management, and succession planning of key project personnel, fostering a high-performing project organization.

• Serve as the primary interface between the Client, contractors, consultants, and site supervision teams, ensuring effective communication, stakeholder alignment, and timely resolution of project issues.

• Lead project controls, including integrated scheduling, progress reporting, document management, risk management, and change management processes. Ensure timely identification of project risks and implementation of corrective actions to mitigate cost overruns, schedule delays, and scope changes.

• Ensure effective contract administration, including management of change orders, client instructions, contractual commitments, and commercial matters, while keeping both the Client and Company leadership informed of significant project developments.

• Promote a culture of technical excellence, quality, safety, continuous improvement, and operational efficiency. Monitor and report overall program performance, chair regular project review meetings, and drive actions required to achieve successful project outcomes.

• Support business growth by identifying, attracting, and retaining top talent while strengthening the Company's capability and reputation within the utility infrastructure sector

What Required Skills You'll Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, or a related discipline).

• Minimum of 20 years of progressive experience managing utility programs, PMO/PMC assignments, or large-scale infrastructure projects, with significant experience in wastewater and water utility systems in the UAE/GCC.

• Comprehensive knowledge of utility infrastructure, including wastewater collection, treatment, water transmission, distribution, and asset management systems.

• Demonstrated success in managing large, multidisciplinary utility programs, including responsibility for project budgets, schedules, risk management, and resource planning.

• Strong understanding of utility regulations, industry standards, permitting requirements, and compliance obligations governing infrastructure delivery.

• Extensive knowledge of PMO/PMC methodologies, engineering design, procurement, construction management, contract administration, and project delivery for large-scale capital programs.

• Proven experience implementing and managing integrated digital project management platforms to centralize project documentation, workflows, approvals, reporting, and performance monitoring.

• Excellent leadership, communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to effectively present technical and strategic information to executive leadership, clients, and other key stakeholders.

• Strong commercial acumen with demonstrated ability to manage contractual matters, change management processes, claims avoidance, and project governance.

Parsons equally employs representation at all job levels no matter the race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability or genetic information.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

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