Thermal Energy Director

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

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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

Mott MacDonald Middle East is continuing to grow its Energy Sector team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and we are looking to recruit a Thermal Energy Director to help shape and grow our thermal energy business in the Kingdom.

As Thermal Energy Director, you will combine senior technical leadership, client engagement, project delivery and business development. You will lead complex thermal generation and energy-transition assignments, strengthen our local capability and connect clients with expertise from across our regional and global Energy business.

You will bring strong experience in thermal power generation, ideally including Owner’s Engineer and Technical Advisory assignments for Independent Power Producer (IPP) developments, together with an understanding of the changing energy landscape and emerging energy-transition technologies such as hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and power-to-gas.

Working across the project lifecycle, you will contribute to studies, project and programme management, concept design, front-end engineering design (FEED), detailed engineering design and asset management. You will work collaboratively across Energy and other sectors, bringing together multidisciplinary expertise to deliver high-quality outcomes for our clients.

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

• Lead the technical delivery of complex thermal energy and energy-transition projects across Saudi Arabia and, where required, the wider Middle East.
• Act as Project Director or Principal on strategically important assignments where appropriate.
• Provide senior technical direction for Owner’s Engineer, Technical Advisory, studies, concept design, FEED, detailed engineering design and asset-management assignments.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with clients, partners and senior stakeholders across Saudi Arabia’s energy market.
• Identify and develop new business opportunities in thermal energy and energy transition, supporting the continued growth of our Energy business.
• Lead and contribute to significant technical and commercial proposals, bringing together the appropriate local, regional and global expertise.
• Mobilise and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across our Saudi Arabia, Middle East and global Energy network to deliver effective project outcomes.
• Support the Middle East Energy team in meeting its operational and business objectives through strong project leadership, collaboration and commercial awareness.
• Mentor and develop technical capability within the Energy team, sharing knowledge with graduates, experienced professionals and colleagues across adjacent sectors.
• Champion high standards of technical quality, professional integrity, health and safety, collaboration and continuous improvement

Candidate specifications

Essential

• Degree-qualified in an engineering discipline relevant to thermal energy.
• A substantial track record in the energy sector, with strong technical expertise relevant to thermal power generation and associated projects.
• Proven experience leading complex, multidisciplinary energy projects and technical teams across relevant stages of the project lifecycle.
• Strong understanding of engineering delivery, ideally including Owner’s Engineer and Technical Advisory assignments.
• Demonstrable ability to develop trusted relationships and engage effectively with clients, project partners and senior stakeholders.
• Strong leadership, communication and influencing skills, with the ability to collaborate successfully across geographically and culturally diverse teams.
• Commercial awareness, with experience contributing to business development, opportunity identification and technical and commercial proposals.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex technical matters clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Sound knowledge of relevant professional and international engineering standards.

Desirable

• Experience working on large energy projects in Saudi Arabia or the wider Middle East.
• Experience with thermal Independent Power Producer (IPP) developments.
• Experience contributing to business growth, market development or major client relationships.
• Experience working across international or globally distributed technical teams.
• Broader understanding of the changing energy landscape and the interface between conventional generation and energy-transition technologies, including hydrogen, CCUS and power-to-gas.

Our benefits vary by country and are subject to eligibility and local policy. We’ll confirm the details relevant to you as part of the offer process.

• Annual leave in line with local policy (competitive within the market).
• Maternity leave above and beyond local provisions and paternity leave provisions where applicable
• Professional membership/ institution subscription support
• Medical insurance and life insurance as per local plan (standard and enhanced coverage may vary by country and policy).
• Learning and career development through project variety, technical networks and structured development opportunities.
• An inclusive culture: we’re committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and supported.
• Rewards and bonuses: we are owned by our people (no external investors) and through our employee ownership model success is shared through annual bonus opportunities and longer-term participation as your career grows (subject to local plan, eligibility and business performance)