Deputy Project Director

What is the Opportunity?

Aecon is seeking a Deputy Project Director to join the Urban Transportations Solutions group to support dynamic transit projects in Canada. We are proud to support projects that are committed to faster and more convenient travel, ultimately improving transportation experiences. This starts with bringing aboard the best possible team!

Reporting to the Project Director, the Deputy Project Director will provide leadership and accountability for project outcomes through strategic direction, governance, oversight, resource alignment, and cross‑discipline integration, consistent with Urban Transportation Solutions (UTS) delivery principles.

This opportunity is part of Aecon UTS’ proactive talent pipelining as the business continues to expand across major transit projects. We are engaging passive, high-calibre leaders in the market to build relationships ahead of upcoming project awards.

What You Will Do Here:

• Support the Project Director in leading the full project lifecycle within a collaborative delivery model, ensuring alignment across design, construction, systems, commercial, and project controls functions.
• Act as the integration lead across all disciplines, aligning day-to-day execution with project strategy, governance frameworks, and “best-for-project” objectives.
• Lead the development and coordination of the Target Price / Target Proposal, integrating cost, schedule, risk, design maturity, constructability, and commercial inputs into a cohesive and defensible outcome.
• Drive Target Value Delivery principles, including continuous estimating, value engineering, cost optimization, and alignment to target cost and project objectives.
• Oversee development of target cost, target schedule, and risk/contingency models, ensuring alignment with design evolution, market inputs, and delivery strategy.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams (design, construction, systems, commercial, and controls) to actively manage interfaces, dependencies, and key decision points.
• Ensure constructability, sequencing, staging, logistics, and execution strategy are embedded within planning, design development, and pricing assumptions.
• Monitor and report on cost, schedule, risk, safety, quality, and performance metrics, ensuring early issue identification and proactive corrective actions.
• Support commercial strategy and implementation, including open-book cost development, change management inputs, and alignment to contractual frameworks and risk-sharing structures.
• Lead governance processes, including milestone reviews, checkpoint submissions, executive reporting, and decision forums.
• Oversee risk and opportunity management, ensuring risks are identified, quantified, mitigated, and reflected in cost, schedule, and execution plans.
• Coordinate stakeholder engagement with clients, partners, and external stakeholders to maintain alignment, manage expectations, and resolve issues efficiently.
• Partner with project controls and commercial teams to ensure integrated reporting, forecasting, and decision-making visibility across all delivery components.
• Support transition from development to execution (where applicable), including readiness, mobilization, and alignment of delivery teams to approved baselines.
• Reinforce a culture of collaboration, transparency, accountability, and high performance across all integrated project teams.

What You Bring to The Team:

• 15+ years of progressive experience delivering major infrastructure projects, including 5+ years in a senior leadership role (e.g., Deputy Project Director, Construction Director, Commercial/Controls Director, or equivalent) on projects exceeding $500M.
• Proven experience across the full project lifecycle, including development, design, pricing, construction, integration, commissioning, and closeout.
• Strong experience in collaborative delivery models (e.g., Alliance, Progressive Design-Build, CMGC, Design-Build), including integrated teams, shared risk/reward frameworks, and joint governance structures.
• Demonstrated experience leading or supporting integrated Target Price / cost model development, including coordination of cost, schedule, risk, design, and commercial inputs.
• Strong understanding of Target Value Delivery principles, including continuous estimating, cost control, value engineering, and alignment of design and delivery to target outcomes.
• Experience managing target cost, schedule, and risk development through progressive design maturity and staged project development processes.
• Strong understanding of how constructability, sequencing, logistics, and design maturity influence cost certainty, schedule confidence, and risk exposure.
• Experience with open-book cost development, market engagement, cost benchmarking, and transparent pricing approaches with clients or partners.
• Strong commercial acumen, including contract interpretation, change management, risk allocation, and understanding of cost and pricing drivers.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate multi-disciplinary teams across civil, structural, systems, utilities, MEP, commercial, controls, and construction functions.
• Experience working in joint venture or multi-partner environments, aligning teams to shared objectives and delivery outcomes.
• Strong stakeholder management experience across clients, municipalities, utilities, and regulatory bodies in complex project environments.
• Excellent communication and executive reporting skills, with the ability to present complex information clearly and support decision-making at senior levels.
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple workstreams, competing priorities, and complex dependencies.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability with sound judgment in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.
• Post-secondary education in Engineering, Construction Management, or related discipline (or equivalent experience); professional designations (P.Eng., PMP, AACE, etc.) considered an asset.

Reason for vacancy: Proactive/Evergreen