Project Director

The Company

The Company - Imerys British Lithium 

In 2023, Imerys, the world leader in mineral-based speciality solutions, acquired an 80%  stake in British Lithium. The transaction brought together Imerys’s expertise in mining,  infrastructure in Cornwall, R&D and process development capabilities, as well as its  lithium mineral resources, with British Lithium’s bespoke technology and state-of-the-art  lithium pilot plant, which recently produced battery-grade lithium carbonate.  The project is currently at a pre-feasibility study stage for the extraction and beneficiation of lithium for Lithium-Ion  batteries. The total initial capex of the project is estimated to  be between £500m and £1bn.

The wider Imerys Group is the world’s leading supplier of mineral-based specialty solutions for industry with 14,000 employees, operations in more than 40 countries, and €4.3 billion in revenue in 2022.  Imerys delivers high-value-added, functional solutions to a great number of sectors, from processing industries to consumer goods. The Group draws on its understanding of applications, technological knowledge and expertise in material science to deliver solutions by beneficiating its mineral resources, synthetic minerals and formulations. Imerys’ solutions contribute essential properties to customers’ products and their performance, including heat resistance, hardness, conductivity, opacity, durability, purity, lightness, filtration, absorption and water repellency. Imerys is determined to develop responsibly, in particular by fostering the emergence of environmentally-friendly products and processes.

The Opportunity 

The Project Director will lead an end-to-end (from project definition to mechanical completion) capital industrial asset project in Cornwall.  They will lead a multidisciplinary team towards achieving all the technical targets and  cost schedule of the project.  

The role  

The Project Director will report directly to the Vice President for Lithium projects (within Performance Minerals EMEA) for  Imerys and will be responsible for the implementation and  execution of this lithium project managing it from its current position  through feasibility, design and construction stages to full  execution and project start-up.  

The Project Director will also lead the development of our  project management team, systems and tools, review and  implement best of breed engineering/projects standards,  and well as to coordinate the overall technical and non technical deliverables for the various stages of the project  (i.e. PFS, DFS or FEL 2/FEL 3). 

Deliverables of the role include:

• Project delivery in scope, budget, and quality with  a strong focus on Safety, in particular UK requirements

• Develop & coordinate comprehensive project reports  (PFS, DFS reports) according to best industry practices and  Imerys standards. 

• Define project execution, project management and governance strategy and project execution  plan

• Prepare required project updates for Board or Steering  committee. 

• Be one of the Company’s representatives in public/media representation of the project  representing IBL jointly with Imerys. 

Essential Criteria 

• Experienced in similar mining and processing international/multicultural businesses/large industrial projects (e.g. lithium or other metals) or in heavy  industry processing e.g. speciality  chemicals and cement. 

• Dual experience Greenfield / Brownfield (kiln or mills  reparation, replacement, and transformation of process  units to improve safety, reliability, and /or  performances). 

• Preference for experience on owner’s side, or both  owner and engineering firm, but engineering company  experience is also possible. 

• Knowledgeable in engineering and processing  disciplines with a focus on metallurgy, chemical  engineering and process control, with a strong focus on safety (process,  occupational etc) 

• Extensive experience in supervising and developing  stages of technical and financial feasibility studies (PFS  and DFS) through to execution.  

• Experience in large EPCm contracts on owner’s side or  at least EPC on engineering side. 

• Capability to understand and challenge technological,  process, environmental and operational aspects of the  project. 

• Knowledge of contract law and procedures, forms of  engineering contract and procurement strategies. 

Competencies 

• Inclusive leadership with strong empathy and  entrepreneurial spirit. 

• Hands on project management style. 

• Ability to develop execution strategies and project  execution plans, mobilise and structure ad hoc  resources in different engineering fields and project  support documentation control, cost and Schedule). 

• Strong analytical and communication skills with both internal and external  contacts. 

• Problem solver / results oriented / continuous  Improvement mindset. 

• Ability to influence without authority and win support by  persuasion and compelling rationale. 

• Skills to scrutinise solutions and propose optimised answers using technical-cost approaches.  

• Field production experience valuable, experience in  multi-cultural environments. 

• Possess a good understanding of how large  corporations operate and be comfortable operating  within this framework. 

• Fluent English compulsory, any other language skills  appreciated.

Tools/Equipment/ERP 

• Familiar with basic Microsoft Software like EXCEL,  WORD, Power Point, PDF and working with Google  Drive, or similar tools like SharePoint, PIRS. 

• Basic use of CAD (Autocad®, CATIA ®) and Project®/  Primavera® would be appreciated. 

Education/Qualifications 

• Graduated from a strong Engineering University,  Minimum Master and preferably PMP® certified  Professional engineer with minimum 20 years’  experience in engineering, construction, and project  management in fields similar to the project’s (heavy  process industry, ideally continuous operations,  handling, and physical treatment of minerals or metals).

and

Only technical issues will be monitored through the below inbox:

recruiting.support@ imerys.com

PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT RESUMES OR APPLICATIONS TO THIS EMAIL, AS THEY WILL NOT BE REVIEWED. 

To ensure fairness and legal compliance in our recruitment processes, only applications received through the online application process will be considered. 

IMERYS is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and it is our policy to not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state or local laws.