Head of Project Delivery
Employer: Canal & River Trust
Location: This is a home-based role and will be assigned to one of the Trust's key operational hubs. Regular travel across England and Wales as required to competently perform the role. A valid UK driving licence and access to a vehicle are essential.
Working hours: 37 hour working week
Salary: £80,000 - £90,000 plus £6,240 car cash allowance
Closing date: Tuesday, 11 August 2026 at 00:59
-
We're excited to have created a new Head of Project Delivery role in our new Operations division. This is a critical leadership role responsible for delivering the Trust's externally delivered capital, construction and maintenance programmes across England and Wales, ensuring projects are delivered safely, efficiently and provide long-term value for our waterways and stakeholders.
For a deeper insight into the role, our strategic priorities and what success looks like in this position, please review the candidate briefing pack here.
Working Hours & Location
This is a home-based role which follows a 37 hour working week and will be assigned to one of the Trust's key operational hubs. Regular travel across England and Wales as required to competently perform the role. A valid UK driving licence and access to a vehicle are essential.
Role Overview
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you will lead the delivery of a diverse portfolio of externally delivered capital, construction and maintenance programmes. Working across the full project lifecycle, from concept and design through to completion and handover, you will ensure projects are delivered safely, efficiently and in line with the Trust's strategic priorities.
You will lead project management, contractor performance, supply chain relationships and delivery governance, creating a high-performing delivery function that balances cost, quality, risk and customer outcomes. With responsibility for major programmes, external infrastructure interfaces and delivery partners, you will play a key role in ensuring the Trust remains a credible, professional and commercially astute client organisation
Key Responsibilities
Provide strategic leadership for the Trust's project delivery function, ensuring the safe, efficient and consistent delivery of capital, construction and maintenance programmes across the network.
Lead multidisciplinary teams responsible for project management, supply chain management, commercial oversight and programme delivery, creating a culture of accountability, continuous improvement and delivery excellence.
Oversee the end-to-end delivery lifecycle, ensuring strong governance, effective risk management and clear accountability from concept design through to project completion and handover.
Build and maintain high-performing relationships with contractors, consultants and delivery partners, driving quality, innovation, efficiency and value across the supply chain.
Lead the delivery of major programmes and complex external interfaces, ensuring risks are effectively managed and opportunities maximised for the Trust and its stakeholders.
Drive commercial performance, project controls and continuous improvement, ensuring lessons learned and best practice are embedded across all delivery activity.
Provide Gold Command cover as part of the Trust's incident management framework, delivering strategic leadership during major incidents and ensuring effective organisational response and continuity.
Display the Trust values and behaviours at all times, ensuring that diversity and inclusion are integrated into all aspects of Trust life.
About You
You will be an experienced delivery leader with a track record of delivering complex capital, construction or infrastructure programmes at scale. Commercially astute and results-focused, you'll excel at leading teams, managing delivery partners and driving performance across large-scale programmes.
A collaborative and influential leader, you'll be known for turning plans into action, building strong partnerships and delivering high-quality outcomes against ambitious objectives. Known for your pace, accountability and ability to translate strategy into action, you'll be motivated by improving how projects are delivered and creating lasting value through innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement.
Skills & Qualifications
Technical:
Degree-qualified in Project Management, Civil Engineering, Construction Management, or a related discipline, holding chartered status with a relevant professional body.
Significant experience leading major capital, construction, infrastructure, or maintenance delivery programmes within a complex organisation. Ideally holding a programme management qualification.
Experience operating within a regulated, publicly funded, charitable, or similarly governed environment.
Strong track record of managing large contractor frameworks, delivery partners, and complex supply chains.
Proven experience delivering projects and programmes through the full lifecycle, from concept and business case development through to delivery and handover.
Strong commercial awareness, with experience balancing risk, cost, quality, and operational outcomes.
Experience developing and implementing project governance, assurance, and performance management frameworks.
General:
Demonstrable experience leading large teams and creating high-performing delivery cultures.
Demonstrates the Trust's leadership behaviours through decisive action, operating with pace and purpose, actively communicating, collaborating to achieve the best shared outcomes, taking accountability for delivery and leading with authority, credibility and influence.
Full UK driving licence.
What We Offer
We offer a salary of £80,000 - £90,000 plus £6,240 car cash allowance per annum. Enjoy private medical insurance, a competitive pension scheme, increasing holiday entitlement, and a range of employee benefits. For a full breakdown of our benefits, check out our brochure here: EVP - 1.
Our values
We care passionately for our waterways, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone can thrive. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.
We want everyone to have the opportunity to perform at their best during our recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments - whether for a disability, neurodiversity, or health condition - please let us know what you need and how we can support you. We’ll work with you to make any necessary changes.
All of our jobs can be considered on a part time, flexible or job share basis.
We operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role. You are considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. We recognise not everyone who is classified as disabled under the Equality Act personally identifies this way, or with this definition of disability. Please do not let this discourage you from applying under the scheme.
At Canal & River Trust, we are committed to fair, transparent, and ethical recruitment practices. As part of our hiring process, we may use AI to analyse applications and support us work more efficiently. However, all hiring decisions – without exception - are made by our hiring managers.
Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive.
The Work From Home Hub is dedicated to finding and sharing remote and hybrid job opportunities across the UK. The content available on theworkfromhomehub.co.uk is intended for general informational purposes only. While we strive to ensure the information provided is accurate and reliable, we make no guarantees or warranties, expressed or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of the information presented on our site.
Join our Substack and get practical job‑search support including: weekly Q&A, 70+ guides, flexible income ideas, weekly calls, monthly camera‑confidence sessions, expert insights, and behind‑the‑scenes updates.
£5 per month, no long‑term commitment. Come, take what you need and leave whenever it stops helping.
This page may contain adverts for products and services tailored to those seeking homebased roles or already working remotely. These adverts help The Work From Home Hub source and share more job opportunities to our community. Support our mission - become a partner today.