Principal Project Director, Rail

Description

Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.

We are more than 36,000 people, in over 70 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world's most complex challenges and deliver more impact together.

Role description:

The Principal Project Director will lead the pursuit and delivery of complex, large-scale transportation and infrastructure programs across Canada, positioning Arcadis as a delivery leader in major projects. These programs are multi-year, multi-disciplinary, and commercially complex, often delivered through P3 and collaborative procurement models such as Alliance and Progressive Design Build (PDB). This role calls for a highly experienced project delivery leader with proven ability to drive large pursuits, manage complex contracts, and lead multi-disciplinary teams to deliver technically and commercially excellent outcomes.

Role accountabilities:

In this role, you will lead the delivery of major infrastructure programs, setting the strategy from procurement through execution. You will drive clear commercial positioning and risk strategies that both protect and enhance Arcadis' business outcomes. Acting as the senior Arcadis representative, you will take the lead in negotiations with owners, consortium partners, contractors, and other key stakeholders. You will shape and execute delivery strategies for projects delivered under P3, Alliance, and Progressive Design Build models, ensuring these align with both client expectations and Arcadis' strategic priorities. Your decisive leadership will be essential across both pursuit and delivery phases to ensure project performance, profitability, and accountability.

You will oversee the end-to-end delivery of major infrastructure projects, managing complex interfaces between multiple disciplines, partners, and geographies. In this role, you will embed Arcadis' Making Every Project Count (MEPC) and quality assurance practices to deliver industry-leading outcomes. You will be responsible for leading both the technical and commercial performance of projects, maintaining rigorous controls over schedule, budget, and risk. Furthermore, you will be proactive in anticipating and resolving delivery challenges early, protecting project outcomes, cash flow, and Arcadis' reputation, while driving integration between design, engineering, commercial, and delivery functions.

In this role, you will also provide commercial and contract leadership by developing and executing robust commercial strategies and leading contract negotiations, with a deep understanding of P3, Alliance, and Progressive Design Build frameworks, risk allocation, and claims management. You will partner closely with Legal, Risk, and Finance teams to structure, negotiate, and manage agreements that protect Arcadis' interests. By championing commercial discipline within project teams, you will ensure alignment with contract obligations and performance expectations.

Additionally, you will build and maintain strong relationships with public owners, private concessionaires, contractors, and funding partners, representing Arcadis at the highest levels to influence project positioning and outcomes. Your strategic influence will contribute to Arcadis' market engagement and capture planning within Canada's transportation and infrastructure sectors. In this role, you will also mentor a team of senior project leaders, fostering a culture of performance, commercial accountability, and collaboration. Supporting the North American Major Projects Director, you will drive knowledge sharing and the standardization of major project delivery practices across the Canada Mobility business.

Qualifications & Experience:

• 25+ years of leadership experience in major infrastructure delivery, with deep expertise in P3, Alliance, and Progressive Design Build models
• Proven track record of delivering large, complex transportation and infrastructure programs
• Strong commercial acumen, with advanced contract negotiation skills and expertise in risk allocation and claims management
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage multi-disciplinary teams across various geographies and with multiple partners
• Bachelor's or master's degree in engineering or a related field; P.Eng designation is considered an asset
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement skills, including experience working with C-suite executives, government clients, and major contractors

Why Arcadis?

We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. We believe everyone's contribution matters. It's why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together.

You'll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you'll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet. Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.

Together, we can create a lasting legacy.

Join Arcadis. Create a Legacy.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We are an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. We are dedicated to a policy of non-discrimination in employment on any basis including race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status, disability, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

The salary range for this position is $198,000 - $248,000. The base salary represents Arcadis' hiring range for this position. Actual salaries will vary and will be based on various factors, such as location, skills, experience, and qualification for the role.

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