At Air Products, our purpose is to bring people together to reimagine what’s possible, collaborate and innovate solutions to the world’s most significant energy and environmental sustainability challenges. Grow with us as we embark on building tomorrow together by being the safest, most diverse and most profitable industrial gas company in the world.  

Reimagine What’s Possible 

Operations Construction Manager

Who are we

At Air Products, we have been helping our customers to become more productive, energy efficient and sustainable for more than 80 years. With approximately 21,000 employees and operations in over 50 countries, we serve customers across a wide range of industries from food and beverage to medical, energy and transportation.  We supply a unique portfolio of atmospheric and process gases, equipment, and services. 

An opportunity exists in the Production and Supply Chain group, Europe and Africa for the position of  Operations Construction Manager

What is the role

The Operations Construction Manager is a member of Projects, Maintenance and Materials Management leadership team and is accountable and responsible for managing the execution of the construction activities for Plant projects at our Air Separation and Process Gases sites. Working closely, and as part of the Project Management team in achieving project performance goals in support of the Industrial Gases business in Europe and Africa.

You will build and provide leadership for the Construction team in the development, execution and control of the construction element of plant proposals and projects with the goal of achieving project completion on time, within budgets, to the satisfaction of the customer, and at acceptable levels of quality without compromising safety or reliability.

Manage the recruitment, training, and career development of resources (permanent and contract) in the Construction team to ensure that projects, proposals and development work can be resourced with the necessary skills and experience to ensure flawless execution.

Support and drive improvements in the organisation across the functions, working with sub regional teams to ensure ongoing improvements in EH&S and execution. Develop a functional link to the GEMTE Global Construction organisation to share best practices and develop a right sized execution strategy for plant projects.

Ensure the efficient and effective execution of works on site during the Construction phase of Plant projects, and to provide support during the Commissioning phase. This is managed through development of the Construction Strategy, as well as support of project and engineering teams.

In addition to managing the team, developing the function and setting direction, there will be times when the role will be required to directly support site construction activities, this is estimated at 20% of the role.

Additional activities will be to:

Management of a team of Construction Supervisors, build a team to support plant projects.Drive site construction progress, ensuring a strong focus on safety, quality and schedule.Develop strong working relationship with the Sub Regional teams, in particular the Engineering Managers, Plant Managers, Operations Managers and project teams to support execution strategies with local and European content.Work closely with the Project Management Office (PMO), providing input and feedback to work processes, templates and tools used to support and improve the effectiveness of construction function.Functional owner for construction within the Industrial Gases Europe and Africa region. Develop work processes and procedures to drive world class execution, appropriately sized for the size, location and complexity of the activity.Accountability for the Construction site safety at European Plant project sites, working closely with Field EH&S and Plant Management to define strategy, set proactive KPI’s and monitor performance.Work with Procurement to assess capability of construction contractors, develop and maintain an approved contractor database and perform performance feedback to maintain contractor performance.  Provide coaching and guidance to sub regional construction leads, performing cold eye reviews of projects in execution.Create regular reviews with the GEMTE Construction, sharing best practices and project lessons learnt.Input to the Manager of Plant Projects and PMO regarding project status, including input to a monthly project status scorecard.Coach and Mentor Construction Supervisors

Dimensions:

Capital cost of individual projects – up to 30 €MMTotal aggregate value of projects – up to 150 MM€Duration of individual projects – up to 26 monthsSite Construction ranges from 1 -15 MonthsSize of projects stack (estimates/proposals and execution) – up to 50

What you will bring

15+ years Construction Management experience, including execution experience on a Brownfield/Operating siteLeadership in safety, building a strong safety culture and demonstrating commitment through actionsA strong track record of successfully delivering construction projects, including brownfield, safely on budget, to schedule and at the required qualityExperience of full turnkey projects, including construction safety management, site team management, safety audits and implementation of safety requirements with EHS support.Broad general technical knowledge and principles, i.e. Process, Machinery, Electrical, PICS. Seasoned professional, technically astute.Experience of working on Sveso/COMAH sites and knowledge of working with hazardous products and in hazardous areasProactive approach to change and a structured approach to change management, both customer driven and project variationsStrong commercial and finance awareness, data drivenGood communication skills, written and verbal to support multiple interfaces (internal and external) and interaction across a matrix organisationGood interpersonal, organizing and coordinating skills and a structured approachExperience of coaching and developing teamsAbility and willingness to travel for business across the region and on occasion be site based.Knowledge of IG Supply Chain and Operations engineering and/or GEMTE work processes

What we offer you

At Air Products, we work in an environment where diversity is essential, inclusion is our culture, and each person knows they belong and matter. We invite you to bring your diverse self and creativity to a company reimagining what’s possible. Be part of our growth story and make a difference.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, a culture of respect, challenge, and innovation – with excellent opportunities for growth and development.

We are the world’s largest hydrogen producer with over 80 years of industrial gas experience. We are hydrogen and industrial gas experts delivering safe, end-to-end solutions, investing in real, clean energy projects at scale, and driving the industry forward to generate a cleaner future. 

At Air Products, we work in an environment where we put safety first, diversity is essential, inclusion is our culture, and each person knows they belong and matter. To learn more, visit About Air Products.