Innovative Project Controls Manager (Data Centres/Buildings/High-tech/Infrastructure) - UK (Hybrid)

Laminar Group; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading construction consultancy in the UK is seeking a skilled Project Controls expert to enhance project delivery through innovative planning and control solutions. You will engage with teams to implement best practices and reporting solutions across diverse construction projects. This role promises growth and the opportunity to reshape industry standards. The ideal candidate has a strong engineering background, excellent communication skills, and a track record of impactful leadership.

Benefits

Health Insurance Scheme

Pension Scheme

Bonus Scheme

Professional body membership

Cycle to Work Scheme

In-house coaching

Equity upside

Flexible working

Relentless development

Qualifications

• Solid capability in the control of cost, schedule, and change.
• Charisma and presence to engage construction teams.
• Proven leader and developer of teams.
• Strong track record of implementing scalable solutions.

Responsibilities

• Own the controls for cost, schedule, change, and risk.
• Maximize the development of your team.
• Develop scalable best practices and tools.
• Provide actionable reports to stakeholders.
• Ensure project understanding and focus on the plan.

Skills

Construction engineering background

Communication skills

Leadership capabilities

Impact

Job description

1 week ago Be among the first 25 applicants

Get AI-powered advice on this job and more exclusive features.

Are you a seasoned project controls guru that is a bit tired of the standard old-fashioned way of doing things in the construction industry?

Do you get deep satisfaction from making things run more efficiently using a good dose of common sense and maybe a bit of technology?

Have you always cared about the importance of proper planning and the connection between the schedule and the real day-to-day delivery of the job?

Have you ever wanted to work a bit more flexibly but still be hands-on in construction and improving the industry?

Sounds like a dream. Well, it isn’t, it is quite real!

Read on!

The Role

Purpose of the role

You will be enhancing the delivery of the most complex and interesting projects in the world through the power of project controls. You will be a senior leader in our team pushing the discipline to new heights not only within Laminar but within the industry in general.

Your team

This role is part of our Project Management Consultancy which focuses on:

• Understanding what the real problems of projects are.
• Implementing the best solutions to those problems.
• Developing scalable best practices, tools and technology.

More specifically you will be part of our Project Controls Discipline Team who are industry leaders in the planning and controls of complex construction projects. Your initial leader will be one of our project controls discipline directors.

Your top three objectives:

• To make construction projects deliver to near perfection
• To develop yourself and everyone around you
• To create scalable and repeatable solutions to common problems

Your top five responsibilities:

• Own the controls: Own the controls for cost, schedule, change and risk on one or more projects to enable accurate decisions for project teams
• Develop everyone: Maximise the development of your team personally and professionally and educate our clients to improve as well
• Make scalable solutions: Develop scalable and repeatable best practices and tools in collaboration with the team so that long-term impact is achieved
• Report and inform: Provide simple actionable reports to stakeholders at all levels that help them deliver their part of the project more efficiently and effectively
• Own the outcome: You may not be the project manager ultimately responsible for the results but you are responsible for putting in your best effort to ensure the project’s understanding and focus on the plan

You must have:

• A construction engineering background: Solid capability in the control of cost, schedule, and change, with deep experience in developing project controls processes and reporting that align with strategic objectives and broader project context.
• Communication skills: The charisma, presence, and influence to engage construction teams, drive adoption of new approaches, and promote best practices across the board.
• Leadership capabilities: A proven leader, coach, and developer of teams, capable of guiding others and building high-performing planning and controls functions.
• Impact: A strong track record of implementing scalable, repeatable solutions that created significant positive impact across complex projects.

Laminar isn’t the place for you if any of the following is true:

• You want an easy, chilled-out role without much challenge
• You like to be the smartest person in the room
• You don’t like continuously receiving honest candid feedback
• You prefer to do your own thing rather than work with a team

Frequently Asked Questions

What kinds of projects would I be working on?
It’s common for people to be exposed to several projects in their first year with us. We’ve delivered over 100 data centres internationally, many of them fast-tracked and multi-package. Our teams have supported flagship infrastructure programmes and contributed to large-scale projects. You might work in data centres, infrastructure (including defense, rail, and highways), high tech, or complex building projects. These assignments are dynamic and hands-on. We build knowledge to help our team grow and deliver value.

Who are our clients?
Major owners/operators and main contractors with project values between £1m and £1bn+ globally.

Where would I be working?
One week you might be working from home. The next, you might travel to the site to meet the construction teams and help organise them. You may visit our London office for a workshop or a social event, or travel to Europe or the Middle East depending on opportunities.

How does what I do connect with the long-term impact on the construction industry?
You’ll document new solutions and evolving ones to help the knowledge repository and future product development. The knowledge captured will be used to build new products, tested in the field to iterate and improve for industry use.

Benefits

The standard stuff:

• Health Insurance Scheme. Comprehensive private health coverage – for you and your family.
• Pension Scheme. A competitive plan to help you plan for the long term – plus salary sacrifice options available to maximise your savings
• Bonus Scheme. Annual bonus designed to reward performance
• Professional body membership. One fee covered per year
• Cycle to Work Scheme. A tax‑efficient way to get wheels

The life-changing stuff:

• In-house coaching. Regular 1:1 coaching sessions, fully confidential, to help you navigate challenges and grow intentionally – professionally and as a person
• Equity upside. Generous equity scheme for long-term growth with the company
• Flexible working. Work where it makes sense – outcomes matter, not clock-ins
• Relentless development. A coach, a mentor, honest feedback, and a culture that challenges you to level up

Important! Applying properly

We get thousands of applications, so please write a letter explaining:

• Why you want to join us
• What you’ll bring to the team

We are not a giant corporation; your letter will be read carefully. After that, we’ll schedule a casual conversation. A couple of technical and personal assessments follow to understand capability based on our development matrix. This ensures you start at the right level of responsibility. We may use AI tools to support parts of the hiring process; final decisions are made by humans. If you would like more information about data processing, please contact us.

Seniority level
Mid-Senior level

Employment type
Full-time

Job function
Management and Manufacturing

Industries
Construction