Client-Side Project Manager

We are looking for a client-side Project Manager to deliver retail and fuel, and infrastructure projects for our Queensland clients. The role is based in Brisbane, working within our established Brisbane project delivery team alongside two other Project Managers, and reports to a Team Lead based in our Melbourne head office.

THE OPPORTUNITY

SwitchCo's Brisbane team delivers across retail and fuel network projects and broader infrastructure builds, from single significant projects through to multi-site rollout programmes. It's a genuine mix: one engagement might be a large standalone build, the next a multi-site programme delivered across a retail or fuel network.

Joining an established and growing Brisbane team means the best of both, day-to-day collaboration and support from PMs who know the Queensland market, backed by the systems, standards and oversight of a national business.

WHO YOU WILL REPORT TO

You will report to a Team Lead based in SwitchCo's Melbourne head office, who provides oversight, direction and a sounding board on the decisions that matter, and ensures projects are delivered consistently with the SwitchCo Way nationally.

Day to day, you will be based in Brisbane as part of a team of three Project Managers, working closely together, sharing knowledge and supporting one another across your combined portfolio of retail, fuel and infrastructure projects.

WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING

• Project Planning: Lead full lifecycle project planning, including feasibility, authority approvals, stakeholder alignment and design management.

• Team Leadership: Provide leadership across consultants, contractors and specialist stakeholders, ensuring compliance within live, operational or high risk sites.

• Operational Excellence: Drive procurement strategy, contract negotiation, risk allocation and commercial performance across multiple concurrent projects.

• Construction Management: Oversee construction delivery on site, coordinating trades, contractors and subcontractors to programme and holding the build to specification.

• Site Presence: Maintain a regular, visible presence on site to monitor progress, quality and safety firsthand, and to be the point of escalation when issues arise.

• Financial Management: Manage multi million dollar project budgets, forecasting, variations and commercial risk.

• Quality Assurance: Lead compliance reviews, regulatory engagement and site governance inspections. Plan and conduct quality, safety and compliance audits across active sites and rollout programmes, and track corrective actions to close-out.

• Client Representation: Act for the client in dealings with consultants and contractors, make recommendations the client can defend internally, and hold delivery parties to their obligations.

• Local Representation: Represent SwitchCo in the Queensland retail, fuel and infrastructure markets alongside your Brisbane team, at client meetings, site walks and industry forums.

WHAT THE ROLE OFFERS

Broader scope than an equivalent role in a large consultancy. You will see the full lifecycle rather than one phase of it.

Ownership from day one. You will own your projects and be trusted to run them.

A collaborative, established team. You will work alongside experienced Brisbane-based Project Managers day to day, with clear direction and support from your Melbourne-based Team Lead.

Variety across sectors. Your portfolio spans retail and fuel network projects through to broader infrastructure builds, and single significant projects through to multi-site programmes, so you are unlikely to spend three years on the same project type.

REALITIES OF THE ROLE

This is a hands on delivery role with a high degree of autonomy. It is not a junior stepping stone. It requires sound judgement, commercial maturity and the confidence to make difficult decisions under pressure. You will be trusted to run your projects and to represent SwitchCo with authority in front of clients and contractors.

Site visits will be required, including regional and remote travel as projects demand.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

• Several years delivering construction or infrastructure projects end to end.

• Demonstrated experience delivering complex, high value or high risk projects across building, civil, retail, fuel or infrastructure environments.

• Experience operating within live, operational, secure or regulated environments.

• Proven ability to manage scope, programme, budget and quality across multiple concurrent projects.

• Track record of leading consultants and contractors on projects of significant scale or complexity.

• A current driver's licence and a White Card (Construction Induction Card) are required.

• A QBCC licence is highly regarded but not essential. Retail and fuel sector experience is highly regarded but not essential.

• Candidates should already be based in Brisbane, or already in the process of relocating there.

• A degree in building, engineering or project management is a plus. Professional project management registration is well regarded.

WHAT WE DO

SwitchCo is an independent client-side project and programme management consultancy, founded in 2012, with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Darwin. Large enough to carry the systems and support of a national business, small enough that you are not just a number in it.

Our work sits across infrastructure, civil and commercial construction, including maritime and port facilities, ground remediation, facilities management, and fuel and dangerous goods assets, where we also provide system design, documentation and specialist consultation. The common thread is complexity. Live and operational sites, regulated environments, multiple stakeholders, and projects where sequencing and compliance matter as much as the build.

HOW WE WORK

SwitchCo takes a People First approach. It shows up in how we support each other when work gets difficult.

The SwitchCo Way

• Partnerships Built on Trust: Transparency and honesty are our guiding stars.

• Fearless Project Delivery: We tackle projects head-on, guided by our core values.

• Ownership of Outcomes: Accountability is our promise, in success and learning.

Our Core Values

• We Really Care: Our passion for our work extends to our colleagues, projects, stakeholders, and the environment.

• We Challenge: We're not just post-box PMs; we ask the tough questions and challenge the status quo.

• Integrity is Everything: Under pressure or in calm seas, our integrity is our reputation.

THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS

1. Initial submission. Submit your CV through our careers page.

2. Psychometric assessment. You will then be invited to complete an assessment via Talogy. We take these results seriously as part of the overall picture, not as a formality.

3. Phone call. Shortlisted candidates can expect an initial phone conversation.

4. Interview. The final stage is an interview with our leadership team.

FINAL NOTE

Please include your salary expectations in your application, excluding superannuation. The advertised range is base salary and does not include super.

If the role suits your experience and you want to be based in Brisbane, we would like to hear from you.