Divisional Chief Financial Officer — Project-Development Pipeline

The mandate

Following two years of uneven execution, the board is addressing a division requiring independent economics before a strategic transaction within a multinational-owned infrastructure developer and asset operator. The immediate arena is the project-development pipeline during a project-delivery recovery. For mandate 324, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Divisional Chief Financial Officer operating perimeter covers approximately £29,050 million in project and operating-asset portfolio, with activity spanning several project-development pipeline customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Divisional Chief Financial Officer Infrastructure remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,500 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Divisional Chief Financial Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the project-development pipeline. The Divisional Chief Financial Officer Infrastructure seat must resolve a project-delivery recovery, while preserving the underlying strengths of the project-development pipeline. For mandate 324, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Divisional Chief Financial Officer’s first year on the project-development pipeline is expected to end with stand-alone controls, value visibility and transaction readiness. In mandate 324, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created Divisional Chief Financial Officer — Project-Development Pipeline seat approved as part of the next operating model; it is not an incumbent replacement. The board is running a planned 4–6 month search so the appointee can join ahead of the next capital and talent cycle. Current leaders retain their existing accountabilities until the project-development pipeline remit is formally activated. Confidentiality protects organisation design choices while the board compares external and adjacent-sector talent.

What you will own

• Set the Divisional Chief Financial Officer value-creation thesis for the project-development pipeline, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately £29,050 million in project and operating-asset portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Divisional Chief Financial Officer Infrastructure organisation of about 1,500 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the project-development pipeline economics and execution constraints created by a project-delivery recovery, with Divisional Chief Financial Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Divisional Chief Financial Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the project-development pipeline; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have signed or directly owned board financial statements, liquidity decisions and investment cases at the stated scale in mandate 324.
• Build the Divisional Chief Financial Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the project-development pipeline, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Infrastructure organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the project-development pipeline baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to a division requiring independent economics before a strategic transaction, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Divisional Chief Financial Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the project-development pipeline, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable project-development pipeline trend against stand-alone controls, value visibility and transaction readiness, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Divisional Chief Financial Officer’s agreed first-year project-development pipeline value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Divisional Chief Financial Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the project-development pipeline’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Divisional Chief Financial Officer mandate’s highest-priority project-development pipeline risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical project-development pipeline talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Divisional Chief Financial Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Divisional Chief Financial Officer-owned improvement in the project-development pipeline operating constraint behind a project-delivery recovery, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 324: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Divisional CFO, Business CFO or Finance Director in a multinational-owned Infrastructure or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the project-development pipeline, your Divisional Chief Financial Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Divisional Chief Financial Officer brief.

As a Divisional Chief Financial Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Infrastructure or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of £16,850 million and led an organisation of at least 1,050 people.

For mandate 324, the board wants two transitions: a difficult project-development pipeline portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a project-delivery recovery. As the prospective Divisional Chief Financial Officer for this project-development pipeline, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 324 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Divisional Chief Financial Officer must be based in London; international relocation is supported, but this Infrastructure role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Divisional CFO, Business CFO or Finance Director, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Infrastructure governance forum.
• Proven Divisional Chief Financial Officer ownership of at least £16,850 million and leadership of no fewer than 1,050 employees in a comparable project-development pipeline context.
• One completed Infrastructure or adjacent-sector example of a division requiring independent economics before a strategic transaction with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance; experience that is purely functional and lacks Divisional Chief Financial Officer-level project-development pipeline consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the London location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 324.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Divisional Chief Financial Officer package is £290,000–390,000 base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final project-development pipeline scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 324 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Divisional Chief Financial Officer appointment in London, centred on the project-development pipeline, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 324.

Confidentiality

The client name, precise footprint and transaction history are outside this brief for mandate 324. They will be shared with qualified candidates under a mutual undertaking, and the composite facts here must not be reverse-engineered or circulated for mandate 324.