Maritime Developments Limited - Maritime Developments | Tailored consultancy, equipment and personnel packages
Do you want to be a part of a forward thinking team, challenging how things are done today to find improved solutions for tomorrow? Are you energetic and driven, with real hunger to progress?
The MDL brand is centred on a unique personality that shapes us in the development of our team and guides us on how we select who should be part of it. We live Ingenious Instinct by always being open minded to ideas, whatever they are and whomever they come from. We encourage creativity and problem solving, we challenge our team, our processes and our offering to customers, and we celebrate our successes.
We are hiring a Project Manager to join our Global Project Delivery department in Brazil.
About the Role
The Regional Project Manager is accountable for the successful delivery of assigned MDL regional rental and New Build projects from handover and award through planning, mobilisation, execution, demobilisation, close-out and lessons learned.
The role is client-facing, delivery-accountable and commercially aware. It exists to provide clear leadership across client interfaces, internal functions, suppliers, mobilisation sites, regional partners and local stakeholders, ensuring that commitments are understood, actions are owned, risks are controlled and delivery momentum is maintained.
The Regional Project Manager is not expected to be the technical specialist for every discipline; however, the role holder is accountable for integrating technical, operational, commercial and project controls inputs into a coherent delivery plan and for ensuring that the right functional owners are engaged, challenged and aligned.
The role reports functionally into the Senior Project Manager within Global Project Delivery, with a dotted reporting line into the Country Manager to ensure local alignment, cultural awareness, client sensitivity, regional priorities and business development context are properly represented in delivery decisions.
Role Positioning
- Leads assigned regional project execution from handover and award through mobilisation, execution, demobilisation and close-out.
- Acts as the day-to-day project lead and primary coordination point between Project Management, clients, Technical Sales, Assets, Engineering, Procurement, HSEQ, Finance, Document Control, suppliers, partners and regional stakeholders.
- Owns project rhythm, action discipline, stakeholder alignment, delivery visibility and escalation of material risk, commercial exposure, resource constraints or client expectation gaps.
- Reports functionally to the Senior Project Manager for project delivery standards, governance, priorities, performance, escalation and development.
- Maintains a dotted line to the Country Manager for regional business alignment, local client context, in-country stakeholder management and coordination with local priorities.
- Contributes to a high-tempo, professional regional delivery capability that builds client trust, supports repeat business, protects margin and reinforces MDLs reputation for responsive delivery.
Key Accountabilities
Successful performance
looks like
Project delivery ownership
Lead assigned projects in line with approved scope, schedule, budget, risk profile, contractual commitments and governance requirements. Convert project objectives into clear plans, actions, owners and decision points.
Assigned projects are visibly controlled, actively led and delivered with disciplined attention to scope, time, cost, risk, quality and client commitments.
Client experience and relationship management
Act as a professional client-facing project lead. Maintain structured, proactive and commercially sensible communication that gives clients confidence without creating uncontrolled commitments.
Clients experience MDL as responsive, organised, reliable, transparent and easy to work with.
Stakeholder leadership and interface control
Lead the coordination of clients, internal teams, suppliers, partners and regional stakeholders. Drive clarity on ownership, deadlines, dependencies, assumptions and escalation routes.
Fewer surprises, faster decisions, clear ownership and stronger alignment across the project network.
Project control and delivery rhythm
Maintain project cadence through planning, action management, readiness reviews, progress tracking, risk reviews, cost awareness and structured escalation of blockers.
Project rhythm is maintained, critical actions do not drift and delivery performance is visible.
Communication, reporting and governance
Prepare and issue clear internal and client-facing updates, meeting outputs, action logs, decision records, risk summaries, project reports and close-out information.
Communication is timely, concise, accurate, decision-quality and aligned with MDL governance expectations.
Commercial, contractual and scope control
Identify and manage scope drift, changed expectations, commercial exposure, assumptions, claims, variations and approval requirements in conjunction with the Senior Project Manager and relevant commercial owners.
MDLs commercial position is protected while client relationships remain constructive and professional.
Mobilisation, demobilisation and readiness leadership
Lead regional mobilisation and demobilisation coordination by aligning stakeholder actions, readiness inputs, site requirements, logistics interfaces, client witness points and operational constraints.
Mobilisation and demobilisation commitments are visible, coordinated, controlled and escalated early when at risk.
Risk, quality, HSEQ and continuous improvement
Ensure risks, issues, quality requirements, HSEQ interfaces, lessons learned, client feedback and improvement opportunities are captured, owned and acted upon.
Risks are surfaced early, learning is captured and delivery performance improves project by project.
Main Responsibilities
Project leadership and delivery ownership
- Lead assigned projects through kick-off, planning, execution, mobilisation, demobilisation and close-out.
- Own the integrated project delivery plan, including actions, dependencies, milestones, deliverables, approvals, readiness gates and escalation points.
- Ensure internal functions understand what is required, by when, by whom and to what standard.
- Maintain momentum during periods of high workload, urgent client demand or regional mobilisation pressure.
- Escalate material risks, resource constraints, schedule threats, cost exposure or client issues early to the Senior Project Manager and relevant functional owners.
Client relationship and customer experience
- Act as the primary project point of contact for agreed client-facing delivery activity.
- Ensure clients receive timely, clear and accurate communication before they need to ask for it.
- Lead client meetings with clear agendas, actions, decision points, risks, support required and expected outcomes.
- Capture, confirm and follow up client actions, concerns, decisions and expectations in a disciplined manner.
- Maintain a positive client experience by being responsive, calm under pressure, well prepared and commercially sensible.
- Escalate client dissatisfaction, expectation gaps or relationship risks early to the Senior Project Manager and, where regionally relevant, the Country Manager.
Project delivery and coordination
- Coordinate inputs from Technical Sales, Assets, Engineering, Procurement, HSEQ, Finance, Document Control, suppliers, partners and regional stakeholders.
- Lead action trackers, interface registers, meeting outputs, stakeholder lists, readiness plans and communication plans for assigned projects.
- Follow up suppliers, partners and internal stakeholders to maintain project pace and protect key delivery dates.
- Translate project priorities into clear actions, owners, dates, assumptions, risks and escalation paths.
- Ensure project information is sufficiently clear, current and accessible to support effective delivery conversations and decision making.
Reporting, governance and delivery rhythm
- Prepare succinct project updates covering progress, schedule, cost awareness, actions, risks, support required, readiness and upcoming client touchpoints.
- Maintain visibility of key milestones, deliverables, approvals, client witness points, mobilisation windows, demobilisation requirements and close-out actions.
- Lead or support project reviews, cost reviews, risk reviews, client updates and internal delivery meetings with accurate preparation and follow-through.
- Ensure meeting actions and decisions are recorded promptly and distributed to relevant stakeholders.
- Use project controls information to drive delivery conversations, challenge drift and support informed escalation; formal project controls outputs remain owned by the Project Controls function where applicable.
Commercial, contractual and scope management
- Understand the agreed project scope, contractual commitments, client expectations, assumptions, exclusions, approval requirements and communication sensitivities.
- Identify, document and escalate scope drift, changed client expectations, additional requests and emerging commercial exposure early.
- Prepare factual inputs for variation discussions, client alignment, internal decision making and governance approvals.
- Protect MDLs interests while maintaining a constructive, service-led and professional client relationship.
- Reinforce disciplined behaviours around commitments, approvals, assumptions, documented decisions and variation control.
Regional alignment and dotted-line responsibilities
- Maintain regular alignment with the Country Manager on regional priorities, local stakeholder context, client sensitivities and in-country operational constraints.
- Represent Global Project Delivery standards in the region while recognising local business realities and cultural context.
- Coordinate regional escalation where local support, facilities, suppliers, client relationships or country-specific considerations affect delivery.
- Ensure dotted-line communication supports alignment and context without diluting functional accountability to the Senior Project Manager.
Leadership, communication and culture
- Demonstrate urgency, ownership, professionalism and calmness in a fast-moving delivery environment.
- Build strong working relationships with clients, Senior Project Managers, Country Managers, regional leadership, internal functions, suppliers and partners.
- Communicate clearly across cultures, functions and seniority levels, adapting style to suit the audience and situation.
- Promote a delivery culture based on accountability, preparation, responsiveness, clarity, commercial discipline and client focus.
- Proactively develop project management, commercial, contractual, stakeholder management and MDL business knowledge.
Deliverables and KPIs
The Regional Project Manager is expected to provide practical, concise and decision-quality information to the Senior Project Manager, Country Manager where relevant, regional leadership and project stakeholders. Timings and format should be agreed by project, but outputs should typically include:
Project execution inputs, project plans, stakeholder maps, communication plans, interface registers and escalation trackers.
- Client-facing meeting agendas, minutes, action logs, decision records and follow-up summaries.
- Recurring status updates covering progress, schedule, cost awareness, actions, risks, support required, client priorities and readiness.
- Inputs to risk registers, schedules, cost reviews, client reports, mobilisation readiness reviews, demobilisation plans and close-out documentation.
- Variation, scope-change and commercial exposure inputs supported by facts, dates, actions, assumptions and client communication records.
- Client feedback, lessons learned and continuous improvement inputs relevant to customer experience and delivery performance.
- Action-based visibility of supplier, internal function and client commitments affecting project pace.
Project milestone adherence
Schedule adherence for assigned deliverables and readiness gates
Forecast accuracy and visibility of cost exposure
Action close-out performance and age of overdue actions
Timeliness of meeting outputs, reports and decision records
Variation or scope-change items identified and escalated early
Mobilisation and demobilisation readiness actions closed on time
Risk and issue close-out performance
Internal audit findings and close-out performance
Customer experience and client confidence
Quality, clarity and professionalism of communication
Stakeholder trust and responsiveness
Preparedness for meetings and client interactions
Quality of follow-through and escalation discipline
Commercial awareness and judgement
Leadership of internal and external interfaces
Regional alignment and cultural awareness
Team experience and cross-functional collaboration
Work Environment
The role is primarily based at MDLs office in Rio de Janeiro, with regular travel to client offices, supplier premises, third-party vendors, fabrication shops, mobilisation sites and other MDL locations as required. The role may require flexibility to support project-critical activities, regional mobilisation windows, client-facing commitments and urgent delivery priorities across different time zones.
Skills, Experience and Personal Attributes
Essential experience and capability
- Proven experience in project management, project delivery, client-facing project leadership or comparable delivery-accountable roles.
- Understanding of formal project management methods across initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, control and close-out.
- Ability to lead actions, priorities, stakeholders and communication in a high-tempo environment.
- Experience managing client expectations, supplier interfaces, internal coordination, project reporting, issue escalation and delivery governance.
- Commercial awareness sufficient to identify scope drift, changed expectations, risk to commitments, variation potential and commercial exposure.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce clear, concise and professional updates for internal and client-facing audiences.
- Competence with Microsoft Office and relevant project management, planning, collaboration, cost control or document management tools.
- Ability to operate with delegated authority while recognising when escalation or approval is required.
Highly desirable
- Degree-level education in project management, business, engineering, operations, commercial management or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.
- Experience within oil and gas, subsea, offshore, marine, engineering services, rental equipment, logistics, construction or another project-led environment.
- Experience working across regional or international teams, clients and suppliers.
- Experience supporting mobilisation, demobilisation, site interfaces, client witness activities or fast-moving operational delivery.
- Portuguese and English communication capability suitable for regional client and internal interfaces.
- Project management certification or structured project management training.
Personal attributes
- Client focused, professional, trustworthy and approachable.
- High energy, high urgency and comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment.
- Organised, disciplined and reliable, with strong follow-through.
- Commercially aware, outcome driven and able to balance client service with MDLs contractual and commercial position.
- Confident communicator who can work with senior stakeholders while remaining grounded and practical.
- Able to work under pressure, manage competing priorities and escalate early when required.
- Collaborative, self-driven and comfortable working across departments to achieve a common goal.
- Calm, resilient and solutions-oriented when dealing with ambiguity, pressure or client challenge.
- Comfortable operating in a matrix environment with functional reporting to Global Project Delivery and regional dotted-line alignment to the Country Manager.
Development Pathway
This role is intended to provide a strong platform for increased ownership within Global Project Delivery. As the role holder demonstrates consistent project control, client leadership, commercial discipline, risk management, regional judgement and delivery performance, additional complexity and responsibility may be assigned by the Senior Project Manager in consultation with relevant regional leadership. Progression should be based on demonstrable capability in project leadership, stakeholder management, scope control, schedule awareness, commercial discipline, risk escalation and cross-functional delivery coordination.
At Maritime Developments, we believe that diversity drives innovation and success. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where all employees feel valued and supported. We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and abilities.
For more information on Maritime Developments please visit our Website Maritime Developments | Tailored consultancy, equipment and personnel packages and LinkedIn page (7) Maritime Developments Limited: Posts | LinkedIn.
