Practice Director - Scotland & Northern Ireland

Job Description

Overview

As a Practice Director you’ll guide our SNI based, multidisciplinary practice at the heart of Buildings & Places — a powerhouse of architects, engineers, designers, planners, project managers and specialist advisers shaping places that deliver real social, environmental and economic value.

You’ll energise a high‑performing team, drive capability growth, champion technical excellence and client delivery, and play a pivotal role in realising our bold 2030 Ambition.

Working hand‑in‑hand with the other Practice Directors across the regions, you’ll create a unified, collaborative leadership partnership that brings consistency, alignment, and shared ambition across disciplines. Along with your manager, the Practice Director for the wider region, you’ll help steer the success of SNI - strengthening cross‑market delivery, ensuring cohesive operational performance, and shaping a culture where teams thrive and clients feel the benefit.

Your role

Operational Leadership

• Lead a technically excellent and agile practice, responsive to evolving business needs.
• Provide strategic leadership to a team of staff across multiple office locations.
• Collaborate with the Market Director to foster cross-market and cross-divisional alignment, regional sales focus and resource planning.
• Collaborating with the other Practice Directors (II) in the region and working in support of the Practice Director (I) and the success of the wider region.
• Ensure business activities align with the Business Management System (BMS) and maintain acceptable risk levels.
• Lead the capability planning aligned to the practice, driving value through resource strategies including Global Technology Center (GTC) and/or contingent workforce.

Practice and Capability Development

• Drive technical best practices, knowledge sharing, and process standardisation across the business unit practice groups.
• Ensure the practice’s skills and capacity align with target market needs through targeted recruitment and staff development, and engaging external alliance partners or contingent workers.
• Maximise delivery of work through GTC.

People and Culture

• Line manages team leaders and support their development as direct reports.
• Motivate and develop managers and team members, ensuring they are challenged, stretched, and supported with clear succession plans.
• Promote a collaborative and inclusive culture across the practice and with other discipline leads.

Operational and Financial Management

• Manage practice group performance to meet or exceed productivity targets and maintain low break-even rates.
• Liaise with Market Directors (via COO/MD) to forecast resource demand and align with business resource managers.
• Ensure efficient delivery of business-as-usual (BAU) bids and provide technical experts for strategic pursuits.

Innovation and Excellence

• Create and deliver innovative service offerings for clients through our market teams, support the pursuit of additional, repeat, and follow-on work from clients.
• Lead or contribute to cross-practice initiatives in collaboration with other discipline leads.

About You

• Degree-level or equivalent professional qualification.
• Dynamic and inspirational leader with a proven ability to align, motivate, and develop high-performing teams.
• Calm under pressure, self-driven, and adaptable, with strong interpersonal, organisational, and communication skills.
• Supportive mentor committed to talent growth and continuous improvement.
• Customer-centric with a collaborative, culturally aware approach and ability to build strong relationships.
• Passionate about shaping new a new practice with curiosity, kindness, and purpose.
• Excellent interpersonal, organisational, and communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Recognised for delivering environmental, economic, or social value and outcomes.
• Proven experience in a related leadership role with a reputation for technical excellence and high-quality delivery in relevant disciplines.

Location: The office location could be Glasgow, Belfast, Aberdeen or Edinburgh. Candidate expected to be in offices, in region 3 days a week, there is flexibility in home location.

If this role is of interest please, along with your CV, upload a cover letter explaining your interest and reasons you feel you are right for the role. End date for receiving applications is 14th February 2026.

Reward & benefits

Explore the rewards and benefits that help you thrive – at every stage of your life and your career. Enjoy competitive salaries, employee rewards and a brilliant range of benefits you can tailor to suit your own health, wellbeing, financial and lifestyle choices. Make the most of a myriad of opportunities for training and professional development to grow your skills and expertise. And combine our hybrid working culture and flexible holiday allowances to balance a great job and fulfilling personal life.

Be rewarded. Find out more.

About AtkinsRéalis

We're AtkinsRéalis, a world-class engineering services and nuclear organization. We connect people, data and technology to transform the world's infrastructure and energy systems. Together, with our industry partners and clients, and our global team of consultants, designers, engineers and project managers, we can change the world. We're committed to leading our clients across our various end markets to engineer a better future for our planet and its people.

Find out more.

Additional information

Security clearance

This role may require security clearance and offers of employment will be dependent on obtaining the relevant level of clearance. If this is necessary, it will be discussed with you at interview. The vetting process is delivered by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) and may require candidates to provide proof of residency in the UK of 5 years or longer. If applying to this role please do not make reference to (in conversation) or include in your application or CV, details of any current or previously held security clearance.

We are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels that they belong - a place where we can all be ourselves, thrive and develop to be the best we can be. So, we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements and employee resource groups to support all employees. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we value applications from all backgrounds, cultures and ability.

Worker Type

Job Type

At AtkinsRéalis, we seek to hire individuals with diverse characteristics, backgrounds and perspectives. We strongly believe that world-class talent makes no distinctions based on gender, ethnic or national origin, sexual identity and orientation, age, religion or disability, but enriches itself through these differences.