Director of Project Services - North America

Chemelex is a global leader in electric thermal and sensing solutions, protecting the world’s critical processes, places and people. With over 50 years of innovation and a commitment to excellence, we develop solutions that ensure safety, reliability, and efficiency in diverse environments – from industrial plants and data centers to people’s homes. We deliver future-ready technologies, advanced engineering capabilities and local expertise backed by global standards. Our offering includes a leading portfolio from our trusted brands: Raychem, Tracer, Nuheat and Pyrotenax.


Position Summary
Reporting to the VP, Projects & Services, the Director of Project Services - North America leads a multidisciplinary team to deliver large, complex engineered projects across heat-tracing and power/control distribution. The role owns safe, on-time, on-budget execution by overseeing engineering, construction services, project management and project controls, warehousing/inventory/logistics, fabrication, and service facilities. This leader sets strategy and standards, drives digitalization and continuous improvement to improve cash flow, revenue, and margin; ensures compliance with contracts, quality, and EHS; and serves as the senior escalation point for risk, claims, and customer commitments. The Director partners closely with Supply Chain, HR, Procurement, FP&A, Sales, and Quality/Operational Excellence to align capacity with demand and develops high-performing leaders and teams to scale impact across the region.
Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities
1) Operational Leadership & Scope
• Lead the end-to-end North America portfolio across Engineering (Heat Trace Systems; Power/Control Distribution), Construction Services, Project Management & Controls, Projects Warehouse/Inventory/Logistics/TracLoc, RIM/PMPH Fabrication, and Services Facilities.
• Set operating rhythm, dashboards, and decision cadences to improve cash flow, revenue, margin, and on-time delivery.
• Align structure, roles, and interfaces so ownership is clear and handoffs are clean.
2) Project Delivery & Performance Management
• Govern delivery via milestone/variance reviews, risk registers, and recovery plans; approve material deviations.
• Resolve escalations quickly with facts-first analysis; convert lessons learned into standard work that sticks.
• Track safety, quality, schedule, cost, and cash with transparent, action-oriented metrics.
3) Commercial & Pre-Award Management
• Partner with Proposals & Estimating to review requirements, validate/approve cost estimates, qualify/select subcontractors, and support negotiations.
• Apply consistent scope/change, contract, and claims practices that balance fairness with long-term relationships.
• Maintain clear commercial positions and documentation from bid through closeout.
4) EHS, Quality & Compliance
• Embed a “Zero Harm” mindset across office, warehouse/shipping, fabrication, and field activities; encourage speak-up and near-miss learning.
• Ensure work meets procedures, contract specifications, quality standards, financial targets, and regulatory requirements.
• Drive timely corrective actions and verification of effectiveness; model integrity in every decision.
5) People Leadership & Capability
• Hire, develop, and coach leaders and teams; run competency assessments and keep licenses/certifications current.
• Set clear expectations, provide timely feedback, recognize great work, and address gaps early.
• Foster calm, accountable execution—especially under pressure and at interfaces with customers and partners.
6) Cross-Functional Partnership & Continuous Improvement
• Collaborate with Supply Chain, HR, Procurement, FP&A, Sales, and Quality/Operational Excellence to align capacity with demand (S&OP) and remove roadblocks.
• Digitize project workflows from estimating through closeout to increase speed, transparency, and predictability.
• Communicate early and clearly with stakeholders; translate complex data into simple choices and impacts.
What You’ll Bring
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline (or equivalent experience).
• 12+ years leading large industrial project delivery—ideally in thermal management/heat-tracing, power/control distribution, or adjacent EPC environments.
• Deep fluency in project and construction management (planning, cost/schedule control, safety, QA/QC) and contract/commercial management.
• Proven ability to lead leaders and large multidisciplinary teams; effective with executives and frontline supervisors alike.
• Industry experience in petrochemical/refining or heavy industrial settings.
• Working knowledge of continuous improvement tools (e.g., value stream mapping, Kaizen) and digitize