Director – Data Center Development & Construction

Director – Data Center Development & Construction Richmond, VA | Owner/Developer | Major Capital Projects - Relocation package available Lead projects from land acquisition through construction and deliveryI'm partnering with a rapidly expanding U.S. data center developer to appoint a Director of Development & Construction in Richmond, Virginia. This is a true owner/developer-side role, combining front-end real estate development with major construction delivery. You'll be involved from the earliest stages — identifying and evaluating land, supporting acquisition, zoning and entitlements, permitting and utility coordination — before taking projects through design, procurement, construction, commissioning and handover. Previous data center experience is valuable, but not essential. We're equally interested in senior leaders from mission-critical, advanced manufacturing, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, battery/EV and other technically complex, high-density MEP environments. What will you be responsible for? Lead projects across the full development and construction lifecycle Support land identification, due diligence and acquisition, assessing sites for development potential Drive zoning, entitlements, permitting and relationships with public agencies Coordinate utility requirements and infrastructure needed to make sites development-ready Manage environmental, geotechnical, wetlands and other due-diligence consultants Lead design development, preconstruction and procurement Develop and control major budgets, schedules and critical-path activities Manage GCs from RFP/bidding and contract negotiation through construction and closeout Oversee complex electrical, mechanical and utility infrastructure Manage contracts, RFIs, submittals, change orders, invoicing, risk and quality Maintain senior relationships with capital partners, consultants, contractors and other project stakeholders The formal remit covers entitlement and design, project budgets and schedules, consultant/contractor procurement and overall development delivery, including direct interaction with GCs throughout bidding, award, execution and closeout. What experience are we looking for? You'll ideally have 10+ years delivering large, technically complex development and construction projects, with experience across both the front-end development process and physical construction delivery. Relevant backgrounds could include: Data Centers | Mission Critical | Advanced Manufacturing | Semiconductor | Pharmaceutical | Battery / EV | Large-Scale Industrial We're particularly interested in experience covering: Land/site identification, evaluation and acquisition Zoning, entitlements and permitting Utility coordination and infrastructure development Development feasibility and project planning Preconstruction and design management Major CAPEX, contracts, procurement and commercial managementGC and MEP contractor leadership Construction through commissioning and turnover You should be comfortable operating at both levels — discussing development strategy, land, utilities and financial viability with senior stakeholders, while also being capable of challenging a GC on schedule, cost, constructability and project execution. Why consider it? This is an opportunity to move beyond purely managing construction and gain genuine ownership across how major projects are identified, developed, built and delivered. For candidates coming from complex manufacturing or mission-critical construction, it's also an opportunity to transfer highly relevant experience into the rapidly growing data center sector without needing an established data center background. The position is site-based in Richmond, Virginia, with some travel to company HQ and potentially future project locations. Interested? Apply directly or message me confidentially to discuss the projects, team and longer-term opportunity.