Development Director
- Work arrangement
- On-site
- Occupation
- Executive & General Management
- Location
- Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Apply by
- April 10, 2027
About this role
Want to be a part ofAsia Pacific & Middle East's (APME) largest, most innovative, and rapidly growing data centre company?
AirTrunk is ahyperscale data centre company with a powerful purpose - to scale and sustain the relentless growth of the region’s digital future. We do this by continuously redefining and delivering the digital infrastructure that meet the needs of our customers - the world’s most transformational companies. And we’re doing so sustainably, for today and tomorrow.
Having opened Australia’s first and largest hyperscale data centres in 2017, we set our eyes on rapid expansion and now operate a platform of hyperscale data centres across the APME region. With backing from our investors, including Blackstone, this is just the beginning…
Come join the A-Team at AirTrunk, where the cloud meets the ground.
A Snapshot
As Development Director - Melbourne, you will provide senior leadership across AirTrunk's Victorian development portfolio. You will be accountable for leading campus project teams and their respective data centre projects end-to-end, including land acquisition, approvals, design, procurement, construction, commissioning and handover. You will ensure each project is aligned with AirTrunk's customer, commercial, technical, safety, quality, programme, capital expenditure and operational requirements.
Working closely with the Design, Construction, Commercial, Cost, Procurement, Operations, Finance, Legal, Sustainability and Customer teams, you will create clarity across a complex portfolio, anticipate issues early and ensure Melbourne projects are positioned to deliver at pace and at hyperscale.
Your Day-to-Day
Portfolio leadership and strategy
- Inherit and refine the development strategy for individual campuses and priorities across all Victorian projects, aligning the portfolio withAirTrunk'sregional growth plans, customercommitmentsand investmentobjectives.
- Develop funding request strategies.
- Convert customer opportunities into executable, risk-managed developments.
- Develop andmaintainstrategic supply chain plans and key partner relationships.
- Maintain an integrated view of project status, key decisions, dependencies, risks, opportunities, approvals, resourcing anddeliveryreadiness across the Melbourne portfolio.
- Provide clear,timelyreporting and recommendations to Development Leadership and relevant governance forums, escalating matters that may affect safety, quality, time,costor customer outcomes.
- Build a high-performing development team and create an accountable, collaborative culture focused on safe,sustainableand predictable delivery.
- Lead portfolio risk management and mitigation.
Development, approvals and delivery readiness
- Lead the end-to-end development of Melbourne datacentreprojects, from site and feasibility considerations through planning, design development, construction commencement, customercontractingand operational handover.
- Oversee project development plans, stage gates,programmemilestonesand critical path activities, ensuring decisions are made at the right time and with the right evidence.
- Engage and supportAirTrunkteams working with government authorities, utilities, landowners, consultants, contractors,customersand community stakeholders to secure approvals and remove constraints.
- Ensure projects are sufficiently defined and coordinated before major commitments are made, including scope, design intent, constructability,programme, procurement strategy, costplanand operational requirements.
Commercial, cost and portfolio controls
- Maintain accountability for development outcomes within approved investment parameters, working with Commercial, Cost, Finance and Procurement to protect value and manage risk.
- Review project budgets, forecasts, cash flow, change, contracts, procurementdecisionsand commercial exposures across the Melbourne portfolio.
- Challenge assumptions constructively and drive early intervention where cost, scope,programmeor quality trends could affect project outcomes.
- Support investment papers, business cases, governancesubmissionsand portfolio reporting withaccurateanalysis and a clear narrative.
Stakeholder leadership and influence
- Act as the senior development interface for Melbourne and the corporate business, creating alignment between internal teams, externalpartnersand customer stakeholders.
- Facilitate effective decision-making across competing priorities, balancing businessobjectives, customer needs, regulatoryobligationsand long-term asset performance.
- RepresentAirTrunkwith credibility and professionalism in seniorstakeholder,authority,industryand community forums.
- Resolve issues quickly and transparently, building trust through clear communication, soundjudgementand consistent follow-through.
Continuous improvement and sustainable growth
- Identifyand implement improvements to development processes, governance, reporting, riskmanagementand project controls soAirTrunkcan scale efficiently.
- Champion and contribute to the use of data, digitaltoolsandstandardisedways of working to improve visibility,predictabilityand decision quality across the portfolio.
What You Bring
- At least 15 years' experience developing and delivering large-scale projects.
- Extensive senior leadership experience delivering complex, large-scale datacentre, critical infrastructure, industrial, property or similarly complex development projects in Victoria.
- Demonstrated responsibility for multiple concurrent projects or a significant development portfolio, with the ability to move between strategic oversight and detailed issue resolution.
- Strong understanding of the full development lifecycle, including site evaluation, feasibility, planning and statutory approvals, utilities, design management, procurement, constructionreadinessand operational handover.
- Experience managing projects with significant capital value and coordinating multidisciplinary internal and external teams across design, commercial,constructionand operations.
- Commercially astute, with a strong grasp of budgets, cost plans, cash flow, contracts, procurement, risk,governanceand investment decision-making.
- A proven record of engaging with government, utilities, customers, landowners, consultants,contractorsand community stakeholders to achieve practical outcomes.
- Strong communication, negotiation,influencingand presentation skills, including the ability to explain complex matters clearly to senior leadership and governance forums.
- Strategic,analyticaland delivery-focused, with sound judgement, highautonomyand the ability tooperateeffectively in a fast-moving and ambiguous environment.
- Relevant tertiary qualification in property, engineering, construction, project management,businessora relateddiscipline. Professional accreditation is desirable.