Project Director NRG PALLAS Programma Reactor
The NRG PALLAS Programma reactor project is one of Europe’s most strategically important nuclear infrastructure projects. Located at the Energy & Health Campus in Petten. The NRG PALLAS reactor will secure a long-term production of medical isotopes used daily in the diagnosis and treatment of hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide. While simultaneously strengthening Dutch and European nuclear capability, innovation, and strategic autonomy.
The NRG PALLAS programma is entering the most critical phase of the project: The transition from design and licensing into integrated industrial execution, construction, commissioning, and operational readiness. The organization therefore needs an exceptional Project Director with proven experience delivering complex industrial facilities in highly regulated environments. A leader who combines operational intensity with strategic maturity: someone capable of aligning contractors, regulators and project teams around one integrated execution roadmap — while safeguarding public value, nuclear quality, schedule discipline and delivery certainty.
As a member of the Executive Committee (ExCo), this Project Director is co-responsible for the realization of the organization mission, vision, and strategy. As such contributes to overall corporate governance and decision-making. The role brings full accountability for integrated programme delivery into the ExCo deliberations, ensuring alignment across strategy, execution, risk, financial performance. Plus stakeholder commitments, while acting as a primary escalation and decision interface between project governance and executive leadership.
Functie-eisen
Mission
The Project Director will lead the integrated execution of the NRG PALLAS Programma reactor project on behalf of NRG PALLAS. This includes responsibility for project integration across engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, contractor governance, schedule ownership, risk management, and operational readiness. Therefor this project requires a decisive execution leader capable of driving delivery in a multi-contractor, nuclear-regulated environment with high public visibility and strategic importance.
This role will help shape a new generation of nuclear infrastructure in Europe — contributing directly to:
- Security of medical isotope supply for global healthcare;
- Dutch and European strategic nuclear capability;
- Safe and reliable commissioning of a first-of-a-kind national infrastructure project;
- The long-term strengthening of the Energy & Health Campus in Petten.
Key Responsibilities
Integrated Project Leadership
- Leading the transition from development-phase governance toward execution-phase delivery discipline;
- Establish and drive one integrated project execution model across engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and handover;
- Create a strong execution culture focused on ownership, transparency, escalation, and delivery;
- Act as single-point accountability for integrated project performance.
Schedule, Cost & Delivery Control
- Establish PALLAS ownership of the Integrated Project Schedule (IPS), including critical path and float management;
- Drive data-based project steering and transparent reporting;
- Ensure commissioning-driven execution planning and system-based completion logic;
Contractor & Commercial Leadership
- Lead the strategic integrated relationship with major international contractors and engineering partners;
- Create strong commercial discipline and performance accountability across contractors;
- Align incentives, delivery objectives, and governance structures;
- Balance collaboration with contractual sharpness and execution control.
Nuclear & Regulatory Delivery
- Ensure execution readiness aligns with nuclear quality, traceability, licensing, and commissioning requirements;
- Maintain strong interfaces with regulators, independent reviewers, and nuclear assurance functions;
- Is a role model and safeguards nuclear safety culture throughout execution and commissioning.
- Ensures compliance with all relevant policies, rules and regulations and licenses at the Project level
Governance & Positioning
- Represents the PALLAS project within ExCo discussions and decision-making
- Ensures transparent reporting on project performance, risks, and delivery outlook
- Aligns project execution with overarching corporate strategy and governance frameworks
Organizational Leadership
- Build and lead a high-performing Project Management Team;
- Strengthen “intelligent customer” capability within NRG PALLAS;
- Drive integration between project delivery and future operations;
- Support organizational simplification, role clarity, and site-based collaboration in Petten.
Stakeholder Management
- Maintain trusted relationships with government stakeholders, contractors, executive committee, supervisory board and regulators.
- Provide transparent, fact-based communication under pressure.
Competenties
The successful candidate is an experienced industrial project executive with demonstrable experience in complex industrial plant delivery. Who combines execution focus with leadership maturity and will comfortable operate in technically complex, politically visible environments.
Required experience:
- End-responsible leadership of large industrial plant projects;
- Proven delivery experience in nuclear, petrochemical, energy, process industry, or similarly regulated sectors;
- Experience managing multi-billion-euro project through execution and commissioning phases;
- Demonstrated success in contractor management and integrated delivery governance;
- Strong experience with EPC/EPCM contracting models and multi-party project structures;
- Experience operating in environments with strong regulatory oversight and public accountability.
Leadership characteristics:
- Decisive and execution-oriented;
- Naturally integrative across disciplines and organizations;
- Comfortable escalating difficult issues early;
- Able to lead under uncertainty and external pressure;
- Strong commercial instinct combined with public mission awareness;
- Drives clarity, ownership, and accountability;
- Builds trust through transparency and delivery credibility.
- Actively contributes to a culture of safety, accountability and governance
Arbeidsvoorwaarden
Renumeration
Given the social nature of the NRG PALLAS program, the salary is aligned with this, supplemented by a good pension scheme and an electric lease car. However, bonus or share schemes do not apply to an employment contract with NRG PALLAS.
Bedrijfsinformatie
NRG PALLAS is a leading Dutch nuclear technology organization operating from the Energy & Health Campus in Petten. The organization plays a central role in medical isotope production, nuclear research, reactor operations, radiochemical innovation, and the development of future nuclear capabilities in the Netherlands and Europe. The PALLAS reactor programme will replace the historic High Flux Reactor and secure the continuity of medical isotope supply for decades to come, while enabling future innovation in radioligand therapies, nuclear medicine, and nuclear technologies.
Inclusiviteit en diversiteit
Uiteraard staat deze vacature open voor iedereen die zich hierin herkent. We geloven dat diverse teams van belang zijn voor ons als lerende organisatie, die voorop wil blijven lopen in de wereld van werk. Want juist verschillen tussen mensen zorgen voor groei. Van collega's, klanten, kandidaten en daarmee van Randstad Professional. Heb jij een uniek talent? We ontmoeten je graag.