Head of Construction

Job Description

What You’ll Do

The Head of Construction - Europe is a senior leadership role responsible for the implementation and construction of all projects across all European markets, including new store developments and refit programmes.

Operating as a senior leader within Property Operations, this role is accountable for ensuring that construction execution is safe, consistent, commercially efficient and aligned to Primark’s growth ambitions. You will set the construction strategy, build organisational capability, and ensure that delivery teams and partners consistently perform at scale across a complex, multi-country estate. The role has overall accountability for programme delivery, ensuring projects are executed safely, within agreed timelines and budgets, and to the highest standards of quality and operational excellence.

You will play a critical role in enabling business growth, speed to market, and customer experience, through best-in-class construction execution.

In your role, you’ll collaborate with different people across a range of skillsets. Here’s a flavour of your day-to-day:

• Lead the construction strategy and delivery of Primark's European expansion and investment programme, ensuring projects are executed safely, on time, within budget and to brand standards.
• Own a complex multi-country portfolio of new stores, relocations and refits, driving consistency, scalability and operational excellence across all markets.
• Partner with Property, Design and Operations teams to shape delivery strategies, programme priorities and long-term construction roadmaps.
• Lead construction governance across Europe, ensuring compliance with approved designs, technical requirements, regulatory standards and risk management frameworks.
• Champion a zero-compromise safety culture, driving best practice in health, safety, environmental and sustainability performance across all projects.
• Own construction capital expenditure across Europe, ensuring strong commercial performance, effective cost control and value engineering without compromising quality.
• Develop and manage a high-performing European construction supply chain, building strategic partnerships with contractors, consultants and specialist delivery partners.
• Build, lead and mentor a high-performing construction team, creating a culture of accountability, collaboration and commercial excellence while influencing stakeholders at all levels of the business.

Qualifications

What You’ll Bring  

We want every person in our organisation to feel like they’re making a key contribution. Here are some of the experiences and skills you’ll need for the role:

• Significant senior leadership experience (10+ years) in construction delivery within complex multi-site, multi-country environments.
• Proven track record of delivering large-scale construction programmes, including new builds, refurbishments and major capital investment projects.
• Strong strategic capability, with the ability to balance long-term planning, portfolio management and operational execution across multiple markets.
• Extensive experience managing contractors, consultant teams, supply chains and complex stakeholder environments.
• Deep understanding of construction delivery, on-site operations, regulatory compliance and project lifecycle management.
• Demonstrated success in building and leading high-performing teams, creating clear accountability and driving strong commercial outcomes.
• Strong influencing and stakeholder management skills, with experience partnering and engaging at executive and senior leadership level.
• Commercially astute leader with the ability to drive innovation, cost efficiency and continuous improvement while maintaining operational discipline and delivery excellence.

What You’ll Get

People are at the heart of what we do here, so it’s essential we provide you with the right environment to perform at your very best. Let’s talk lifestyle:   

Let’s talk lifestyle: Healthcare, pension, and potential bonus. 27 days of leave, plus bank holidays and if you want, you can buy 5 more. Because Primark is all about tailoring to you, we offer Tax Saver Tickets, fitness centre, and a subsidised cafeteria. 

Does this sound like you? Great, because we can’t wait to see what you’ll bring. You’ll be supported within a team of equally capable people, celebrating who you are and aiding you reach your potential. At Primark, we’re excited about our future - and we’re excited to develop yours.  

Additional Information

About Primark 

Primark is an international clothing retailer employing more than 70,000 colleagues across 16 countries in Europe and the US. Founded in Ireland in 1969 under the Penney’s brand, Primark aims to create maximum joy at minimum cost – less money and less impact on the planet. Primark continues to expand across new and existing markets with the aim of reaching 530 stores by the end of 2026. Every person impacts the culture at Primark. Our values: Caring (we always strive to put people first), Dynamic (we bravely push the boundaries to stay ahead) and Together (we learn more, laugh more and achieve more as a team) outline the behaviours we expect of our people as we work with each other, our customers, our suppliers and our partners. Let’s see what impact you can make!