Director, Capital Systems and Projects

Apply now »

Date: Sep 2, 2025

Location: Columbia, MD, US, 21044

Company: W. R. Grace & Co.

Annual Wage Range: $167,618.40  - $230,475.30 
Other Compensation:  Eligibility for the Short-Term Incentive program and other applicable bonuses 
Benefits: U.S. Employee Benefits Summary (grace.com)

Grace, a Standard Industries company, is a leading global supplier of catalysts, engineered materials and fine chemicals. We provide innovative products, technologies and services which our customers use to manufacture everyday products like renewable fuels, pharmaceuticals, toothpaste, cosmetics, food packaging, beer, edible oils and more. Our thousands of employees help shape a better future at our global headquarters in Columbia, MD and locations worldwide.

Job Description

We’re hiring a Director, Capital Systems and Projects for join our corporate COE, based in Columbia, MD. As the Director, you will lead capital allocation and project execution for the company.  You will ensure appropriate cost, schedule, financial controls, and management of resources versus defined/ approved scope and long-range capital plan are met. This role ensures that capital project work processes and practices are executed in accordance with our stage gate process stage gate and drive continuous improvement to this process.  It reports to the VP, Manufacturing & Process Technology.

We will offer relocation assistance to enable you to work at our Columbia, MD office. You will be required to travel 25-50% including international to other Grace locations.

Responsibilities

  • Manage a global team of 30 - 40 (Grace + contractor) consisting of Project Managers, Development Managers and Project Controls and accountable for execution of capital projects >$2MM, with typical annual capital portfolio spend of $200-250MM.
  • Drive capital project work processes and practices in accordance with our stage gate process: Develop cost and schedule forecasts and management to meet those commitments; Establish effective communications within all Project Teams and supporting functions to ensure alignment on objectives and design basis.
  • Coordinate all Gatekeeping reviews with steering teams to ensure all project deliverables and decisions are met, including any change in scope or cancellation.
  • Ensure that all assets are well designed (i.e., plant layout, equipment selection etc.) and fit the business purpose through applying new technologies, proven principles, thorough design reviews and basic science.
  • Monitor projects in accordance with the key performance indicators, including within budget, delivered on time, and successfully handed over.
  • Responsible for development of cost and schedule forecasts and management to meet those commitments.
  • Coordinate all Gatekeeping reviews with steering teams to ensure all project deliverables and decisions are met, including any change in scope or cancellation.
  • Partners with Engineering Director ensuring necessary engineering disciplines are appropriately involved and resourced to meet all safety, regulatory, reliability and performance requirements as part of the design package.
  • Manages engineering firms and/or EPC contractor performance domestically and in foreign countries.
  • Accountable for all project controls responsibilities including: Develop & implement project budgets, cost estimating, cash flow projections, and estimate at completion (EAC) projections;
  • Development of capital budget of approximately $200M and track spend against forecast; Provide estimating oversight; Perform cost and schedule attainment metrics including cost and schedule performance index (CPI and SPI).
  • Governance of the Capital Management system (Accolade) and the PM methodology; Track, trend and streamline capital related metrics; Analyze actual capital project spend vs. forecast to look for trends, risks, and opportunities.
  • Drive and lead capital project cost efficiency, benchmarking, cold eyes efforts to insure most optimal use of capital dollars.

Required Qualifications

  • B.S. Degree, in chemical, mechanical or electrical engineering.
  • Minimum 20+ years of experience in Project Management in Operations or Engineering plus 10+ years of engineering project management experience in a petro chemical or chemical engineering
  • Experience working as an Owners representative (in-house)
  • Supervisory experience in managing internal and external project team members who are geographically dispersed
  • Must be able to work effectively in a team environment with demonstrated success in influencing at all levels inside as well as outside the company Experience managing 3rd party contractors / suppliers
  • Strong technical skills with the ability to understand a range of chemical manufacturing processes Process Safety Management (PSM) experience and oversight.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Project Management Professional (PMP) certification
  • Proven track record of success in leading large scope, multi-site, regional and/or global project initiatives

Benefits

  • Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance
  • Life Insurance and Disability
  • Grace Wellness Program
  • Flexible Workplace
  • Retirement Plans 
  • 401(k) Company Match
  • Paid Vacation and Holidays
  • Parental Leave (salaried only)
  • Tuition Reimbursement
  • Company Donation Match Program

Grace is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. Please, no phone calls or emails. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at Grace via email, the Internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of Grace. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Grace as a result of the referral or through other means.


Nearest Major Market: Baltimore