About this opportunity
Vantage Consulting lists this Director – Data Center Development & Construction opportunity in richmond, Virginia. Review the employer’s description below for duties, qualifications and application requirements.
Job description
Director – Data Center Development & Construction
Richmond, VA | Owner/Developer | Major Capital Projects - Relocation package available
Lead projects from land acquisition through construction and delivery
I'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 management
GC 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.
Worksite address
richmond, VA, 23214, US
Who can apply
Review the original listing for work authorization, qualifications and employer requirements.