Development Director

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 with AirTrunk's regional growth plans, customer commitments and investment objectives. 

• Develop funding request strategies. 

• Convert customer opportunities into executable, risk-managed developments. 

• Develop and maintain strategic supply chain plans and key partner relationships. 

• Maintain an integrated view of project status, key decisions, dependencies, risks, opportunities, approvals, resourcing and delivery readiness across the Melbourne portfolio. 

• Provide clear, timely reporting and recommendations to Development Leadership and relevant governance forums, escalating matters that may affect safety, quality, time, cost or customer outcomes. 

• Build a high-performing development team and create an accountable, collaborative culture focused on safe, sustainable and predictable delivery. 

• Lead portfolio risk management and mitigation. 

Development, approvals and delivery readiness 

• Lead the end-to-end development of Melbourne data centre projects, from site and feasibility considerations through planning, design development, construction commencement, customer contracting and operational handover. 

• Oversee project development plans, stage gates, programme milestones and critical path activities, ensuring decisions are made at the right time and with the right evidence. 

• Engage and support AirTrunk teams working with government authorities, utilities, landowners, consultants, contractors, customers and 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, cost plan and 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, procurement decisions and commercial exposures across the Melbourne portfolio. 

• Challenge assumptions constructively and drive early intervention where cost, scope, programme or quality trends could affect project outcomes. 

• Support investment papers, business cases, governance submissions and portfolio reporting with accurate analysis 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, external partners and customer stakeholders. 

• Facilitate effective decision-making across competing priorities, balancing business objectives, customer needs, regulatory obligations and long-term asset performance. 

• Represent AirTrunk with credibility and professionalism in senior stakeholder, authority, industry and community forums. 

• Resolve issues quickly and transparently, building trust through clear communication, sound judgement and consistent follow-through. 

Continuous improvement and sustainable growth 

• Identify and implement improvements to development processes, governance, reporting, risk management and project controls so AirTrunk can scale efficiently. 

• Champion and contribute to the use of data, digital tools and standardised ways of working to improve visibility, predictability and 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 data centre, 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, construction readiness and operational handover. 

• Experience managing projects with significant capital value and coordinating multidisciplinary internal and external teams across design, commercial, construction and operations. 

• Commercially astute, with a strong grasp of budgets, cost plans, cash flow, contracts, procurement, risk, governance and investment decision-making. 

• A proven record of engaging with government, utilities, customers, landowners, consultants, contractors and community stakeholders to achieve practical outcomes. 

• Strong communication, negotiation, influencing and presentation skills, including the ability to explain complex matters clearly to senior leadership and governance forums. 

• Strategic, analytical and delivery-focused, with sound judgement, high autonomy and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving and ambiguous environment. 

• Relevant tertiary qualification in property, engineering, construction, project management, business or a related discipline. Professional accreditation is desirable.