Principal Engineering | Sustaining Capital

Principal Engineering | Sustaining Capital

• Be part of a group that is safety driven and values inclusion
• Join an experienced, supportive team and leverage your experience to assess capital projects and support capital portfolio management
• Perth based role opportunity, based in Central Park, Flexible arrangements welcome

About the role

Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.

We are looking for a Principal Engineering who has relevant experience in study and project management and enjoys assessing and reviewing capital projects. The role requires you to bring your leadership and partnership experience, leading maturity and gap assessments, and providing recommendations on entry level, business requirement and study phase approach in line with business direction. An additional responsibility is in capital planning, supporting prioritisation, forecasting, and portfolio change management for 10-year portfolio, aligned with asset plans and business strategies.

This role is a great opportunity for an energetic and performance driven individual who is keen to work in a technologically advanced, energy-efficient and cost competitive organisation.

Reporting to the Manager Portfolio Management and working in a collaborative and dynamic environment within the Sustaining Capital team you will lead and support a group of experienced professionals.

You will foster and maintain strong relationships across the Rio Tinto business to leverage capability supporting the success of the Sustaining Capital division and greater Rio Tinto.

This role requires you to operate within two groups of responsibilities:

Studies, Stage Gates & Portfolio Acceptance

• Oversee and facilitate the Sustaining Capital stage gate process, managing compliance, lessons learnt and provide supportive assurance for project teams
• Leading the portfolio acceptance process between Divisional and Sustaining Capital teams to ensure appropriate assurance with transfer of projects into the Sustaining Capital portfolio
• Ensuring portfolio acceptance incorporates appropriate assessment of maturity and gap identification
• As part of study and project initiation, assessing the business requirement in relation to the study phase approach and delivery framework
• Lead the Order of Magnitude Studies team - where studies are completed from initiation to Stage Gate 1, delivering fit for purpose options for Pre-feasibility to be executed by the delivery teams
• Make key contributions to Rio Tinto global Sustaining Capital process & procedures to improve efficiency and enhance divisional performance
• Working closely with study and delivery teams; Project Controls, Contracts & Procurement; Business Analysis and others to ensure delivery of assigned outcomes are met
• Support strategic planning and improvement to reduce challenges and ensure compliance throughout the project delivery lifecycle

Capital Portfolio Planning & Analysis

• Planning, prioritisation, forecasting, and portfolio change management for 10-year portfolio, aligned with asset whole-of-life plans and business strategies
• Collaborative planning with Finance and Business Analysis teams and leading and collaborating in forums to cascade business direction
• Improve portfolio risk management and portfolio execution planning
• Providing capital discipline, stability in the capital planning process and also providing an assurance and compliance function for Rio Tinto Iron Ore
• Preparing and delivering high quality data based insights and analysis for leaders to enable well informed decisions and improved business performance

What you’ll bring

• A commitment to the safety of yourself and your team
• Relevant tertiary qualification in Engineering, Science, Business or similar. A relevant postgraduate qualification is highly desirable
• Strong leadership experience with the ability to influence and motivate and work in a team environment
• Outstanding study and project evaluation and analysis, including high levels of competence in MS Excel and other programs
• Strong study and project management experience; of varying size and complexity at various phases of development from Initiation, through to Implementation and Close Out
• Extensive experience in capital planning and portfolio management in large portfolios
• Strong stakeholder engagement and effective communication & interpersonal skills
• Detail focused, process driven with a drive for continuous improvement
• Ability to review large studies, projects, documentation and complex data sets with the ability to analyse and distil this information into a concise message

What we offer

• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority
• A permanent position working directly for Rio Tinto
• A competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience with annual incentive program
• Comprehensive medical benefits including subsidised private health insurance for employees and immediate family
• Attractive share ownership plan
• Company provided insurance cover
• Extensive salary sacrifice & salary packaging options
• Career development & education assistance to further your technical or leadership ambitions
• Ongoing access to family-friendly health and medical wellbeing support
• Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual, paid parental, sick leave)
• Exclusive employee discounts (banking, accommodation, cars, retail and more)
• Possible domestic relocation assistance

 About Rio Tinto

Every idea, every innovation, every little thing the world calls ‘progress’ begins witha first step, and someone willing to take it: explorers, inventors, entrepreneurs. Pioneers. 

For nearly 150 years, Rio Tinto has been a company of pioneers – generations of people spanning the globe, all with the grit and vision to produce materials essential to human progress. 

Our iron ore has shaped skylines from Shanghai to Sydney. Our aluminium – the world’s first to be certified “responsible” – helps planes fly and makes cars lighter. Our copper helps wind turbines power cities and our boron helps feed the world, and explore the universe. Our diamonds help us celebrate the best parts of life. 

Where you’ll be working

The role will be based at Central Park Perth CBD.

In the Pilbara region of Western Australia, we own an integrated portfolio of iron ore assets: a world-class, integrated network of 16 mines, four independent port terminals, a 1,700 kilometre rail network and related infrastructure – all designed to respond rapidly to changes in demand. We are one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of iron ore.

Every Voice Matters

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTI+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

Applications close on 21 September 2023 (Rio Tinto reserves the right to remove advertised roles prior to this date).