DIRECTOR - INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGER

DIRECTOR - INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGER

 BACKGROUND & ORGANISATION

Iarnród Éireann / Irish Rail (IÉ) is the public railway company of Ireland. As an integrated railway its’ role is to manage all associated infrastructure while providing passenger and freight transport across Intercity, Interregional, Commuter and DART (Dublin metro) services. IÉ also owns and operates Rosslare Europort and is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann.

The Company is on an ambitious developmental journey, in service of a growing Ireland, and is organised to include an Operating function with Rail Undertaking (RU) and Infrastructure Management (IM), a growing Capital Investment unit, Commercial Businesses and corporate shared services.

IÉ is realising its ambition to be the backbone of Ireland’s sustainable transport network, delivering growth through a €10bn+ nationwide programme of capital investment projects in Ireland’s heavy rail network. Funded by the Department of Transport, the National Transport Authority and the European Union, this Investment programme will grow the current carrying capacity from 50 million to 80 million passengers by the end of the decade, significantly expanding rail freight operations and developing the Rosslare Europort infrastructure.

An investment programme of this scale is crucial to the implementation of national and regional transport and environmental policies and represents the most positive era for growth and transformation of rail transport services in the history of the State.

Reinforced by the All-Island Strategic Rail Review (AISRR), jointly commissioned by the Department of Transport and the Department of Infrastructure in Northern Ireland, our extensive capital investment programme sets out the vision for continued improvements for passengers and wider society on the island of Ireland up to 2050. With an estimated capital cost of €37bn, the AISRR, recommends further actions for additional electrification of services, increased speeds, higher service frequency and new routes and is aligned with the net carbon zero commitments in both jurisdictions.

 THE ROLE

Reporting to the Chief Operations Officer, the Director Infrastructure Manager (IM) is a pivotal role in IÉ, managing an annual budget of over €350m and leading a team of eleven direct reports and an overall engineering function of c.2,000 people. Together with collaborative engagement with the broader senior team at IÉ, the Director IM leads the development, planning and delivery of quality maintenance, renewals and remediation for engineering assets and leads the development and maintenance of an effective Asset Management System to support asset management activities.

The Director IM leads the development and implementation of policies and standards for infrastructure asset maintenance and enhancements. As such, maximising the use of new technologies and optimising cross functional interdependencies with the Railway Undertaking and Capital Investment teams are key priorities of the role.

In addition to collaborating with internal colleagues, the Director IM works closely with key external stakeholders including: the Department of Transport; the National Transport Authority; the Commission for Railway Regulation and Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate will have:

• An overall understanding of transport policy and government plans for the development of rail in Ireland;
• An empathy with the values at IÉ, ‘Always Safe, Customers At The Heart Of The Business, Valuing Our People, One Team, Proud of Our Past - Passionate about Our Future and Sustainability in Motion’;
• An understanding of and a commitment to the strategic direction at IÉ;
• Experience of organisational growth and development and the necessary leadership challenges/change and transformation initiatives across an organisation;
• Significant engineering leadership credibility based on experience on a comparable scale of investment, level of complexity and attendant commercial demands;
• Team, people and stakeholder engagement experience to reinforce a culture of collaboration, inclusion and continuous improvement;
• A track record of professional development of engineering and allied teams for the creation of a high performing, safe and reliable rail service for the public.

This is one of the most senior engineering leadership roles in Ireland and arises at a time of unprecedented investment in heavy rail infrastructure in Ireland. It is an exciting opportunity for an engineering professional with significant people leadership capability to contribute to the development of rail services on an all-island basis.

To discuss your interest and for further information on this role, please contact PwC Executive Search:

ELLEN ROCHE                         ellen.roche@pwc.com                 +353 87 637 0812

ADRIENNE HARTEN            adrienne.harten@pwc.com        +353 87 247 2896

To make an application for this role, please send a comprehensive curriculum vitae and a personal statement outlining your fit for the role to ie_recruitment_ie_dim@pwc.com

The closing date for receipt of applications is Monday 30th March 2026.

IÉ is a subsidiary of the commercial semi-state group of transport companies, Córas Iompair Éireann, and its activities are regulated by the National Transport Authority and by the Commission for Railway Regulation. Irish Rail is an equal opportunities employer.