Area Project Manager - Non-Process Infrastructure (NPI)

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Job Description

Albemarle is hiring for an Area Project Manager. This position is hybrid and located in Kings Mountain, NC and full-time on-site presence is required during active construction phases.

The Area Project Manager - Non-Process Infrastructure (NPI) is a senior capital project leadership role within Albemarle's Kings Mountain lithium mine project-one of the most strategically significant critical mineral developments in the United States. This role owns end-to-end delivery of non-process infrastructure that enables safe, on-schedule construction and start-up of the Mine, Concentrator, and Tailings areas.

NPI scope includes high-voltage power and substations; mine haul/access roads and site earthworks; raw and process water supply, storage, and treatment; stormwater and environmental containment; site buildings (maintenance, warehouse, dry/admin); telecoms/controls backbone; geotechnical and surveying programs; and third-party utility coordination.

The successful candidate brings hands-on experience delivering infrastructure for greenfield or brownfield mining and mineral processing facilities, with strong understanding of hard-rock concentrator sequencing and interfaces. This role requires an EPCM-caliber project manager with an owner's mindset to protect schedule, capital, and operability through design, construction, commissioning, and turnover.

What You Will Do

Project Leadership & Execution

• Own scope, schedule, budget, and risk for all NPI projects supporting the Mine, Concentrator, and Tailings areas across FEL2-IFC, construction, commissioning, and handover.
• Develop execution plans, WBS, and integrated schedules aligned to the overall Kings Mountain master schedule and critical path.
• Control cost and change (Class 3 through completion): estimates, commitments, contingency, change orders, and monthly performance reporting.
• Maintain risk and issue registers, drive timely resolution/escalation, and lead NPI stage-gate readiness reviews to ensure FEL maturity before sanction and execution.

Mining & Concentrator Infrastructure Expertise

• Lead greenfield hard-rock mining infrastructure delivery: access/haul roads, earthworks, ROM pad interfaces, and overburden/stockpile enabling works.
• Translate concentrator needs (crushing, grinding, separation/flotation, dewatering) into coordinated NPI scope: power, water, compressed air, reagent/utility areas, and building envelope.
• Manage mine-to-plant and plant interface points with process, OEMs, and EPCM: equipment pads/foundations, utility tie-ins, corridors, constructability, and commissioning utility readiness.
• Coordinate tailings infrastructure interfaces (ancillary works, return water, decant/pumping, access) with geotechnical and environmental teams.

Engineering & Design Oversight

• Direct EPCM and specialty consultants across civil/structural, mechanical, electrical, I&C, and architectural disciplines for NPI scope.
• Review/approve key deliverables (site layout, grading, foundations/structures, electrical single-lines, underground utilities) and guide routing decisions to ensure constructability and operability.
• Ensure all designs incorporate safety-in-design principles and satisfy requirements identified through HAZID, HAZOP, and constructability reviews. Ensure all open action items are formally closed prior to IFC issuance.
• Participate in or lead value engineering exercises to optimize NPI capital cost without compromising operability, maintainability, or regulatory compliance.

Contractor & Supplier Coordination

• Manage interfaces with NPI contractors/utility providers and internal stakeholders; ensure scopes, RFPs, contracts, and changes capture technical and schedule requirements.
• Ensure commercial documents - RFPs, scopes of work, contracts, and change orders - fully capture NPI technical requirements and are aligned with the contracting & procurement team's standards.
• Integrate OEM/vendor requirements into NPI execution (foundations, heavy-haul access/laydown, pre-install utilities, and commissioning readiness) and drive timely receipt of vendor data.

Permitting, Land & Regulatory

• Maintain NPI permitting and land tracker (land disturbance, building, encroachments, utility agreements, environmental authorizations) and align construction sequencing to permit conditions.
• Oversee surveying/easements/right-of-way and geotechnical investigations to support design, manage subsurface risk, and enable construction.

Reporting & Controls

• Implement project controls for NPI scope (baseline, progress, forecasting, and change) and communicate status, risks, and milestones to project leadership and key stakeholders.

Safety & Compliance

• Champion safety-first execution for NPI, embedding safety-in-design and ensuring contractor plans meet site requirements.
• Ensure compliance with MSHA/OSHA requirements and track closure of hazard review and PHA action items prior to construction.

What You Bring

Education

• B.S. in Mechanical, Civil, Electrical, or Chemical Engineering (Mechanical/Civil preferred for mining and concentrator infrastructure scope).
• PE strongly preferred; PMP a plus.

Experience

• 15+ years capital project leadership, primarily in mining, mineral processing, or heavy industrial environments.
• Proven delivery of infrastructure for at least one greenfield/brownfield mine development or major concentrator project; EPCM/owner-side delivery experience highly valued.
• Demonstrated NPI delivery in a mining context (earthworks/roads, HV power, water/stormwater, buildings, multi-utility distribution) within a stage-gate framework (FEL1-FEL3 / Class 5-2 estimates).
• Experience executing government-funded or incentive-supported capital projects (e.g., federal/state grants, DOE programs), including compliance, reporting, and audit readiness preferred but not required.
• Working knowledge of concentrator equipment installation interfaces (crushing, grinding, flotation/separation, thickening/filtration, conveying) and associated utility/sequencing impacts.
• Experience in the lithium, borates, potash, or other specialty minerals industry is a plus given the Kings Mountain project's critical mineral mandate.

Technical Skills

• Able to interpret and challenge key engineering documents (P&IDs, layouts, grading, single-lines, structural and I&C drawings).
• Knowledge of MSHA requirements and strong proficiency with schedule/cost tools (Primavera P6, MS Project, or equivalent).

Leadership & Interpersonal

• Lead and influence multi-disciplinary teams in fast-paced, greenfield mining construction environments.
• Communicate complex project status and risk clearly; operates with an owner's mindset to protect schedule, cost, quality, and operability.

Specific Interface Responsibilities

• Electric power provider: interconnection agreements, substation/design reviews, metering, and energization schedule coordination.
• Permitting: maintain real-time permit status for NPI construction; ensure sequencing complies with conditions and avoids violations.
• Land/surveying & geotechnical: survey control/as-builts, boundary/easements, and subsurface investigations to support roads, earthworks, and foundations.

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Benefits of Joining Albemarle

• Competitive compensation

• Comprehensive benefits package

• A diverse array of resources to support you professionally and personally.

We are partners to one another in pioneering new ways to be better for ourselves, our teams, and our communities. When you join Albemarle, you become our most essential element and you can anticipate competitive compensation, a comprehensive benefits package, and resources that foster your well-being and fuel your personal growth. Help us shape the future, build with purpose and grow together.