Area Project Manager - Non-Process Infrastructure; NPI

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Maintain NPI permitting and land tracker (land disturbance, building,…