Defects & Handover Manager

About John Holland

At John Holland, our purpose is simple - we transform lives with everything we do.

We've always known that infrastructure is about people — our customers, our employees, and the communities in which we work every day. That's our difference.

Deep experience and capability with a genuine care about creating better lives for people along the way.

Be part of the team that's up for the challenge of transforming lives for good.

About the Role / Are you up for the challenge?

The Defects and Handover Manager will oversee the implementation of the overarching project handover strategy, ensuring a comprehensive and fully compliant handover process. This collaboration will also involve aligning requirements of key stakeholders and the Accredited Rail Operators to achieve a seamless and successful project acceptance.

The Defects and Handover Manager is ultimately responsible for managing and coordinating all activities required to ensure the successful including overseeing the identification and rectification of defects, ensuring all works are completed to the required quality standards, and meeting all contractual and regulatory obligations. The role is critical in facilitating a seamless transition from construction to operations, ensuring the project is handed over in a manner that supports successful acceptance of the job.

This position offers an exciting opportunity to play a critical role in the successful delivery of the B2A T2 construction project. The Defects and Handover Manager will be instrumental in ensuring the project meets the highest standards of quality and client satisfaction.

Project Description

Inland Rail is transforming how goods are moved around Australia, connecting Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. This 1,700km fast freight backbone will complete our national freight network - better connecting producers to markets and creating new opportunities for regional businesses, industries and communities.

The Beveridge to Albury (B2A) project is the Victorian portion of the program undertaken along approximately 305 kms of existing northest rail corridor between Beveridge and Albury. B2A is staged in two tranches. Tranche 1 includes enhancement works across four sites and corridor wide works.

Tranche 2 works will be delivered by John Holland and includes adjustment of track alignments, the provision of new road overbridges and station modifications to enable the safe operation of double-stack freight trains across eight B2A project sites between Wandong and Benalla.

Responsibilities of the role include / What you will do;

Handover Management

• Liaise with key project stakeholders to align and Implement handover strategy
• Develop and manage the project handover plan, ensuring alignment with contractual requirements and client expectations.
• Oversee the preparation and submission of all handover documentation, including as-built drawings, operation and maintenance manuals, warranties, and certifications.
• Manage inspections and walkthroughs with the client and relevant stakeholders to ensure all handover requirements are met.
• Manage the close-out process, ensuring all outstanding works and defects are resolved prior to final handover.

Defects Management

• Develop and implement a comprehensive defects management plan for the project.
• Coordinate the identification, logging, and tracking of defects during construction and post-completion phases.
• Liaise with subcontractors and internal teams to ensure timely rectification of defects.
• Manage all inspections to verify the quality of rectification works and ensure compliance with project specifications and standards.
• Oversee the development of an accurate and up-to-date defects register, ensuring all issues are tracked and resolved within agreed timeframes.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as the primary point of contact for the client and other stakeholders regarding defects and handover matters.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with the client, subcontractors, and internal teams to ensure effective communication and collaboration.
• Provide regular updates to the Interface Manager and other key stakeholders on the status of defects and handover activities.

Compliance and Quality Assurance

• Ensure all defects and handover activities comply with relevant standards, codes, and contractual obligations.
• Work closely with the Quality team to ensure all rectification works meet the required quality standards.
• Identify and mitigate risks related to defects and handover to avoid delays or disputes.

Continuous Improvement

• Implement best practices to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of defects management and handover processes.

Key Skills and Competencies

• Strong understanding of construction processes, quality and completions standards, and defects management.
• Excellent project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships and influence stakeholders.
• Problem-solving and decision-making skills, with a focus on achieving practical and timely solutions.
• Attention to detail and a commitment to delivering high-quality outcomes.
• Proficiency in project management and defects tracking software.

To be successful in this key role, you must have / What we are looking for;

• Demonstrated experience in overseeing the development and implementation of handover framework throughout the whole project lifecycle
• Tertiary qualification in Construction Management, Engineering, or a related field.
• Proven experience in defects management and project handover on large-scale construction projects.
• Strong knowledge of construction contracts, standards, and compliance requirements.
• Experience working collaboratively with clients, subcontractors, and multidisciplinary teams.
• Familiarity with defects tracking systems and handover documentation processes.

As part of the team, you can help us transform lives.

Your success is reflected in ours, so we're committed to being an employer of choice. We pride ourselves on having a diverse and inclusive workplace, as we understand that different perspectives and ideas are critical to our long-term success.

We want you to be with us for the long term, so providing you with rich career experiences and ongoing development is our priority.

What's in it for you

We're about connecting your sense of purpose to ours. We understand that your career is one of the biggest ways to have an impact on the world. We also believe in supporting you as a whole person, not just an employee.

We reward and support our people in so many ways. This starts with being flexible about how different people like to work. From generous leave policies to wellbeing and relationship support, your needs sit at the heart of our employee benefits.

We Offer:

• Competitive remuneration with salary continuance, and salary sacrifice options.
• Great leave benefits including 18 weeks paid parental leave with super and up to an extra 18 weeks of super paid on further periods of unpaid parental leave, multicultural leave exchange and two extra days to prioritise your wellbeing.
• Career progression underpinned by our exciting pipeline of work means you'll have the opportunity to work on iconic projects that are shaping cities and communities.
• Learning and development opportunities where you'll have access to emerging talent programs, building your career through clear career pathways, plus technical and leadership training and development opportunities.
• Inclusion, diversity and equity is part of how we work. We want everyone at John Holland to feel that they belong - that's why we're working hard every day to foster a more inclusive culture, backed by a business-wide inclusion strategy to bring about meaningful change. We've also got active employee resource groups that support our commitments including those around gender equality and reconciliation.
• Flexible working that works for you as we know flexibility means different things to different people. Whether it's flexi-hours, flexi-parenting, flexi-leave, flexi-shifts or flexi-work, we're committed to helping our people work flexi