WSP recruits AWE programme director: implications for major project delivery teams
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
WSP has appointed Sharif Narouz as major programme director for the UK and Ireland, recruiting him from the Ministry of Defence’s Atomic Weapons Establishment where he led the Future Materials Campus programme. Narouz also served as a high-risk project reviewer with the National Infrastructure & Service Transformation Authority and previously held senior rail delivery roles at Network Rail, Transport for London and Crossrail as supply chain delivery director. WSP signals a push to expand its capability on complex, multi-billion-pound major commissions from early-stage inception through to completion.
Technical Brief
- Role is scoped across UK and Ireland, implying cross-jurisdictional delivery and regulatory coordination.
- Experience at the Atomic Weapons Establishment suggests familiarity with nuclear-security design constraints and highly controlled construction environments.
- Future Materials Campus background points to complex laboratory, materials-testing and high-specification building programmes.
- High-risk project reviewer role at NISTA indicates direct exposure to projects with elevated cost, schedule and safety risk profiles.
- Previous rail roles at Network Rail, TfL and Crossrail align with multi-stakeholder, brownfield, interface-heavy infrastructure delivery.
- Supply chain delivery director experience is relevant to managing Tier 1–Tier 3 contractor performance on mega-programmes.
- Appointment sits within WSP’s project, cost and commercial management function, strengthening integrated commercial–technical governance.
Our Take
WSP already features prominently in our 83 Infrastructure stories, and this senior hire in the UK and Ireland suggests the firm is consolidating high‑end programme management capability in defence and rail to complement its Canadian infrastructure portfolio.
Experience drawn from the Atomic Weapons Establishment and the Future Materials Campus points to WSP targeting technically complex, security‑sensitive and R&D‑heavy assets, which typically command longer‑term, higher‑margin advisory roles than conventional transport projects.
With Network Rail, Transport for London and Crossrail all cited alongside UK and Ireland coverage, this move signals that WSP is positioning to lead on integrated rail and urban programmes where interface risk between multiple public bodies has been a recurring challenge in our Projects‑tagged pieces.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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