An appropriately qualified delivery Project Director (who may be different from the procurement Project Director) should be engaged as early as possible prior to the end of the procurement stage. Ideally the delivery and operations phase Project Director should be engaged in sufficient time to provide input prior to the issue of the RFP. This will facilitate a smooth and efficient transfer from the procurement stage to the project delivery stage. It will also ensure that from day one of the delivery stage, the delivery Project Director has the benefit of:
• knowledge transferred from the procurement team to the contract management team
• an ability to invoke the contract management strategy immediately upon contract execution
• a solid understanding of the contract, and the Responsible Agency and private sector's deliverables
• the ability to administer a KPI and performance regime that is optimised for effectiveness
• a solid understanding of the basis for the risk allocations; and
• a solid understanding of the Responsible Agency's project budget and EPA Act requirements.
This knowledge will help to ensure that value for money, contractually agreed risk allocation and the intended project objectives are maintained throughout the project delivery and operations stages. There is also benefit in the delivery team having access to the procurement team for better continuity as the project transitions into the delivery phase.
The delivery Project Director must be given appropriate delegation powers within the Responsible Agency to undertake his/her contractual responsibilities for the Responsible Agency.
The delivery Project Director and senior management of the Responsible Agency must comply with Appendix 5 of these Guidelines and other relevant NSW Government policies (refer to section 7.4).
The Project Director will report to a senior manager of the Responsible Agency, as well as an inter-agency Project Steering Committee.
It is strongly advised that the delivery Project Director and implementation Project Team members undertake contract management for PPPs training, which is normally provided annually or semi-annually through a joint arrangement between Partnerships Victoria and NSW Treasury.
Succession planning should also be considered for the Project Director and other key personnel in view of the length of a typical PPP concession term. The Responsible Agency should identify a succession path for critical roles to ensure retention of project knowledge to de-risk the operational phase of the PPP.