Yacht Project Manager
A yacht project manager takes a piece of work on a superyacht, such as a refit, a repaint or a new tender garage, and delivers it on time and within budget. You write the scope, get quotes, pick contractors and run the job day to day. Most come ashore after years as a chief engineer or captain, and the owner trusts them with large sums of money.
The jobWhat fills the day
The job starts long before the yacht reaches the yard. You sit down with the captain and chief engineer to build a work list, turn it into a written specification, and send it to two or three yards for tender. You compare quotes line by line, negotiate, and get the owner or manager to sign off a budget. During the work you hold weekly progress meetings, check quality on site, approve or reject variation orders and keep the classification surveyor and flag informed.
Scale changes everything. A 35m yacht having a winter maintenance period in Palma might be a six-week job with a dozen contractors, run part-time alongside other projects. A 90m yacht in a five-month refit at Amico in Genoa or a Dutch yard can run to tens of millions of euros, with paint, interior, AV, class survey and engine overhauls all in progress at the same time. On large projects you live near the yard and report to the owner's office every week.
Employers include management companies in Monaco, Antibes and Palma, refit consultancies, and some yards that run project management in-house. They hire people who know yachts from the inside. Former chief engineers are the most common route in, followed by captains, chief officers with refit experience, and naval architects or marine surveyors. A track record of two or three refits seen through from the crew side counts for more than a business degree. Fluent English is expected, and French, Italian or Dutch helps at the yards.
Most start by handling smaller yard periods and warranty work, then move up to full refits. From there the usual steps are senior project manager, head of refit or technical director at a management company, or new build project manager and owner's representative, which pay the most. Some go freelance once they have a name in the industry and a few owners who keep coming back. Expect regular travel between yards and long weeks when a project is close to delivery.
Skills employers look for
- Specification and tender writing
- Budget and cost control
- Contractor negotiation
- Class and flag survey knowledge
- Marine engineering systems
- Site quality inspection
- Clear owner reporting
A working dayTuesday at a refit yard in La Ciotat, 62m motor yacht
Walk the yacht with the chief engineer before contractors arrive. Check overnight progress on the hull fairing and the generator overhaul.
Weekly progress meeting with the yard's project manager, the paint subcontractor and the captain. Agree on two slipped tasks and how they get back on schedule.
Review three variation orders for extra steelwork found under the swim platform. Approve one and push back on the price of the other two.
Lunch at the yard canteen with the class surveyor, who is on site for the shaft inspection.
Join the surveyor in the shaft tunnel and confirm what class needs signed off before relaunch.
Update the cost tracker and forecast. The project is 4% over the contingency line and the owner's office needs to know why.
Call with the interior outfitter in Italy about delayed guest cabin panels. Arrange a revised delivery date and inform the yard.
Write the weekly report for the yacht manager in Monaco, with photos, budget status and decisions needed from the owner.
Back to the rented flat in town. Phone off unless the yard calls.
Pay by experienceAnnual salary. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
Salary is taxed onshore, unlike crew pay, so a former chief engineer may take home less at first. Employers often add a car, travel and accommodation during long yard periods, and sometimes a bonus for delivering on budget. See the Refit, Shipyard & Project Management salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Qualifications
Must have
- Proven refit experience from the crew or yard side
- STCW Basic Safety Training for yard and sea trial access
Gets you hired
- MCA Chief Engineer Y1-Y4 or Master Yachts CoC
- PRINCE2 or APM project management qualification
- IOSH Managing Safely
- Full driving licence
Where it leadsA typical career path
Refit, Shipyard & Project Management jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
Do I need to have worked on yachts to become a project manager?
Almost always, yes. Owners and managers want someone who has lived through refits and knows what the crew will face afterwards. Naval architects and surveyors can come in from the side, but they still need to understand yacht systems in detail.
How is this different from a refit manager or new build project manager?
A yacht project manager handles any defined job, from a short yard period to a full refit, often several at once. Refit managers focus purely on large refits, and new build project managers spend two to four years supervising one build at a yard.
Will I earn more than I did as a chief engineer?
Not always at first. A chief engineer on a large yacht earns tax-free with no living costs, so a taxed shore salary can feel lower. Senior and freelance project managers usually catch up and go past it, and you get a normal home life.
Where are most of these jobs based?
Mainly Monaco, Antibes, Palma, the Netherlands and the UK, with some in Fort Lauderdale. You travel to wherever the yacht is in the yard, which can mean months in Genoa, Barcelona, La Ciotat or northern Germany.