Principal Advisor Underground Construction

Oyu Tolgoi’s workforce today is more than 97 per cent Mongolian, and a major strategic focus for the company is to develop a skilled workforce that is continuously learning. We aim to attract the best talent, so that we can together deliver a safe and globally competitive copper business that contributes to the prosperity of Mongolia.

Oyu Tolgoi LLC is operating a copper-gold mine in southern territory of Mongolia. The company aspires a vision ‘Natural wealth to enduring value, knowledge, and skill’, and pursues a mission, 'Together deliver a safe and globally competitive copper business that contributes to the prosperity of Mongolia' to build one of the largest copper-gold mines worldwide.

Principal Advisor Underground Construction

Diverse & challenging projects with our underground operations team

Be part of a group that is safety driven and values inclusion

About the role

We are looking for a Principal Advisor UG Construction to join our Underground Operations Team delivering the world-class underground mine in Mongolia. This is a key role within the Owner’s team with the responsibility for the safe and timely delivery of the cave Production Infrastructure inclusive of grizzly’s, ore bins with wear liners, truck loading chutes, extraction level and haulage level concrete roadways, services reticulation and draw point steel brow set installations. The role is responsible for supporting the coordination of contractor teams to deliver the relevant scopes of work in accordance with the project plans and specifications and to achieve effective performance in accordance with detailed projects and schedules within the designated time frame and budget, also be responsible for the training and upskilling of the national Superintendents.

Living in Ulaanbaatar and fly in and fly out to the mine site on Monday to Friday roster or 4 Week On / 2 Week Off – international FIFO roster and reporting to the Manager Extraction and Haulage Level Construction, you will be:

Accountable for providing expert guidance on the delivery of assigned construction packages

Provide rotational coverage to the Manager Extraction and Haulage Level in leadership of the team and management of contractors

Maintain and apply a working knowledge of relevant engineering legislation, building codes and standards as they apply to the project

Driving performance and providing leadership to the team

Overseeing and monitor the performance of the works contractor(s) to ensure compliance with schedule, cost and quality requirements

Ensuring the design fully complies with the tender documents

Ensure that the construct is built as per the design

Engaging with the owners and contractors to ensure construction activities are performed safely and in accordance with Rio Tinto standards and procedures

Undertaking field and engineering documentation audits to ensure compliance with Legislative requirements and Rio Tinto project engineering guidance and standards

Providing technical support and direction on engineering matters, building on and sharing of the lessons learned

Participating in design and constructability reviews to identify opportunities to improve execution and/or operations of the facilities

Maintaining relationships with key stakeholders to drive a culture of collaboration, participation and improvement

Coordinating with the Mining team to address interface issues and support the operational readiness activities required to transition from construction through to operations

What you will bring

Undergraduate or equivalent or higher education obtained through degrees or diplomas from academic college or universities in Civil Engineering or relevant discipline. Relevant and appropriate experience in lieu of education requirements is acceptable.

At least 10 years of experience in managing the execution of underground construction projects with delivery of key packages, to the project’s quality and performance requirements

Experience with all aspects of Civil, SMP, E&I, Engineering, Project Controls and Project Management.

Experience in managing a multi discipline team and third-party execution contractors

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Knowledge of interpreting detailed engineering and resolving conflicts between engineering and construction

Demonstrated ability to work as part of an integrated delivery team

Well-developed contract management skills and commercial acumen

An ability to work autonomously within a highly complex project delivery environment

It will also be beneficial if you have:

Engineering qualification with formal project or construction management qualification highly regarded

Experience working in developing countries with exposure in coaching and facilitating skills transfer to nationals

What we offer

A work environment where safety is always the number one priority

International relocation and visa assistance

Competitive package including annual incentive and living allowance

Career development to further your ambitions

Access top tier family-friendly health and medical programs

Generous Rio Tinto employee share program

Employee Assistance Program

Ongoing individual wellbeing support for you and your family for personal and professional matter

Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/ annual, paid parental, sick leave)

About us

Joining the Rio Tinto Oyu Tolgoi Underground Project team is a great opportunity to be part of one of the most exciting developments in copper and gold mining for several decades. The mine contains reserves and resources that make it one of the world’s largest copper-gold deposits.

This mega project is expected to be a major contributor to Mongolia’s development. As part of the Rio Tinto Oyu Tolgoi Underground Project team, you have the ability to contribute to something significant and learn and develop both personally and professionally. We offer a collaborative, high performing environment where success is achieved by working together.

Discover more about Mongolia and Oyu Tolgoi

Mongolia is increasingly becoming a destination for tourism and expatriate residents. As a rapidly developing city, Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar is seen as a comfortable, yet exciting place to live. With an array of cultural and social activities available and a growing network of international schools, housing options, and leisure facilities, its home to a growing community of international expatriates.

Located in the South Gobi Desert, just 80 kilometres from the Chinese border, the Oyu Tolgoi open pit mine and camp is a large, well-run and comfortable site with multiple amenities including recreational and sports facilities, a cinema, shops, restaurants and bars catered to a growing community. For more information about OT site, please check out this video.

Where you’ll be working

Oyu Tolgoi is an operating Copper / Gold open pit mine with a brownfields underground mining project. The site is located in the Gobi Desert region of Mongolia. The reserves case for the underground project is in the order of 0.5 billion tonnes of ore to be mined from the 95,000 tonnes per day Hugo North Lift 1 (HNL1) panel cave mine with a 20-year operations life. There is also the potential for 3 further block cave districts to increase mine life beyond 100 years.

Every Voice Matters

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

Job application closes on August 7, 2026

#GTS

Respect and Inclusion

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.