Area Director

Balfour Beatty Investments - North America; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Smart working

25 days annual leave

Family friendly policies

Pension

Job summary

Balfour Beatty plc in the UK is seeking an Area Director to lead the Southern geography, overseeing a portfolio of civil engineering and infrastructure projects across Oxfordshire, South Wales and the M4/M5 corridor. You will be accountable for safe, efficient and profitable delivery while building a high-performing organisation.

The role also shapes the future direction of the business, supporting work-winning and pre-construction activities, and collaborating with senior leaders to drive

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in civil engineering, infrastructure or related sector.
• Experience delivering operational, commercial and financial performance with full P&L accountability.
• Proven ability to drive growth and manage diverse project portfolios.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership to the Area Leadership Team and set the strategy for the area.
• Deliver projects safely, on time, on budget and to quality targets.
• Manage the area's financial performance including budgeting, forecasting and risk management.
• Identify and target opportunities to grow the area into a £100m+ business.
• Develop strong customer relationships and support work-winning activities.

Skills

Senior leader

P&L accountability

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

People leadership

Job description

About the role

Balfour Beatty is one of the UK's leading infrastructure groups, delivering complex and essential projects across transportation, utilities, defence, energy and civil engineering. Within UK Construction Services, the Regional Civils business delivers major infrastructure schemes for both public and private sector clients, supporting communities and critical national infrastructure across the UK.

We are seeking an Area Director to lead our Southern geography, covering a significant portfolio of civil engineering and infrastructure projects across Oxfordshire, South Wales and the wider M4/M5 corridor.

This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for the operational, commercial and financial performance of the area. Leading the Area Leadership Team, you will be accountable for the safe, efficient and profitable delivery of multiple projects, while driving strong customer relationships and developing a high-performing organisation.

Alongside responsibility for live project delivery, you will play a key role in shaping the future direction of the business. Working closely with senior leaders across the organisation, you will support work-winning and pre-construction activities, helping to secure future opportunities, strengthen our market position and drive sustainable long-term growth across the region.

This position offers the opportunity to lead a significant operational area, influence business strategy and play a key role in the continued growth of one of the UK's leading infrastructure businesses.

What you'll be doing

• Providing overall leadership to the Area Leadership Team, setting and implementing the strategy for the area.
• Leading Portfolio Directors and Project Managers to deliver projects safely and successfully against time, cost, quality and sustainability targets.
• Taking accountability for the area's financial performance, including budgeting, forecasting and the effective management of risk and opportunity.
• Identifying and targeting opportunities to grow the area into a stable £100 million-plus business.
• Planning and managing regional resources to support efficient delivery across every stage of operations.
• Maintaining a relentless focus on Zero Harm and the health and safety performance of all live projects.
• Developing strong customer relationships throughout the project lifecycle, securing customer advocacy and supporting repeat business.
• Playing an active role in work winning and pre-construction, ensuring tender submissions reflect operational, safety and logistical requirements.
• Working collaboratively with commercial, design, engineering, finance, HR, work-winning and technical teams.
• Leading, coaching and developing high-performing teams while building a strong pipeline of future talent.
• Supporting the delivery of sustainability commitments across UK Construction Services.

Who we're looking for

• Proven senior leader within civil engineering, infrastructure or a related sector, with experience leading regional businesses, major project portfolios, frameworks or operational units.
• Strong track record of delivering operational, commercial and financial performance, with full P&L accountability.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to drive performance across complex and diverse project portfolios whilst remaining close to the operational challenges of the business.
• Experienced in identifying growth opportunities, managing risk and governance, and delivering sustainable business growth.
• Demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing multidisciplinary teams within large, complex organisations.
• Strong commercial acumen, with the credibility to influence stakeholders and make sound business decisions.
• Skilled in building and maintaining customer relationships that generate repeat business and long-term value.
• Experience supporting work-winning activities, shaping business strategy and driving organisational performance.
• A collaborative and influential leader, capable of operating effectively across customers, partners, suppliers and senior stakeholder groups.
• Committed to safety, operational excellence, teamwork and continuous improvement.

Why work for us

Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.

Why join us?

As if contributing to and supporting work that makes life better for millions isn't rewarding enough, we offer a full range of benefits too. You'll have the freedom to shape the package that's right for you and your life. Here are some of our key benefits:

• Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.
• 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata)
• Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave
• Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more…

About us

With a strong track record of delivery, our civils teams connect communities through infrastructure projects in the highways, public realm, rail, flood and coastal defence, and industrial sectors across England and Wales.

Diversity and inclusion

At Balfour Beatty, we want everyone to be able to thrive and achieve their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. We're making great progress through our Value Everyone DEI Action Plan, but we know we've got more to do. Find out more about our values and DEI initiatives.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this role will be offered an interview.

We are committed to our processes being barrier-free and will support adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Please let the recruiter for this role know if you require any adjustments.

We're looking to continually improve our recruitment process, so if you have any feedback, please share this with us via [e-mail]