Commercial Manager - Southampton

Balfour Beatty; Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading infrastructure services company is seeking a Commercial Manager in Southampton. In this key senior role, you will lead commercial delivery across diverse projects ensuring compliance and profitability. You will manage a high-performing team, oversee financial performance, and engage with local authorities. The ideal candidate will bring proven commercial management expertise, strong negotiation skills, and relevant qualifications. This position offers a hybrid working model and a range of benefits.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

25 days paid annual leave

Family friendly policies

Pension and share incentive plan

Qualifications

• Proven experience in highways, civils, or similar infrastructure projects.
• Capability in leading commercial teams on multi-million-pound programmes.
• Chartered status (RICS, ICES, CIOB) or equivalent experience required.

Responsibilities

• Lead commercial delivery from project inception through to final accounts.
• Manage monthly CVRs, financial forecasting, and risk tracking.
• Engage with stakeholders and represent the company in negotiations.
• Oversee team management and development of commercial staff.

Skills

Commercial management expertise

Negotiation skills

Financial management

Client liaison

Education

BSc/MSc in Quantity Surveying or equivalent experience

Job description

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About the role

Job Title: Commercial Manager

Location: Southampton (#LI-Hybrid - 3 days in office including Mondays)

Project Type: Highways | Civils | Coastal protection / Ports| Local Authority Partnerships

Company: Balfour Beatty Group

Balfour Beatty Living Places delivers long-term, high-quality highway, civils and port infrastructure services across Southampton and Portsmouth. As we continue to grow our portfolio and strengthen our partnership with local authorities, we are seeking an experienced Commercial Manager to join our leadership team in Southampton.

This is a key senior role with responsibility for ensuring robust commercial management, contractual compliance, and financial performance across a diverse portfolio of works.

With significant repeat business and long-standing customer relationships, this is an excellent opportunity to lead a stable, established commercial function within a high-performing operational environment.

What you'll be doing

As a key member of the Living Places leadership team, you will:

Commercial Leadership

• Lead commercial delivery from project inception through to final accounts, ensuring profitable and compliant outcomes.
• Manage monthly CVRs, financial forecasting, earned value reporting and commercial risk/opportunity tracking.
• Provide expert commercial insight during tendering, cost planning, estimating and value engineering reviews.

Client & Stakeholder Engagement

• Work closely with Southampton & Portsmouth City Councils and other partners, maintaining strong, proactive relationships.
• Represent Balfour Beatty in commercial discussions, progress meetings and contract negotiations.

Team Management

• Manage, mentor and develop a high-performing commercial team, supporting chartership pathways and career progression.
• Oversee recruitment, resource planning and performance development for commercial staff.

Supply Chain & Procurement

• Lead procurement strategies aligned to programme, quality and value objectives.
• Oversee supply chain performance, contracts, disallowed costs and dispute avoidance/resolution.

Governance & Best Practice

• Maintain adherence to GMCEs, BMS, commercial governance and legislative standards.
• Maximise digital tools and commercial data feedback loops to continuously improve performance.

Who we're looking for

Key Responsibilities

We're seeking an experienced commercial leader who brings:

• Proven commercial management expertise within highways, civils, infrastructure, local authority frameworks, or similar.
• Strong capability in negotiation, cost engineering, financial management and client liaison.
• Experience leading and developing commercial teams on multi-million-pound programmes.
• Chartered status (RICS, ICES, CIOB) or equivalent senior-level experience.
• A proactive, relationship-driven mindset and the ability to see the bigger picture.

Qualifications

• BSc/MSc in Quantity Surveying or equivalent experience.

Why join us?

• Long-term partnership work - stable, predictable programmes with repeat clients
• Opportunity to influence major local infrastructure that directly benefits communities
• Strong focus on innovation, digital delivery and continuous improvement
• Career progression, professional development and chartership support
• Supportive leadership team with a collaborative, inclusive culture

Professional and personal development

The size and scale of Balfour Beatty coupled with our strong pipeline of work provides incredible opportunities, regardless of what stage you are at in your career.

We encourage and empower our employees to take control of their career and explore which part of the business they want to work in and what role is right for them. We actively encourage our managers and employees to have open communication throughout the year about wellbeing, development and career opportunities.

We're proud of the Balfour Beatty Academy. Whether it's sharpening your technical expertise, improving your personal skills or seeking support to become professionally qualified, our 70:20:10* approach to development means we have a learning approach that suits everyone.

*70% learning on the job, 20% learning from those around you, and 10% formal training courses and learning events.

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 wasn'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

Balfour Beatty Living Places works in long-term partnerships with local authorities to create great places to live, work and play. We actively engage with local people to understand the needs of the communities we work in and shape the places where local economies can thrive and grow. As a leader in sustainable working, diversity, and social value, we use our expertise to bring real, positive change for our customers.

Diversity and inclusion

At Balfour Beatty we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone is able to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. To find out how we are making this a reality, visit www.balfourbeatty.com/diversityandinclusion

To help and support us with our desired commitment to create an inclusive culture we are members of WISE, enei, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also a Gold Award holder in the Ministry of Defence 'Employer Recognition Scheme' and actively encourage applications from Armed Forces personnel, veterans and reservists.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to working with people who have disabilities and long-term health conditions to remove barriers for them in obtaining employment. We are also committed to offering applicants with a disability an interview if they meet the minimum requirements for the role. For more info, visit https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/

We are looking to continually improve our resourcing process and ensure that it is fair and inclusive for all. If you have any feedback on the process, please share this with us at [e-mail]