Pre-Construction Manager

Balfour Beatty plc; Motherwell; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Smart working with up to 40% remote

25 days paid annual leave

Pension and share incentive plan

Job summary

Balfour Beatty Power T&D is seeking a Pre-Construction Manager to lead Early Contractor Involvement and pre-construction services for major UK power infrastructure projects.

You will bridge development and construction, manage risks, and establish robust delivery solutions before on-site works commence, coordinating design, governance and client interfaces with a focus on safety and efficiency.

Qualifications

• Experience leading pre-construction, ECI, and major project planning within infrastructure environments.
• Strong understanding of project lifecycle from concept through construction.
• Proven ability to manage multiple stakeholders, including clients, consultants and delivery teams.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams and technical specialists.
• Excellent communication, presentation and relationship management skills.
• Strong knowledge of risk management, governance and project controls.

Responsibilities

• Lead Pre-Construction Activities across strategic power projects.
• Act as primary client contact during feasibility and pre-construction phases.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary pre-construction teams to deliver safe, efficient outputs.
• Support feasibility, scope development, detailed design and contract award stages.
• Ensure seamless transition from pre-construction to construction delivery.

Skills

Pre-construction leadership

ECI management

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Design coordination

Project governance

Education

Degree in Civil/ Electrical/Mechanical Engineering

Tools

BIM

MS Office

Project controls software

Job description

Balfour Beatty Power T&D is playing a leading role in delivering the UK's energy transition, working with major clients including SSEN Transmission, Scottish Power Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission on some of the country's most significant power infrastructure projects.

As our portfolio of framework agreements continues to grow, we're looking for a Pre-Construction Manager to lead the successful delivery of Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) and pre-construction services across a range of strategically important projects.

This is a pivotal role that bridges the gap between project development and construction delivery, ensuring projects are developed efficiently, risks are effectively managed, and robust delivery solutions are established before works commence on site.

• Leading Pre-Construction Activities
• Manage the successful delivery of ECI and pre-construction services across major power infrastructure projects.
• Act as the primary point of contact for clients during feasibility and pre-construction phases.
• Lead and coordinate multidisciplinary pre-construction teams, ensuring deliverables are completed safely, efficiently and to a high standard.
• Support projects through feasibility, scope development, detailed design and contract award stages.
• Ensure a seamless transition from pre-construction through to construction delivery.

Client & Stakeholder Management

• Build strong relationships with key clients including SSEN Transmission, Scottish Power Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission.
• Work closely with operational leads to develop and deliver effective project solutions.
• Facilitate collaboration between internal teams, clients, consultants and external stakeholders.
• Provide regular project updates and reporting to senior stakeholders.

Governance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with Balfour Beatty governance requirements and gated lifecycle processes.
• Identify, manage and mitigate project risks during project development.
• Support effective knowledge transfer between pre-construction and delivery teams.
• Develop robust project strategies that support successful delivery outcomes.

Design & Engineering Coordination

• Work closely with Design Leads to ensure design development progresses effectively.
• Support compliance with CDM 2015 requirements and Principal Designer obligations.
• Ensure design reviews, consultant outputs and technical deliverables are effectively managed.
• Champion Health & Safety by Design principles and drive risk reduction throughout the design process.

Commercial & Project Development

• Support the development of winning project strategies and delivery solutions.
• Work with bid and proposals teams to produce high-quality client submissions.
• Assist clients with estimating, planning, programme development and regulatory submissions.
• Ensure projects are fully prepared and "fit to start" before handover to construction teams.

Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Promote innovation and best practice throughout the pre-construction process.
• Encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing across Balfour Beatty Power T&D and the wider business.
• Support the adoption of BIM, digital engineering and modern delivery methodologies.
• Embed lessons learned and defect prevention strategies within project development activities.
• Mentor and support the development of colleagues within the pre-construction community.

We're interested in speaking with experienced pre-construction, project development and engineering professionals who can bring together technical expertise, leadership and stakeholder management skills.

Essential

• Experience managing pre-construction, ECI, project development or major project planning activities within infrastructure environments.
• Strong understanding of project lifecycle management from concept through to construction.
• Proven ability to manage multiple stakeholders, including clients, consultants and delivery teams.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams and technical specialists.
• Excellent communication, presentation and relationship management skills.
• Strong understanding of risk management, governance and project controls.
• Experience supporting the successful transition of projects into delivery.

Desirable

• Background within power transmission, energy, utilities, civil engineering or major infrastructure projects.
• Technical expertise in civil engineering, electrical engineering or a related discipline.
• Experience working under framework agreements and collaborative contracting models.
• Knowledge of ECI, Stage One contracting and major project governance processes.
• Experience working with SSEN, National Grid, Scottish Power or other regulated utility clients.
• Understanding of BIM, digital engineering and modern methods of project delivery.

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:

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…

Balfour Beatty’s Power Transmission & Distribution teams work with regional, national and international electricity network owners and operators to provide technical engineering solutions across the full spectrum of the electricity grid, including overhead lines, cabling, substations and distribution networks.

From scoping and feasibility, to design, construction and on-going maintenance, our in-house experts, flexible resources and industry-leading innovations support customers in the development of some of the UK’s most ambitious power transmission and distribution projects.

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]