Preconstruction Manager

Willmott Dixon; Greater Manchester; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Willmott Dixon, based from our North-West head office in Oldham, seeks a Preconstruction Manager to lead the regional pre-construction function. You will oversee a multidisciplinary team across Estimating, Planning, and other specialist functions, shaping early engagement, bid strategy, and project delivery.

You’ll collaborate with senior leaders across Operations, Commercial, Design, and Planning to win opportunities with commercially robust, deliverable solutions.

Qualifications

• Experience leading pre-construction in a main contracting environment.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary bids.
• Strong commercial awareness and risk understanding.
• Ability to influence at senior level.
• Experience developing high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Northwest pre-construction team across multiple technical disciplines.
• Provide direction to senior managers.
• Set clear priorities and ensure the team focuses on the right opportunities.
• Lead major bids and pre-construction activity from early engagement through to contract award.
• Develop clear bid strategies and ensure alignment of technical, commercial and operational teams.
• Challenge risk, design, methodology, and procurement strategies.
• Build strong relationships with customers and external stakeholders.
• Collaborate with operational teams to ensure smooth transition from pre-construction to delivery.
• Develop people, improve processes and raise pre-construction capability.

Skills

Leadership

Bid management

Stakeholder management

Team development

Strategic thinking

Education

MCIOB / RICS / MAPM

Job description

We’re looking for a Preconstruction Manager to join our North-West leadership team, based from our regional head office in Oldham.

This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for bringing together and leading an experienced pre-construction team across a number of technical disciplines, including Estimating, Planning, Preconstruction Project Management and wider specialist functions.

You’ll play a key role in shaping how we approach new opportunities, leading the team to develop winning, commercially robust and deliverable solutions across a strong and varied pipeline of projects.

The opportunity

As Preconstruction Manager, you’ll provide leadership across the pre-construction function, working closely with senior colleagues from Operations, Commercial, Design, Planning, Building Services and Work Winning.

You’ll lead and support experienced senior managers within the team, creating the right environment for them to perform at their best while maintaining clear ownership of the overall pre-construction strategy.

This is a role for someone who can see the bigger picture.

You’ll balance commercial considerations, customer requirements, technical challenges, risk and deliverability, while making sure the right people are brought together at the right time to give us the strongest possible chance of securing the right projects.

You’ll also have significant interaction with customers, consultants, supply chain partners and senior leaders across the business.

What you’ll be responsible for

• Lead the Northwest pre-construction team across multiple technical disciplines.
• Provide direction and support to senior managers
• Set clear priorities and ensure the team is focused on the right opportunities.
• Lead major bids and pre-construction activity from early engagement through to contract award.
• Develop clear bid strategies and ensure technical, commercial and operational teams are fully aligned.
• Challenge risk, design, methodology, programme, logistics and procurement strategies.
• Ensure bids are competitive, commercially robust and deliverable.
• Build strong relationships with customers and key external stakeholders.
• Work closely with operational teams to ensure a smooth transition from pre-construction into delivery.
• Develop people, improve processes and continue to raise the standard of our pre-construction capability.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for someone with strong experience in pre-construction within a main contracting environment, ideally with a track record of leading complex bids and multidisciplinary teams.

You’ll be comfortable leading experienced senior professionals rather than simply managing a process.

You’ll be able to provide direction, challenge constructively and create accountability while giving people the autonomy to use their expertise.

You’ll also bring

• A strong understanding of the full pre-construction process.
• Experience of successful bid and tender delivery.
• Good commercial awareness and an understanding of project risk.
• The ability to bring together multiple technical disciplines around a clear strategy.
• Strong customer and stakeholder management skills.
• The confidence to influence at senior level.
• Experience of developing and leading high-performing teams.

A relevant construction qualification or professional membership such as MCIOB, RICS or MAPM would be beneficial but isn’t essential where the right experience can be demonstrated.

About Us

With over 170 years of rich history, Willmott Dixon’s purpose is beyond profit; delivering brilliant buildings, transforming lives, strengthening communities and enhancing the environment so our world is fit for future generations. Ensuring that we add lasting value to the neighbourhoods we work in; our values, people, innovation, partnerships and focus on sustainability has allowed us to build a successful and solid privately owned business where our people can thrive.

Willmott Dixon was recognised by The Sunday Times as one of the Top 10 “Big” Companies to Work For in 2025, named among the Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality in 2024, and ranked in the Top Five of Europe’s 1,000 best workplaces by the Financial Times in 2025.

Willmott Dixon is also the first major contractor and developer to win a King’s Award for Enterprise in the category of sustainable development.