Programme Manager

Costain Group; England; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading infrastructure solutions company is seeking a Programme Manager to oversee wastewater projects in the Southern Water Sector region. The successful candidate will manage site operations, coordinate with subcontractors, and provide strategic direction to project teams. A degree in Civil Engineering or equivalent and experience in managing complex projects are essential. Strong leadership, communication skills, and stakeholder engagement abilities are key to this role, which focuses on delivering high-quality outcomes and ensuring compliance with safety standards.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in managing complex projects in the construction sector.
• Ability to develop team capabilities and lead effectively.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen.

Responsibilities

• Manage site-based activities for successful project delivery.
• Coordinate with subcontractors to ensure project completion.
• Provide strategic guidance to project teams.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Stakeholder engagement

Commercial awareness

Problem-solving

Education

Degree in Civil Engineering or HND in Civil Engineering

Chartered status or working towards it

Job description

CMDP (a Joint Venture between Costain and MWHT) has been appointed by Southern Water Services (SWS) as a strategic delivery partner for the AMP8 period.

This is an exciting time to join the team as CMDP will play a pivotal role alongside other partners in realising SWS’s ambitious transformation goals that feature in its business plan for 2025-30, and beyond.

SWS provides CMDP with a unique opportunity to be a world-class example of collaborative delivery, leaving a positive legacy in the communities and the environment of the SWS operating regions.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an individual with the drive and passion to shape the future direction and success of SWS, and further strengthen the CMDP relationship with SWS and the other delivery partners.

#LI-BM1

Responsibilities

Reporting directly to the Programme Director (Wastewater) you'll be accountable for managing all site-based activities ensuring projects are delivered on time, to the required standards and within budget, including the co‑ordinating of site works and management of subcontractors resulting in a successful project completion.

We are looking to grow our business by bringing in passionate individuals who will see challenges as opportunities to improve, innovate and exceed expectations.

This appointment will be a Programme Manager role with a delivery focus on key wastewater projects across the Southern Water Sector Region.

We have an exciting pipeline of work, and the successful candidate will be responsible for delivery at all project stages, ensuring relevant stakeholders and professional team members are engaged throughout.

Responsibilities

• Manage the CMDP wastewater team in all aspects of delivery

Provide strategic and professional guidance to Project Managers, Construction Managers, and wider members of the team

Actively champion wellbeing, safety and environment performance, and compliance throughout your team to create a safety culture to ensure Zero LTI and RIDDOR Incidents

• Develop and maintain a high‑performance culture across the CMDP team, delivering efficiencies and continuous improvement
• Provide whole life oversight and accountability for the successful delivery of projects, through design, procurement, assembly, commissioning, and handover
• Deliver commercial and financial performance in line with budget expectations
• Promote and actively demonstrate collaborative behaviours within the CMDP JV team and across the SWS business along with CMDP corporate representatives

Communicate extensively across all stakeholders within SWS, and internally within CMDP to leverage the maximum potential of CMDP in the AMP8 programme of works

Ensure compliance with SWS and CMDP governance requirements

Establish and grow excellent relationships with SWS and other Delivery Partners

Provide accurate and timely project performance reports, ensuring projects are on track and contract requirements are met

Work collaboratively with the project teams and sub‑contractors, building strong and trusted working relationships

Developing team capabilities and help shape the future wastewater delivery strategy

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

We're looking for someone who is a team player with the ability to lead and motivate. You'll need to demonstrate a real passion for construction and project delivery and be an excellent communicator with the ability to build strong, trusting relationships and able to influence at all levels. Experienced in managing project managers and teams, your leadership skills will be the key to success in this role. You’ll be both quality and customer focused whilst still able to operate commercially.

• Ability to positively engage and build strong stakeholder and partner relationships to achieve mutual success.
• Significant amount of contract delivery experience where you have successfully managed a regional framework of multiple projects of a complex or critical nature.
• An engaging leader of people with extensive line management and development of people.
• Excellent knowledge, and experience of CDM and Construction & Engineering Management
• Excellent knowledge of contractual forms used for collaborative project delivery
• Solutions focussed
• Solid commercial, financial and analytical skills.
• Experience with Digital Strategy in construction.

Qualifications

• Degree level qualification in a Civil Engineering allied subject or HND in Civil Engineering and vocational training in Engineering
• Chartered (or working towards) with an engineering, commercial or construction institution
• Experienced operational, delivery focused leader
• Previous experience in water/wastewater treatment plants

About Us

Costain helps to improve people’s lives with integrated, leading edge, smart infrastructure solutions across the UK’s energy, water, transportation and defence markets. We help our clients improve their business performance by increasing capacity, improving customer service, safeguarding security, enhancing resilience, decarbonising and delivering increased efficiency. Our vision is to be the UK’s leading smart infrastructure solutions company. We will achieve this by focusing on blue chip clients whose major spending plans are underpinned by strategic national needs, regulatory commitments, legislation or essential performance requirements. We offer our clients leading edge solutions that are digitally optimised through the following five services which cover the whole lifecycle of their assets: future‑shaping strategic consultancy; consultancy and advisory; digital technology solutions; asset optimisation and complex programme delivery. Our culture and values underpin everything we do. Costain appreciate the time and effort taken when applying for one of our positions but, due to the high volume of responses, we are unable to provide individual feedback on candidates at application phase. We do share individual feedback following an interview.

A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that disclose they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer.

It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high‑volume, seasonal and high‑peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non‑disabled people.

For more details please go to the Disability Confident website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/disability-confident-campaign

CMDP is a joint venture between Costain and MWHT and delivers a range of schemes to maintain and improve Southern Water’s water supply and wastewater treatment works in the eastern half of its region (Kent & Sussex).