Project Controls Manager

Balfour Beatty plc; Warrington; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Smart working

25 days annual leave

Job summary

Balfour Beatty plc is seeking a Project Controls Manager to join the Work Winning Team and oversee the project controls lifecycle for a major secure infrastructure programme based in South Cumbria. You will shape bid strategy and transition into delivery, ensuring robust planning, schedule integrity and cost control.

You will lead planning, risk, cost control, and reporting, build strong client and partner relationships, drive continuous improvement and digital tooling adoption, and ensure

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading project controls on major construction or infrastructure projects.
• Experience implementing NEC contracts and governance frameworks.
• Strong knowledge of planning, risk, cost control and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Lead the project controls function across a major secure programme.
• Develop and implement project controls strategy and governance.
• Oversee planning, scheduling, cost control, reporting and risk management.
• Establish and maintain robust controls frameworks and KPI measurement.
• Provide strategic insight to leadership and client stakeholders.

Skills

Project controls

Team leadership

NEC contracts

Primavera P6

Cost control

Risk management

Earned value management

Education

Degree in engineering/construction/project management

Tools

Primavera P6

Job description

About the role

Balfour Beatty is seeking a talented Project Controls Manager to join our Work Winning Team and play a pivotal role in one of the UK's most significant and complex secure infrastructure programmes. Based in South Cumbria, you will help shape the successful bid strategy before transitioning into a key delivery role, overseeing project controls throughout the lifecycle of a major secure building and infrastructure development.

This landmark programme will progress from RIBA Stage 2 through to construction and handover, delivering critical infrastructure enabling works, new manufacturing and office facilities, and the redevelopment of existing industrial assets over the next eight years. Joining at the very beginning of the project, this is a unique opportunity to influence how the programme is planned, governed and delivered, while helping to create a transformational industrial complex that will have a lasting impact for decades to come.

As Project Controls Manager, you will be at the heart of project performance, providing leadership across planning, scheduling, cost control, reporting, risk management and performance assurance, ensuring the successful delivery of this flagship project from inception to completion.

What you'll be doing

• Leading the project controls function across a major secure building and infrastructure programme, supporting the Programme Director and Head of Project Controls in driving successful project outcomes.
• Managing and developing teams across planning, risk and cost control, creating a high-performing and collaborative project controls environment.
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with the client, project partners and supply chain stakeholders to ensure effective programme delivery.
• Developing and implementing the overall project controls strategy, embedding best practice, governance and consistency across the programme.
• Driving continuous improvement and digital innovation, ensuring alignment between client and contractor project control systems and processes.
• Establishing and maintaining robust project controls frameworks, systems and reporting processes to provide clear visibility of programme performance.
• Developing performance measurement frameworks, including KPIs, productivity metrics, forecasting and earned value management.
• Overseeing baseline management, change control, performance reporting and programme forecasting to support effective decision-making.
• Providing strategic insight and performance analysis to the project leadership team, helping to identify risks, opportunities and improvement initiatives.
• Leading programme planning activities using Primavera P6, ensuring integrated and NEC-compliant schedules are developed and maintained throughout the project lifecycle.
• Managing the integration of project schedules into the wider programme master schedule to ensure coordinated delivery across multiple workstreams.
• Embedding risk and opportunity management within project controls processes, ensuring programme impacts are understood, quantified and effectively communicated.
• Overseeing schedule and cost risk analysis, scenario planning and the development of mitigation strategies.
• Providing strategic oversight of cost management, forecasting and financial performance across the programme.
• Ensuring robust cost control processes are implemented and maintained, including budgeting, cost reporting, change management and estimate-at-completion forecasting.
• Supporting commercial and delivery teams in identifying cost risks, opportunities and value improvement initiatives.
• Ensuring compliance with NEC contract requirements, project controls standards and programme governance processes.
• Leading project controls assurance reviews, audits and reporting activities to maintain high standards of performance and accountability.
• Producing accurate, timely and meaningful performance reports for both the project leadership team and client stakeholders.

Who we're looking for

• Proven experience leading project controls functions on major construction, infrastructure or complex building projects.
• Strong leadership experience managing multidisciplinary teams across planning, risk and cost control.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build effective relationships with clients, delivery partners and supply chain organisations.
• Experience developing and implementing project controls strategies, governance frameworks and best practice processes.
• Strong understanding of NEC contracts and programme management principles within large-scale projects.
• Advanced Primavera P6 expertise, including programme development, resource management and schedule integration.
• Experience managing project baselines, change control processes and programme performance reporting.
• Strong knowledge of earned value management (EVM), forecasting and performance measurement techniques.
• The ability to analyse programme performance data, identify trends and drive effective corrective actions.
• Experience undertaking schedule and cost risk analysis (QSRA) and supporting robust risk-based decision making.
• A solid understanding of risk and opportunity management and how it integrates with wider project controls activities.
• Knowledge of budgeting, cost management, forecasting and financial reporting within complex programmes.
• Experience integrating planning, risk and cost information to provide a clear view of project and programme performance.
• Strong communication, reporting and presentation skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience leading project controls assurance activities, audits and governance reviews.
• A passion for continuous improvement, innovation and the adoption of digital tools and technologies.
• Experience delivering complex building projects and MEP systems would be advantageous.
• OND, HND or Degree qualification in a relevant engineering, construction, project management or commercial discipline.

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

Operating across England and Wales, our buildings teams create places where people live, are cared for, work, learn, meet and have fun, with a focus on the aviation, health, defence, education and development sectors.

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]