Senior Contracts Engineer — Ground Engineering Lead

Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering; Leiston; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company car or car allowance

25 days annual leave + bank holidays

Pension savings schemes

Enhanced maternity/paternity andfamily

Refer and Earn scheme

Discretionary annual salary reviews

Job summary

Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering in Leiston, Suffolk, seeks a Senior Contracts Engineer to lead multiple ground engineering work fronts, ensuring safety, quality, contract performance and programme outcomes. You will drive NEC4 compliance, mentor engineers and manage stakeholders across the project.

The role requires proven senior leadership, Civil/Geotechnical expertise, and strong contract management with a focus on delivery, value, and risk reduction in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Degree in Civil/Geotechnical Engineering or related discipline.
• IEng/CEng accreditation would be desirable.
• CSCS card and related training advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical and site operations for ground engineering works.
• Coordinate resources and drive timely close-out of non-conformities.
• Provide safety leadership and lead incident investigations.
• Develop procurement plans and manage subcontractor performance.
• Own QA planning for D-Wall and soil mixing scopes; ensure ITP coverage.

Skills

Senior leadership

Contract management

Stakeholder management

Commercial awareness

Issue resolution

Education

Civil/Geotechnical Engineering degree

IEng/CEng desirable

Tools

P6

MS Project

AutoCAD

Excel

Job description

About The Role

We have a fantastic opportunity for a

About The Role

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Senior Contracts Engineer to join our Ground Engineering team based in Leiston, Suffolk.

Role purpose: Lead multiple work fronts of ground engineering works, achieving safety, quality, contract performance and programme outcomes; drive commercial value and NEC4 compliance; mentor engineers and manage stakeholders.

What you'll be doing

The Successful Candidate Will

• Lead technical and site operations for ground engineering works, ensuring compliance with specifications, drawings, ITPs, RAMS, permits, and project requirements;
• Coordinate resources across work fronts, resolve technical issues, and drive timely close-out of non-conformities;
• Provide visible safety leadership, lead incident investigations and root-cause analysis, and identify recurring safety trends;
• Set, approve, and audit site briefing content and records, including briefings for clients, stakeholders, and site teams;
• Develop workface procurement plans, support hire versus buy decisions, and manage subcontractor performance, variations, and delivery expectations;
• Own quality assurance planning for D-Wall and soil mixing scopes, ensuring ITP coverage, hold points, NCR close-out, and data-driven reporting;
• Monitor productivity across wall panels and soil mixing activities, benchmark performance, remove constraints, and lead weekly productivity reviews;
• Own detailed programme sequencing, manage float, run critical path checks, lead delay analysis, and agree recovery plans with the Project Manager;
• Support commercial management through preparation of early warnings, NCEs, compensation events, cost/value tracking, forecasting, and earned value reporting;
• Ensure compliance with NEC4 Option 4 Alliance contract requirements, including change documentation, responses, obligations, and programme acceptance updates;
• Coach, mentor, and manage engineers, including performance management, difficult conversations, and strong stakeholder engagement across support teams;
• Maintain a proactive, flexible, and solution-focused approach, supporting multidisciplinary project needs and working rotational weekend or night shifts where required.
  
  

Who we're looking for

The successful candidate will have the following qualities, skills and experience:

• Experience in senior leadership of construction work fronts, ideally within ground engineering or major infrastructure environments;
• A degree in Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, or a related discipline;
• Professional accreditation such as IEng or CEng would be desirable;
• A valid CSCS card, with SMSTS, AP, incident investigation, or NEC4 training considered advantageous;
• Strong technical understanding of D-Wall, soil mixing, grouting, de-risking, and rapid issue resolution;
• Proven ability to manage programmes, critical paths, delay analysis, float, and recovery planning;
• Commercial and contractual awareness, including experience supporting compensation events, forecasting, and NEC4 processes;
• Confident user of project tools and systems, including P6, MS Project, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, AutoCAD, and Cemar;
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively and communicate effectively;
• A calm, decisive, fair, and proactive approach, with the ability to lead teams and resolve issues in a fast-paced project environment.
  
  

Why work for us

Our people are our biggest asset and we focus on recruiting, training and developing the people who can apply innovation to deliver the infrastructure of the future. We nurture these talents, offer a great benefits package in addition to a competitive base salary and continually invest in developing the skills of our people at every level.

Some Of Our Key Benefits Are

• An attractive/negotiated salary;
• Company car or car allowance;
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays;
• Pension savings schemes;
• Enhanced maternity/paternity and family friendly policies;
• Access to our Refer and Earn scheme;
• Discretionary annual salary reviews.
  
  

About Us

Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering is one of the UK’s leading specialist geo-technical contractors, providing innovative piling and ground improvement solutions across all sectors.

Our comprehensive ground engineering capabilities, equipment and experience provide the solid foundations for infrastructure and buildings of any height, ranging from city skyscrapers to cross-country rail and road projects.

Our reputation as one of the UK’s leading specialist geo-technical contractors is earned through the delivery of ground engineering solutions on some of the UK’s largest and most prestigious projects including HS2, The Shard, Wembley Stadium, Reading Station Viaduct, Marble Arch Place, Battersea Power Station redevelopment and the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement project.

Diversity and inclusion

At Balfour Beatty, we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone D&I 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

We are 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/

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