Senior Project Manager (Sizewell C)

-; Leiston; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading nuclear project in the UK is seeking a Senior Project Manager to oversee backfill operations. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in large-scale civil engineering projects, particularly in excavation and backfill. Responsibilities include leading project delivery, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, and ensuring compliance with safety and quality standards. This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to one of the UK's most significant energy projects.

Benefits

Training and development opportunities

Career progression in a vital industry

Contribute to sustainable energy generation

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience managing large‑scale civil engineering projects, including excavation and backfill operations.
• Proven capability in leading multidisciplinary project teams across design, planning, procurement and delivery.
• Strong understanding of technical, quality and safety requirements for major construction projects.
• Experience working in complex joint ventures or alliances.
• Experience in nuclear or other highly regulated environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead the pre‑construction and delivery of backfill works.
• Collaborate with design, engineering, and client teams to meet requirements.
• Manage quality assurance, inspection processes, and non-conformance resolution.
• Monitor programme progress and provide accurate reporting to senior stakeholders.
• Identify and mitigate project risks.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Leadership

Project management

Technical knowledge

Job description

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Senior Project Manager - Backfill (Sizewell C)

Location: Suffolk/London/Hybrid

Join the exciting journey of one of the UK's largest nuclear projects at Sizewell C! The Civil Works Alliance (CWA) is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Project Manager specialising in Backfill to support the successful delivery of the Sizewell C Project. CWA, appointed by the Sizewell C client, brings together three leading delivery contractors – Laing O'Rourke, Bouygues, and Balfour Beatty – to deliver the civils scope including Enabling Earthworks, Main Civil Works, and Marine and Tunnelling.

We are looking for a Senior Project Manager to lead the planning and delivery of backfill activities within the Main Civil Works (MCW) scope at Sizewell C. This role covers both pre‑construction and delivery phases – ensuring that design, planning, coordination and execution of backfill operations are completed safely, efficiently, and in full compliance with technical and quality standards. The successful candidate will drive delivery readiness, manage interfaces, and support the execution strategy for this critical stage of the project.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the pre‑construction and delivery of backfill works, overseeing design, planning, technical preparation and coordination.
• Collaborate with design, engineering and client teams to ensure designs meet safety, buildability and operational requirements.
• Contribute to development of 3D/4D models, verifying constructability, material suitability and construction sequencing.
• Participate in trials to validate technical assumptions and performance rates.
• Oversee temporary works design for ramps, accesses and other backfill‑related structures.
• Support cost estimation, budgeting and the Target Outturn Cost (TOC) process with estimators and commercial teams.
• Define delivery strategy and prepare the Project Execution Plan.
• Manage subcontractor engagement, tendering, negotiation and contract completion in collaboration with procurement and commercial teams.
• Lead the delivery phase to ensure works are completed safely, on time, to quality and within budget.
• Monitor programme progress, resources and performance against key milestones; provide accurate reporting to senior stakeholders.
• Manage quality assurance, inspection processes and non‑conformance resolution with the CWA quality function.
• Identify and mitigate project risks, ensuring compliance with schedule and cost objectives.
• Coordinate interfaces between backfill, earthworks, temporary works and adjacent construction areas.
• Capture lessons learned and embed continuous improvement practices across the delivery team.

Requirements

• Demonstrable experience managing large‑scale civil engineering projects, including excavation and backfill operations.
• Proven capability in leading multidisciplinary project teams across design, planning, procurement and delivery.
• Strong understanding of technical, quality and safety requirements for major construction projects.
• Experience working in complex joint ventures or alliances.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills
• Experience in nuclear or other highly regulated environments.
• Familiarity with NEC4 SC and ECC contracts.
• UK major project experience and associated training.

For this role you must have evidence of right to work in the UK. As a project, we do not discriminate on the grounds of age, gender, race, colour, religion, disability or sexual orientation, and we welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Why Join Us?

For more than 60 years, nuclear power stations in the UK have been quietly keeping Britain fuelled with massive amounts of home‑grown energy. Our teams up and down the country are proudly continuing to serve the nation – but they also have an eye on the future. EDF is leading the UK's nuclear renaissance with the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C and plans for a new power station at Sizewell C in Suffolk. Nuclear power is the most reliable, low‑carbon energy source currently available to the UK. EDF is playing a key role in the development of nuclear sites, while Hinkley Point C will provide low‑carbon electricity to meet 7% of the UK demand. The project is already making a positive impact on the local and national economy as well as boosting skills and education. We’re not just building new nuclear power stations. We’re developing careers, upskilling generations and creating thousands of employment and apprenticeship opportunities across a variety of skills areas. It takes a special kind of person to work in the nuclear energy industry and although we have thousands of them there’s always a need for more. Our industry has a mind‑boggling range of opportunities and more jobs, and in more places, than you might think. But it’s also an industry which is changing. We’re a responsible business and proud to be Britain’s biggest generator of zero‑carbon electricity. With size, age and experience, we believe we can do even more.