About the role

Are you ready to shape the future of major civil engineering projects across the Northwest? Balfour Beatty's Regional Civils division is expanding, and we're looking for a driven Pre-Construction Manager to play a pivotal role in securing and developing the next wave of infrastructure schemes that keep our communities moving.

Based out of our Warrington office, you'll lead the early-stage development of a diverse portfolio of regional civils projects-bringing together technical expertise, commercial insight, and collaborative leadership to turn opportunities into deliverable, high-quality solutions. This is your chance to influence strategy, strengthen client relationships, and help deliver work that leaves a lasting legacy across the region.

If you thrive in a fast-paced environment, enjoy shaping winning proposals, and want to be part of a team that takes pride in delivering essential infrastructure, we'd love to hear from you.

What you'll be doing

As a Pre-Construction Manager within Balfour Beatty's Regional Civils division, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping the success of multiple projects from their earliest stages. You'll lead the strategy, coordination, and delivery of all pre-construction activities, ensuring every opportunity is developed into a safe, sustainable, and commercially robust construction contract.

In this role, you will:

• Lead two-stage pre-construction and tender activities, ensuring all work aligns with health and safety requirements, budget expectations, and customer drivers.
• Formulate and implement the pre-construction strategy for each project, guiding it from initial development through to conversion into a construction contract.
• Ensure all pre-construction and tender deliverables-including designs, programmes, cost plans, and written submissions-are produced in a timely, accurate, and effective manner.
• Manage the completion of contract governance, ensuring all internal approvals, risk reviews, and commercial checks are completed to the highest standard.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary teams, bringing together estimators, planners, designers, commercial specialists, and operational leads to develop competitive and deliverable solutions.
• Complete written responses to tender questions, producing clear, compelling, and customer-focused content as part of bids and pre-construction submissions.
• Assess the commercial attractiveness of opportunities, identifying risks, opportunities, and value drivers, and reporting conclusions early to senior management.
• Engage directly with clients and stakeholders, meeting customers regularly, responding to queries, and building strong, collaborative relationships.
• Oversee design development, ensuring technical solutions are safe, sustainable, buildable, and aligned with Balfour Beatty's standards and innovation ambitions.
• Drive programme and cost certainty, challenging assumptions and ensuring all pre-construction outputs are robust, compliant, and aligned with project objectives.
• Support bid strategy and tender presentations, contributing to win themes, documentation, and client interviews.
• Ensure seamless handover to delivery teams, providing clarity, continuity, and confidence as projects transition into construction.

Who we're looking for

We're looking for an accomplished Pre-Construction Manager with the drive, technical insight, and leadership capability to shape successful outcomes across a diverse portfolio of Regional Civils projects. You'll be someone who thrives in a collaborative environment, brings clarity to complex early-stage challenges, and consistently delivers high-quality work that strengthens our competitive position.

Experience

We're keen to hear from individuals who can demonstrate:

• Previous experience within the civil engineering or construction industry-ideally within a Tier 1 contractor or major infrastructure environment.
• A proven track record leading pre-construction activities, including tender development, buildability reviews, methodology planning, and programme input.
• Experience managing multiple bids and teams simultaneously, each with differing priorities, deadlines, and levels of complexity.
• Strong commercial awareness, with a results-driven approach and a solid understanding of risk management, cost drivers, and profit.
• Confidence working with clients, designers, supply chain partners, and internal stakeholders to shape compelling, deliverable solutions.
• Familiarity with NEC contracts, frameworks, and early contractor involvement (ECI) processes.

Qualifications & Skills

To be successful in this role, you'll bring:

• A degree or equivalent qualification in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, or a related discipline.
• Chartered status (CEng, MICE or similar) or working towards it-highly desirable.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence, negotiate, and build strong working relationships.
• A strong negotiator who can secure value, manage expectations, and support positive commercial outcomes.
• A team-focused mindset, encouraging high standards, collaboration, and a quality-driven culture.
• A flexible, proactive approach, ensuring deadlines are met without compromising accuracy or integrity.
• Customer-focused thinking, with the ability to identify and articulate value opportunities throughout the pre-construction process.
• Proficiency with digital tools used in planning, estimating, BIM, and collaborative data environments.
• The ability to travel within the Region and nationally as required.
• Eligibility to obtain and maintain Security Clearance.

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

With a strong track record of delivery, our civils teams connect communities through infrastructure projects in the highways, public realm, rail, flood and coastal defence, and industrial sectors across England and Wales.

Diversity and inclusion

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

To help and support us with our desired commitment to create an inclusive culture we are members of WISE, enei, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also 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/

We are looking to continually improve our resourcing process and ensure that it is fair and inclusive for all. If you have any feedback on the process, please share this with us at: candidaterecruitmentqueries@balfourbeatty.com