Pre-Construction Director

The successful candidate for this position will be required to work between our offices in Uxbridge (London) and Irlam (Manchester)

Position Overview:
We are seeking a highly skilled Pre-Construction Director to lead our tendering and pre-construction requirements in the rail sector. The candidate will lead the preparation and submission of bids for rail projects across all divisions. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in bid management, a strong understanding of the rail industry, and exceptional organizational and communication skills.

This role is pivotal in ensuring that our projects are strategically planned and executed efficiently from inception through to the construction phase. The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in civil engineering, particularly in rail projects, and have a proven track record in managing the bidding and pre-construction processes.

Main Objectives:

1. Provide functional leadership for all work winning activities within the Bid Team.
2. Establish and develop close relationships with our clients to track and target key tenders for projects.
3. Motivate the bid team to deliver agreed objectives by promoting company procedures, best practice as well as coordinating resources in the efficient delivery of compliant, high quality, competitive tender submissions.
4. Have a good understanding of the market, know the major players and their positions on the various sector frameworks, and strategically position the business to take advantage of upcoming opportunities.
5. Conduct research on potential projects and clients to identify opportunities and tailor bids to meet specific needs and expectations.
6. Stay abreast of industry trends, technological advancements, and best practices in rail construction to drive innovation and efficiency in project delivery.
7. Work with the senior team to propose and agree on an annual tendering budget and manage the team to achieve this budget.
8. Own the pipeline document.
9. Target selective multi-disciplinary tender opportunities which align with our competitive advantages.
10. Create and implement bid strategies that align with the company’s goals and objectives, ensuring competitiveness and compliance with client requirements.
11. Work closely with estimating teams to develop accurate cost estimates and budgets for bids, ensuring alignment with project specifications and requirements.
12. Carry out contractual reviews of the proposed tender conditions and pro-actively highlight any blockers.
13. Establish and promote best practice in bid team processes and procedures to ensure efficient delivery within the department.
14. Oversee the end-to-end bid process, including planning, coordination, and submission of proposals, ensuring all deadlines are met.
15. Coordinate and allocate bid team staff to tenders ensuring that appropriate staff are appointed to individual tenders based on experience, skills, and knowledge.
16. Ensure that the bid teams are accountable for their performance against agreed objectives.
17. Pro-actively determine the results of the tender process and chase feedback from our clients on submitted tenders and implement improvement plans based on the feedback.
18. Manage the performance of all staff assigned to you in accordance with legislation and company procedures.
19. Undertake any reasonable duties expected of you.
20. Attend and engage fully in any learning and development activities that are deemed appropriate by your line management.
21. Participate in team/business meetings as necessary.
22. Participate and engage fully in company appraisal/performance review processes and constantly work to improve your individual, your team, and the wider group’s performance.

Skills/Experience Required:

• Successful experience as Bid Manager or Pre-Construction Manager
• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering or a related field; Master's degree preferred
• 10+ years of experience in Civil Engineering with a focus on rail infrastructure projects
• Proven experience in a leadership role overseeing pre-construction activities, and the ability to lead teams and coach on performance
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage effectively with a range of stakeholders
• Strong understanding of rail infrastructure projects, including current framework arrangements
• Proven track record of successfully managing bids for multi-discipline projects
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly and effectively
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple bids simultaneously

Personal Qualities / Attributes:

• Clear and visible leadership, with capacity to absorb responsibility and accountability whilst providing sensitive direction to others.
• Be able to work systematically within clear guidelines/set goals and strive to achieve required results consistently.
• Appreciate the time, cost and quality implications of the role.
• Ability to motivate and encourage others whilst taking the lead.
• Assimilation of large amounts of complex data; assessing risks and gains against business criteria to generate sound commercial answers.
• Clear and appropriate goals are set; focuses well on targets. Demonstrates enthusiasm and drive to consistently deliver quality in performance.
• Considered analysis of all available data to arrive at viable options and organising information to identify the key issues and plan appropriately.
• Recognises need to build individual accountability; linking needs and plans with strategy for their area and being actively involved in developing their team.

Competitive Salary and package.