Senior Project Manager – M25

About the Role

Senior Project Manager – Balfour Beatty – Connect Plus Services (CPS)

Location: Dartford, Leatherhead or South Mimms

We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Project Manager to join our Connect Plus Services (CPS) team, supporting the M25 London Orbital Motorway project.

CPS is a joint venture between Balfour Beatty, Atkins and Egis, responsible for operating and maintaining the M25, Europe’s busiest motorway. Delivering over £100 million of annual investment alongside planned and reactive maintenance, this is a complex and high-profile network requiring robust and efficient planning.

If you are building a career in highways, this role offers exposure to one of the UK’s most challenging and dynamic infrastructure environments.

What You’ll Be Doing

Key Responsibilities

• Act as Portfolio Manager in their absence.
• Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with the Portfolio Manager and key internal and external stakeholders to ensure a full mutual understanding of project delivery objectives, report on and review project performance, and agree solutions to issues.
• Maintain compliance with the DBFO contract by clarifying roles and responsibilities within your team, resolving risks and issues in a timely manner, producing accurate reports, and creating and maintaining specified records, including change management documentation.
• Identify and evaluate emerging risks, issues, dependencies and constraints associated with projects, escalating where appropriate. Develop, agree and implement solutions to overcome these where necessary.
• Maintain global and master programmes across the portfolio.
• Manage portfolio income and cost profiles, providing oversight and challenge to Project Managers’ inputs.
• Liaise with clients at both project and portfolio level.
• Lead project change control activities and review associated processes and procedures.
• Allocate projects to Project Managers based on knowledge, experience, capability and workload.
• Work within agreed arrangements, including shift work and travel requirements where necessary.
• Travel to other offices and depots across the network as required.
• Undertake periodic site visits, including occasional night shifts.
• Hold a full UK driving licence.

Who We’re Looking For

Qualifications, Skills and Knowledge

• Experience in delivering highways construction and maintenance operations, or comparable transferable experience.
• Strong project management skills, ideally supported by a recognised qualification such as PRINCE2, APM PMQ or equivalent.
• HNC/HND (or equivalent) in Civil Engineering or another construction-related discipline is preferred.
• Broad knowledge and understanding of related design disciplines.
• Understanding of environmental requirements associated with infrastructure schemes.
• Experience coordinating interfaces with design teams and external resources.
• Understanding of health and safety requirements related to highways construction and maintenance works.
• Knowledge of CDM Regulations and other health and safety legislation.
• Competence in fulfilling duties under CDM Regulations.
• Valid CSCS card.
• Proven leadership and team management experience, driving performance and productivity.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Customer-focused with a service delivery mindset.
• Commercial awareness and experience of budgetary control.
• Understanding of Lean principles.

Personal Attributes

• Proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Strong commitment to a positive safety culture.
• Self-aware and adaptable, with the ability to respond to varying project needs.
• Resilient and able to work effectively under pressure.
• Strong presentation skills.
• Effective team-building abilities.
• Ability to prioritise workload and self-manage effectively.
• Skilled at building relationships and engendering trust.

Experience

• Significant experience at a senior level delivering highways construction and maintenance operations, or comparable transferable experience.
• Previous experience in a similar role, with demonstrable competence across the majority of the responsibilities outlined above.
• Experience managing projects throughout the full project lifecycle.