Senior Construction Manager

Who We Are

Transpennine Route Upgrade

The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is a £10.7 billion Programme of activities that is improving the railway between York and Manchester via Leeds and Huddersfield.

Stretching across the North of England, this key 76-mile Transpennine railway serves 23 stations, crosses over and dips under 285 bridges and viaducts, passes through six miles of tunnels, and crosses over 11 level crossings.

Proposed improvements as will deliver a hard-working, reliable railway for passengers, allowing for trains with more seats, more services and faster journey times.

For more information visit www.theTRUpgrade.co.uk

What's in it for you

Here are a few of the benefits we offer:

• 28-day annual leave with the option to buy and sell days
• Choice of pension schemes
• 75% discretionary discount of leisure travel for you and your family
• Private Healthcare
• 5 days paid volunteer or carers leave
• Up to 75% subsidised Rail and Underground travel
• Gym Pass -access to gyms across UK
• My Benefits platform- giving national and local retail discount

Our aim is to ensure your candidate experience is as positive as possible. If you require reasonable adjustments at any point, simply let us know and we'll do our best to assist you.

We're committed to creating a diverse, inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. To discover more about our ED&I commitments . We value flexibility and understand the importance of a healthy work-life balance. As a Disability Confident Leader, we'll do everything we can to accommodate any needs throughout the recruitment process.

Network Rail adheres to a structured pay framework, any salary offered will be within the pay range advertised. If your current salary is above the maximum shown you will transfer into the new role on your current base pay. For more information refer to your pay.

This vacancy is Band 3 C, salary starting £55,596 to £65,966 per annum.

Safe behaviour is a requirement of working for Network Rail. Applicants should be able to demonstrate their awareness of our safety vision.

Should you require any reasonable adjustments/modifications, please contact TRUResourcing@networkrail.co.uk.

About the role

Role: Senior Construction Manager

Salary: £55,596 to £65,966 per annum.

Location: Manchester or Leeds. Frequent travel to project offices and operational locations across the programme will be required. Current delivery activity is focused within the Huddersfield area, including Deighton Station and associated satellite sites.

Contract Type: Full time, permanent

Office Requirement: Hybrid. Minimum 3 days per week working from the office or site offices/compounds.

Brief Description

Provide senior construction leadership across the TRU West Alliance, directing and assuring safe, integrated and efficient delivery across assigned projects and work packages. The role translates programme requirements into executable construction plans, provides construction management guidance to project teams, and coordinates interfaces with Integration, Network Rail, operations, maintenance, asset management and other delivery disciplines. The post holder will lead by example on safety, quality and compliance, challenge constructability and methodology, and support the successful handback of completed assets.

Role Objectives

1. Lead the construction management function for the assigned portfolio, ensuring delivery teams receive clear direction, proportionate assurance and timely decisions.
2. Drive safe delivery by championing safety behaviours, challenging unsafe acts and conditions, and ensuring inspections, safety conversations and close-call reporting are completed and acted upon.
3. Provide effective construction input to design, planning and delivery so that work is buildable, appropriately sequenced and coordinated with access, possessions and adjoining disciplines.
4. Maintain effective operational, maintenance and asset-management interfaces, supporting compliant handback and readiness for entry into service.
5. Provide clear, consistent and evidence-based construction reporting, escalating risk, non-compliance and emerging delivery constraints early.
6. Develop construction management capability through coaching, technical guidance, collaborative working and the sharing of lessons learned.

Some of the key accountabilities of this role are

1. As functional Line Manager, lead and coordinate the Construction Managers across the assigned portfolio, setting priorities, allocating construction management activity and providing guidance and support to project teams.
2. Chair the Weekly Construction Progress meeting on a Monday morning and prepare the Weekly Construction Progress reports based on previous weekends construction activities, ready for distribution to Alliance Partners.
3. Champion safe behaviours, challenge unsafe behaviours and ensure appropriate task-specific inspections, safety conversations and close-call reporting are undertaken and followed through. Raise Close Calls and ensure appropriate actions are taken and implemented to address any issues raised or promote best practice where observed.
4. Provide construction input at Integrated Design Reviews, challenging constructability, methodology, sequencing, access assumptions and delivery risk where applicable.
5. Lead the review of construction documentation for compliance with approved designs, specifications, standards, procedures and project requirements.
6. Produce a minimum of 12 no. Surveillance forms across a 4 week period and raise relevant Construction Review Notices (CRNs). Oversee the close-out of CRNs, ensuring actions are clearly owned, monitored and resolved in support of safe and compliant delivery.
7. Support the review of High Risk Work Package Plans, Construction Phase Plans and Project Execution Plans, providing construction management input and escalating concerns to the Construction Management Lead prior to acceptance of the documents.
8. Provide construction input to Delivering Work Within Possessions (DWWP) planning and management, including readiness, sequencing, construction integration, resource assumptions and interfaces with other works leading up to and throughout possessions and blockades.
9. Coordinate the construction interface with Operations and Maintenance, ensuring emerging requirements, constraints and handback expectations are understood and addressed by delivery teams.
10. Coordinate with Integration and Network Rail on access planning and the deconfliction of activities between disciplines; identify clashes early and support practical resolution.
11. Manage the construction interface with Arch Co in relation to delivery timescales, dependencies and site constraints, maintaining effective communication with the relevant project and integration leads.
12. Lead on the Asset Management Plan (AMP) development and asset handback in collaboration with the Integration and project, close-out teams, operations, maintenance and asset-management teams, ensuring construction evidence is complete and available when required.
13. Provide construction input to quality planning, inspection and test planning, temporary works, non-conformance management and investigations, while maintaining clear accountability with the responsible delivery organisation.
14. Monitor the timely resolution of non-conformities and construction issues that may affect entry into service or asset handback, escalating unresolved matters and supporting root-cause analysis and lessons learned.
15. Undertake project reviews, construction reporting and auditing using the agreed Alliance and Network Rail arrangements, providing accurate status, key risks, decisions required and recommended actions.
16. Contribute construction advice to programme, schedule and risk-management activities, stakeholder communications, sustainability objectives and other project interfaces where consultation is required.
17. Lead, coach and support construction personnel within the assigned remit, including competence, objectives, performance, wellbeing and development responsibilities where formally allocated.

For further information about the process please contact TRUResourcing@networkrail.co.uk.

Your experience and skills

We need you to have

• Relevant technical competence
• Experience in maintenance / construction management, processes and techniques
• Knowledge of safety and compliance management processes
• Detailed knowledge of relevant standards and procedures
• Substantial experience in an operational railway construction environment
• Knowledge of other functional disciplines
• Accident and incident investigation competence appropriate to the role
• Good interpersonal, influencing, communication and organisation skills
• Commercial Awareness

It would be advantageous

• Incorporated Engineer
• Membership of professional body
• NEBOSH Certificate
• Relevant railway safety, assurance and construction management training

The ideal candidate will

Be an experienced railway construction leader who can operate confidently across a complex alliance environment. They will combine strong site leadership with sound technical and commercial judgement, be comfortable challenging plans and unsafe behaviours, and build effective relationships across project, design, integration, operations, maintenance and asset teams. They will be visible, organised and delivery-focused, with the ability to turn programme requirements into clear priorities for construction teams while maintaining high standards of safety, quality, assurance and professional conduct.