About the role
Balfour Beatty is looking to make a critical hire and appoint a Project Director to lead one of the key sections on Roads North (£250m to £500m).
As a Project Director, you will provide overall leadership, direction and accountability for the safe, predictable and productive delivery of the assigned scope within the Lower Thames Crossing—spanning pre‑construction enablement (land access, archaeology, utilities), main works (highways, structures, tunnelling interfaces), and handover. You will set the vision, build a high‑performing team, and ensure outcomes onsafety, quality, time, cost, sustainability, and community impact are achieved, while maintaining a Zero Harm culture across all operations.
The role will be based along the Kent/Essex route with regular travel between offices (e.g. Thurrock), compounds and stakeholder premises.
What you'll be doing
Leadership & culture
* Set clear strategic objectives and cascade priorities across delivery, commercial, engineering, and enabling functions; model collaborative, high‑trust behaviours with design partners, statutory undertakers and supply chain.
* Champion a Zero Harm mindset; ensure robust, visible safety leadership and compliance with HSW standards across all workfronts.
* Build leadership capability and clarify role responsibilities across the route/area leadership teams to align with the programme's evolving needs.
Programme delivery (scope, schedule, cost)
* Own the integrated baseline and "right‑first‑time" delivery of milestones; chair reviews on progress, risks, opportunities and change.
* Drive predictable delivery through short‑interval control and disciplined performance management with Project Controls (planning, cost, risk, earned value, reporting).
* Ensure early identification and management of compensation events and approvals in line with client and DCO processes.
Health, Safety & Wellbeing (HSW)
* Lead by example on HSW engagement (inspections, audits, safety tours, briefings), verify effective close‑out of actions, and continuously improve leading indicators and lessons learned.
Technical & engineering governance
* Provide senior oversight of design for manufacture & assembly (DfMA), temporary works, and technical assurance; ensure hold‑point discipline and compliance with standards.
* Manage interfaces with tunnelling, highways structures, and specialist systems; ensure buildability, maintainability and safe systems of work are embedded from design through delivery.
Consents, land & utilities enabling
* Oversee DCO obligations, protective provisions and assurances; ensure timely approvals, stakeholder notifications and evidence trails.
* Lead the "clear the way" enabling philosophy for utilities and third‑party assets, coordinating with statutory undertakers and the Integrated Utilities leadership so main works can proceed predictably.
Commercial & supply chain
* Hold accountability for commercial outcomes; ensure robust change control, claims/compensation event management, and alignment with contract(s) (e.g., NEC).
* Build a high‑performing supply chain: set expectations for productivity, quality, sustainability, and social value; drive fair, transparent, and safe delivery.
Stakeholders, community & reputation
* Act as a senior face of the project with the client and external bodies (local authorities, statutory bodies, communities), ensuring proactive engagement, responsiveness and credible reporting.
* Support community relations so construction activity is considerate and impacts are managed responsibly (traffic, noise, ecology, heritage, public safety).
Sustainability & social value
* Drive decarbonisation, resource efficiency and circular practices; integrate carbon and environmental considerations into planning and delivery.
* Champion inclusion and workforce diversity commitments, aligning with project EDI targets and incentive frameworks. [
Governance, reporting & assurance
* Chair/attend governance forums; ensure accurate monthly and weekly reporting packs, dashboards and board updates (progress, risks, resourcing, HSW, EDI, cost, forecast).
* Ensure readiness and evidence for internal/external audits and progressive assurance.
Who we're looking for
* Significant track record leading major infrastructure programmes (e.g., highways/structures/tunnelling interfaces) with packages >£300m.
* Demonstrable success as Project Director/Programme Lead or equivalent on complex, multi‑stakeholder schemes.
* Deep familiarity with UK construction law and delivery under collaborative contracts (e.g., NEC) and associated change/CE controls.
* Proven leadership of utilities diversions/enablement and third‑party interfaces on live corridors or urban environments.
* Track record of building high‑performing, diverse teams and embedding a Zero Harm culture.
* Credible client‑facing communication and executive reporting; skilled in governance, risk, assurance and dispute avoidance.
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
Balfour Beatty's Highways business delivers major schemes including motorway upgrade programmes, complex national infrastructure projects and regional investment programme works for National Highways. We have a strong orderbook and a positive pipeline of opportunities, we put the road user, at the heart of everything we do. We work safely, reduce carbon emissions and added social value to the communities within which we work.
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
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:
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:
Job Reference: BBUK17533