Contracts engineer

About the role

Job Title: Contracts Engineer (Sub Agent) - BALVAC

Location: Preston – (Site Based- UK Wide)

Company: Balfour Beatty - BALVAC

Shape the solutions that fix, strengthen and protect the UK’s infrastructure

We are looking for a Contracts Engineer (Sub Agent) to join our Balvac team at Balfour Beatty, initially supporting projects based in Preston, with opportunities to work across the wider UK.

Balvac, part of the Balfour Beatty Group, is a leading specialist in structural repair, strengthening, refurbishment and asset life‑extension. We operate across highways, bridges, marine and other critical infrastructure, combining specialist expertise with the scale and stability of a major infrastructure organisation.

As part of the Balfour Beatty Group, Balvac combines specialist expertise with the strength, scale, and stability of a major infrastructure organisation.

What you'll be doing

The Opportunity:

As a Contracts Engineer (Sub Agent), you’ll manage the safe and efficient delivery of multiple Balvac schemes, coordinating internal teams and specialist subcontractors to achieve programme, quality and cost outcomes. You’ll report to Balvac Contracts/Project Managers and the Operations Manager.

• Managing site teams and subcontractors to ensure works are delivered safely, on time and to specification
• Ensuring construction activities are carried out in accordance with contract drawings, specifications and project management plans, including overseeing site setting out and dimensional control
• Developing, reviewing and implementing method statements and project programmes, while monitoring progress, productivity and performance against targets
• Producing and maintaining key project documentation, including quality plans, inspection and test plans, construction phase plans, as‑built records and O&M manuals
• Promoting and maintaining high standards of health, safety and environmental compliance, including the preparation of risk assessments and driving a strong behavioural safety culture
• Proactively identifying and resolving engineering and delivery challenges while building strong working relationships with clients, colleagues and supply chain partners

Who we're looking for

We are seeking a motivated and capable individual with strong technical knowledge and the ability to lead teams in a site-based environment.

What you need:

• A degree in Civil Engineering or equivalent experience
• Experience delivering infrastructure or structural repair projects, ideally on concrete structures
• Strong technical understanding of structural or specialist repair works
• Experience managing multiple teams and coordinating subcontractors
• Good commercial awareness, including cost and programme management
• A strong understanding of health, safety and environmental practices, with a commitment to maintaining high standards on site
• The ability to solve problems, make decisions and adapt to changing project requirements
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with the ability to influence and engage stakeholders

You will be someone who is results driven, takes pride in delivering high standards, and works collaboratively to achieve project success.

Why work for us

Why Join Balvac?

• Work on complex, high-profile infrastructure projects
• Be part of a specialist engineering team with real technical depth
• Genuine opportunities for career development and progression
• The backing, stability and benefits of Balfour Beatty
• A collaborative culture that values safety, quality and engineering excellence

If you’re ready to lead with impact and deliver excellence on some of the UK’s most interesting infrastructure and structural engineering projects, we’d love to hear from you.

Professional and personal development

The size and scale of Balfour Beatty coupled with our strong pipeline of work provides incredible opportunities, regardless of what stage you are at in your career.

We encourage and empower our employees to take control of their career and explore which part of the business they want to work in and what role is right for them. We actively encourage our managers and employees to have open communication throughout the year about wellbeing, development and career opportunities.

We’re proud of the Balfour Beatty Academy. Whether it’s sharpening your technical expertise, improving your personal skills or seeking support to become professionally qualified, our 70:20:10 approach to development means we have a learning approach that suits everyone.

For further information about Balvac, please visit www.balvac.co.uk. You can also check out further job opportunities in the careers section.

About us

Balvac is a leading specialist structural repair, strengthening and refurbishment contractor and wholly owned subsidiary of the Balfour Beatty Group. We value diversity and celebrate individual differences, believing that our inclusive culture helps the business continue to grow as a strong, dynamic and innovative organisation.

Our core business is the structural repair, strengthening, protection and refurbishment of existing civil and building structure across the UK. We are active in highways, rail infrastructure, power including nuclear licensed sites and industrial facilities.

Specialist capabilities include: Concrete repair, including wet and dry spray concrete, crack injection, leak sealing injection, structural strengthening including the use of FRP composite materials, corrosion protection and cathodic protection, post tensioning to bridges, tanks and nuclear reactor vessels, concrete carriageway rehabilitation using vacuum assisted void grouting and slab realignment techniques.

Commitments to diversity and inclusion

At Balfour Beatty we are committed to creating a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential, not only because this is the right thing to do, but because it makes us a better business. To ensure we deliver on this commitment, we have a UK Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan which sets out the wide range of targeted, proactive, measurable steps we are taking to make this a reality.

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 key long-term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. We are 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. Further information on Disability Confident can be found at https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/.