About the role
Balfour Beatty are recruiting for a Design Programme Manager - Cable to join their Power T&D Division.
About the Role
The Design Programme Manager - Cable will be responsible for the effective coordination, governance, and oversight of underground cable design projects, ensuring outputs are delivered to time, cost, quality, and safety standards.
The role focuses on programme management from a delivery perspective — integrating multiple design workstreams, ensuring appropriate resourcing, managing interdependencies, and providing structured reporting and assurance. The post-holder will work closely with the Cable Design Team, project managers, clients, and stakeholders to maintain predictable outcomes and ensure the design portfolio supports successful construction delivery.
What you'll be doing
Key Responsibilities
Programme Delivery & Governance
* Develop and maintain programme schedules, ensuring alignment across multiple concurrent design projects.
* Oversee programme-level dependencies, milestones, and critical paths to avoid delays or conflicts.
* Implement and maintain governance processes, ensuring risks, issues, and changes are tracked, escalated, and resolved.
* Provide structured reporting (dashboards, progress updates, KPIs) to senior leadership and clients.
Resource & Team Coordination
* Ensure resources are allocated to the necessary roles within the department to meet programme requirements.
* Oversee the day-to-day management of departmental resourcing, balancing workloads across concurrent projects.
* Work with design leads to identify gaps, forecast future requirements, and secure capability to deliver the programme pipeline.
* Support professional development and performance management by ensuring clear roles, responsibilities, and accountability within the team.
Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
* Act as the main interface between the design team, Engineering Management, clients, and contractors.
* Support transparent communication and alignment across internal and external stakeholders.
* Facilitate internal design reviews, approvals, and handovers to ensure programme objectives are met.
Financial & Performance Management
* Support budget management, monitoring performance against forecasts at the programme level.
* Provide financial and resource forecasting to ensure predictable programme outcomes.
* Identify opportunities for efficiency and value creation in programme delivery.
Risk & Assurance
* Lead programme-level risk and issue management, developing mitigation strategies.
* Ensure all activities adhere to company standards, governance frameworks, and regulatory requirements.
* Drive lessons learned and continuous improvement across all design delivery programmes.
Accountabilities
* Successful delivery of the cable design portfolio within agreed time, cost, and quality parameters.
* Effective allocation and day-to-day management of resources within the department.
* Clear, accurate, and timely reporting for senior stakeholders.
* Robust risk, issue, and dependency management at programme level.
* Continuous improvement embedded across programme delivery processes.
Who we're looking for
Skills, Experience & Qualifications
* Programme management qualifications (e.g., MSP, PgMP, APM PPQ).
* Experience using PMO tools, dashboards, and programme reporting systems.
* Understanding of health, safety, and sustainability standards in engineering delivery.
* Demonstrable experience in programme delivery within infrastructure, utilities, or power projects.
* Strong knowledge of programme management methodologies (e.g., MSP, PRINCE2, APM).
* Proven ability to manage interdependent projects and coordinate multi-disciplinary teams.
* Experience in resource planning and day-to-day team management.
* Skilled in stakeholder management and communication at all levels.
* Strong financial and resource management experience.
* Track record of applying governance, assurance, and structured reporting.
Desirable
* Familiarity with underground cable design or transmission & distribution projects.
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.
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 Power Transmission & Distribution teams work with regional, national and international electricity network owners and operators to provide technical engineering solutions across the full spectrum of the electricity grid, including overhead lines, cabling, substations and distribution networks.
From scoping and feasibility, to design, construction and on-going maintenance, our in-house experts, flexible resources and industry-leading innovations support customers in the development of some of the UK's most ambitious power transmission and distribution projects.
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
We are 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:
Job Reference: BBUK15319