Balfour Beatty plc
Commercial Services Manager - Rail
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Commercial Services Manager
About The Role
We’re looking for a Commercial Services Manager to provide high-quality commercial, contractual, and legal consultancy across our Rail projects and business units. You’ll strengthen commercial governance from bid through delivery, proactively identify and mitigate risk, and provide authoritative guidance on contract strategy, negotiation, and insurance matters—helping us maximise value while minimising exposure.
You’ll partner closely with commercial and wider project teams, collaborating with Group/Head Office functions, and externally engage with supply chain, customers, key stakeholders, and relevant professional/industry bodies.
We are open to base location for this role, with occasional travel required.
What You’ll Be Doing
Key Responsibilities
- Lead commercial governance and compliance, ensuring robust adherence to Group Minimum Commercial Expectations, business lifecycle gates, and relevant management system processes.
- Provide senior commercial and contractual advice to work-winning, procurement, and project delivery teams, including drafting, reviewing, and negotiating:
- Contracts, subcontracts, frameworks
- Joint Venture (JV)/consortium and alliance arrangements
- Lead commercial reviews of tenders and contract terms, with a strong focus on NEC (New Engineering Contract) forms (Options A, C, E and secondary options) and effective risk allocation.
- Identify, quantify, and mitigate commercial, contractual, and insurance-related risks at tender, pre-contract, and delivery stages.
- Support negotiation strategies, tender queries, and commercial clarifications; advise on bonds, guarantees, and security instruments.
- Provide guidance on:
- Early warnings
- Compensation events
- Dispute avoidance
- Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners, including clients, supply chain, and industry/professional bodies.
- Develop commercial capability through:
- Coaching and mentoring
- Structured training (e.g., NEC contract management, governance, risk management, and dispute avoidance).
- Support operational excellence by:
- Maintaining strong commercial records
- Promoting cost management behaviours
- Contributing to digital and lean improvement initiatives.
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Who We’re Looking For
Experience, Skills and Qualifications Required
- Extensive experience providing senior commercial/contractual advisory support in complex project environments (ideally in rail or wider infrastructure).
- Strong practical knowledge of:
- NEC contracts (covering drafting, negotiation, risk management, compensation event assessment, and dispute avoidance).
- Proven ability to independently assess and manage commercial and contractual risk across the full project lifecycle (tender through close-out).
- Deep understanding of:
- Commercial governance
- Change control
- Cost management
- Cash flow/forecasting
- Contractual compliance
- Experience advising on insurance requirements, claims handling, and security instruments (e.g., bonds, guarantees).
- Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills, capable of interpreting complex contractual provisions and providing pragmatic guidance to senior stakeholders.
- A professional qualification (e.g., RICS / CICES / CIOB) and a commitment to ongoing CPD (Continuing Professional Development).
Why Work For Us
Our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting, and meaningful rail infrastructure projects, supporting national economies and strengthening communities.
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Key Benefits
- Flexible working: Smart working with up to 40% remote working (where roles allow), including staggered start/finish times.
- 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata).
- Family-friendly support:
- 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave
- 4 weeks full pay for paternity/adoptive partner leave
- Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, and recognition schemes, among other benefits.
About Us
Balfour Beatty works at the heart of the UK’s rail networks—designing, enhancing, and maintaining thousands of miles of railway, connecting communities and driving growth.
From feasibility studies, planning, and design to implementation and asset management, we deliver multi-disciplinary rail infrastructure services throughout the entire lifecycle of rail assets. Our expertise spans:
- Electrification
- Track
- Power
- Civils
- Specialist rail plant
- Railway systems and technologies
Diversity and Inclusion
At Balfour Beatty, we value diversity and inclusion as essential to a thriving workplace. Our commitment includes:
- WISE, enei, Business Disability Forum, and Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE) memberships.
- Audeliss and Involve Open Letter signatory for sustained actions on Black inclusion.
- Gold Award Holder in the Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme for supporting Armed Forces personnel, veterans, and reservists.
- As a Disability Confident Employer, we actively promote accessibility and fair recruitment processes. Questions or feedback on our hiring journey? Email candidaterecruitmentqueries@balfourbeatty.com.
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