Wates Group
Pre Construction Director
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Pre-Construction Director
Wates Construction is seeking an exceptional Pre-Construction Director to join our London Division in one of the most influential leadership roles within the business.
As a key member of the divisional senior leadership team, you will take overall responsibility for the strategic direction, leadership and performance of our pre-construction function, ensuring the successful transition of opportunities from initial engagement through to project commencement. This is a critical role with accountability for driving sustainable growth, overseeing bid and work-winning activities, and ensuring that our pre-construction teams consistently deliver market-leading solutions that differentiate Wates from our competitors. Working closely with customers, consultants, supply chain partners and internal stakeholders, you will shape winning strategies, lead complex pursuits and ensure that every opportunity is positioned to achieve the very best outcome for our clients and our business. The successful candidate will have a proven track record of leading high-performing pre-construction teams within the construction industry and will possess the commercial acumen, strategic mindset and customer focus required to support the continued growth of one of London's leading construction businesses.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
- Lead and develop the London Division's pre-construction function, creating a culture of excellence, accountability and continuous improvement.
- Establish and implement divisional pre-construction strategies aligned to business growth objectives.
- Act as a trusted advisor to the Managing Director and divisional leadership team on all aspects of pre-construction and work-winning.
- Provide leadership across bid management, estimating, planning, design management and technical services functions.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Work Winning & Business Development
- Lead the work-winning strategy across the division, ensuring a strong and sustainable pipeline of opportunities.
- Oversee the qualification and selection of target projects, ensuring alignment with divisional objectives and risk appetite.
- Build and maintain strategic relationships with key clients, consultants, developers and framework providers.
- Support and influence client engagement activities, presentations, interviews and key negotiations.
- Drive winning methodologies and ensure the highest standards of bid quality and customer engagement.
Pre-Construction Excellence
- Oversee the delivery of all pre-construction activities from enquiry through to contract award.
- Ensure robust governance and risk management processes are embedded throughout the bid lifecycle.
- Champion innovative solutions that deliver value, sustainability, buildability and certainty for our customers.
- Lead the development of winning technical, commercial and programme strategies.
- Foster collaboration between operational, commercial and technical teams to ensure seamless project handover.
Team Leadership
- Inspire, coach and develop a multidisciplinary team of pre-construction professionals.
- Build succession plans and identify future talent to strengthen the function.
- Promote a collaborative and inclusive culture that reflects Wates' values and purpose.
- Drive high levels of engagement, performance and accountability across the team.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
What We're Looking For
We are seeking a respected industry leader who can demonstrate:
- Extensive experience leading pre-construction functions within a tier one or major regional contractor.
- A strong track record of securing complex construction projects across public and private sectors.
- Proven success in leading major bids and work-winning strategies.
- Exceptional leadership and stakeholder management skills.
- Strong commercial awareness and risk management expertise.
- Experience managing multidisciplinary teams across estimating, planning, design and bid management.
- A deep understanding of modern construction techniques, procurement routes and market trends.
- Excellent presentation, influencing and negotiation abilities.
- The ability to build trusted relationships at executive level with clients and partners.
Our Commitments
Wates is proud to be an employer where anyone can thrive, and we welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds. We encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every requirement, as we value transferable skills and assess all applications fairly.
We don't discriminate based on a criminal record; all applications are reviewed on an individual basis against the requirements of the role. Some roles may require additional checks, due to the nature of the work. As a Disability Confident Leader, we offer an interview to applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for the role and opt in to the Disability Confident scheme. Reasonable adjustments are available, please contact us at recruitment@wates.co.uk
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Location