Costain Group
Project Engineering Manager (Water Sector)

How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Project Engineering Manager
We have an opportunity for a Project Engineering Manager to join our vibrant Engineering Design team based in Manchester or London (depending on your location), supporting secured frameworks and confirmed demand with Southern Water, Northumbrian Water, Thames Water, Severn Trent Water and United Utilities.
The Project Engineering Discipline provides multi-discipline engineering team leadership and coordination across the engineering project lifecycle for Costain’s Energy, Water, Transport, Nuclear and Defence sectors.
We are growing our engineering team to serve growing demand for UK projects in the Water sector. We are keen to hear from candidates with significant experience of acting in a Project Engineering Manager role in wastewater/clean water on infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects and throughout the entire project lifecycle: from needs and solution identification, optioneering, outline design and detailed design in a design and build environment.
As a client facing (both internal and external), Project Engineering Manager, you will be responsible for managing the delivery of multi-disciplinary engineering design on complex projects through the various stages of the project life cycle to meet the project schedule, budget, safety, environmental and quality requirements, including defining & agreeing the Requirements with clients.
This hybrid role is nominally based at either our Costain Manchester or London Office with an expectation of office-based working for a minimum of two days per week – our dynamic working policy does allow all employees to discuss and agree flexibility to where, when and how they work based on individual circumstances and subject to role, client, business and team requirements. Short-term/notice travel to company, supplier or client offices or sites for business purposes may be required.
Responsibilities
- To manage the delivery of multi-discipline engineering design on projects through the various stages of the project lifecycle ensuring they are safe-by-design*, sustainable, digitally enabled, cost-effective, compliant, technically sound and meet commercial delivery targets through: *CDM PD/D compliance
- Ensuring that Engineering resource requirements are identified and effectively utilised to allow execution of projects in accordance with the project requirements and targeting for maximum productivity and efficiency.
- Ensuring all Engineers fully understand the detailed scope, basis of design, budget and programme requirements of the project.
- Co-ordination of Engineering and Design interfaces between Costain and other project partners / supply chain partners.
- Management of contractual communications, supporting progress meetings, risk reduction meetings, cost reports, coordinating multi-disciplinary design teams and running / closing out contract actions
- Regularly reporting to senior operational management on the performance of the engineering delivery for the project
- Providing a commercial focus with a high level of challenge on project scope and protecting against uncontrolled scope creep
- Ensuring effective deployment and use of company engineering delivery processes on projects including engineering design strategy; master deliverable plan, project schedule, work/cost breakdown structure; process safety management and engineering governance process.
- Ensuring that key project and programme risks are identified early, and mitigated where possible, with issues and blockers escalated immediately.
- Ensuring all services comply fully with Client & Costain governance processes, standards and obtaining necessary approvals.
- Developing productive relationships by communicating with colleagues and subordinates, developing trust and support and building teams.
Reasons to use Rodeo
I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
Honest answer — it depends on where you want to end up. A lot of top grad schemes (Big 4, civil service, banking) don’t need a masters. Let’s look at the ones you’d be competitive for now, and we can decide if a masters actually adds anything.
Also worth knowing: most autumn 2026 applications are open now. Timing matters more than you think.
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.
Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme
Why you're a good match
StrongYour economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.
See breakdownIt 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.
Why you're a good match
You’ve got the grades and the economics background, and your bank internship is exactly the experience this scheme looks for. Apply soon — deadlines close within the month.
Experience fit
Your summer at the bank plus your econometrics coursework map directly to the day-one responsibilities on this scheme — client modelling, market briefings, and deal support.
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.
Qualifications
- Significant experience in coordinating multi-discipline teams through the various stages of the project life cycle on major contracts in the Water Sector.
- Thorough knowledge of the major project delivery process from work winning to project handover.
- Knowledge and understanding of UK technical and regulatory standards and global best practice.
- Strong process safety, quality and environmental leadership focus.
- Significant knowledge and understanding of Project Controls, including Schedule, Cost, Risk and Change Management.
- Collaborative, innovative and agile.
- Experienced customer facing capability with an ability to develop and influence relationships
- Strong interpersonal skills and an effective communicator (written & verbal)
- Able to work regularly from the Costain Manchester office (40% office based)
- Mobility to travel to Costain/client offices, project sites and suppliers.


Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Essential
- Honours Degree or equivalent qualification in an engineering related subject.
Desirable
- Chartered Engineer and Membership of a professional engineering institution
- Association for Project Management qualification
Costain helps to improve people’s lives with integrated, leading edge, smart infrastructure solutions across the UK’s energy, water, transportation and defence markets. We help our clients improve their business performance by increasing capacity, improving customer service, safeguarding security, enhancing resilience, decarbonising and delivering increased efficiency. Our vision is to be the UK’s leading smart infrastructure solutions company. We will achieve this by focusing on blue chip clients whose major spending plans are underpinned by strategic national needs, regulatory commitments, legislation or essential performance requirements. We offer our clients leading edge solutions that are digitally optimised through the following five services which cover the whole lifecycle of their assets: future-shaping strategic consultancy; consultancy and advisory; digital technology solutions; asset optimisation and complex programme delivery. Our culture and values underpin everything we do.
Costain appreciate the time and effort taken when applying for one of our positions but, due to the high volume of responses, we are unable to provide individual feedback on candidates at application phase.
We do share individual feedback following an interview.
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that disclose they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people.
For more details please go to the Disability Confident website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/disability-confident-campaign
“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
Skills
Location