Pre-Construction Programme Director – Rail Civils
Remuneration: £1,000 – £1,200 / day + Flights + Accomadation
European Based Contract
The Opportunity
We are seeking an exceptional Pre-Construction Programme Director to lead the development and procurement of a major infrastructure programme. This is a career-defining opportunity to shape a multi-billion-pound investment from strategic development through to procurement, laying the foundations for successful delivery.
Working on the client side, you will provide strategic leadership across a complex portfolio, ensuring the programme is commercially robust, technically sound, politically supported, and ready for market. You will operate at executive level, engaging with government bodies, delivery partners, consultants, and industry leaders to successfully navigate a highly complex stakeholder landscape.
This role requires an individual who thrives in challenging environments, has successfully led programmes of exceptional scale, and can confidently balance competing political, commercial, technical, and public interests.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the pre-construction strategy for a multi-billion-pound infrastructure programme.
- Drive the programme from development through business case maturity and into procurement.
- Provide executive leadership across multidisciplinary teams, ensuring alignment of technical, commercial, legal, environmental, and programme functions.
- Develop procurement strategies that support long-term programme objectives while delivering value and managing risk.
- Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior government officials, public sector organisations, regulators, consultants, contractors, and executive stakeholders.
- Navigate complex political environments and provide confident leadership through changing priorities and governance requirements.
- Ensure programme readiness, governance, assurance, and decision-making processes are robust and fit for purpose.
- Manage significant programme risks and dependencies while maintaining strategic focus and stakeholder confidence.
- Act as a visible ambassador for the programme with internal and external stakeholders.
About You
You will be an accomplished programme leader with an exceptional track record of delivering major infrastructure programmes at the highest level.
You will bring:
- Extensive client-side experience leading major infrastructure programmes.
- Experience delivering or developing multi-billion-pound infrastructure projects.
- Strong public sector experience, with a deep understanding of government governance, funding, approvals, and procurement.
- Demonstrable success leading programmes through the development, planning, and procurement phases.
- Outstanding stakeholder management skills, with the credibility to influence ministers, government departments, boards, executive teams, regulators, investors, and delivery partners.
- Excellent commercial awareness and experience working alongside procurement, legal, and technical teams to deliver successful procurement strategies.
- The ability to balance political priorities, technical complexity, commercial considerations, and programme risk while maintaining strategic direction.
- Exceptional leadership capability with experience managing large, multidisciplinary teams and external consultants.
- Outstanding communication, negotiation, and influencing skills.
Ideal Background
Experience working within client organisations, government agencies, infrastructure authorities, or major public sector delivery bodies will be highly advantageous.
Why Apply?
This is an opportunity to shape a landmark infrastructure investment. You will play a pivotal role in establishing the strategic direction, procurement approach, and governance framework for a programme that will have lasting economic and societal impact.
If you have successfully led complex, politically sensitive, multi-billion-pound infrastructure programmes from concept through procurement and are looking for your next executive challenge, we would be delighted to hear from you.
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