Professional Head - Buildings & Civils
Role Purpose
The Professional Head - Buildings & Civils serves as the senior technical authority for all buildings, civil engineering, and structural works delivered by the organisation. The role provides leadership, governance, and independent technical assurance across tendering, design, construction, commissioning, and handback, ensuring all works are safe, compliant, buildable, and commercially and operationally sound.
Operating within Network Rail and statutory governance, the postholder holds accountability for engineering standards, competence, and acceptance, while enabling right‑first‑time delivery across minor, major, complex, and multi‑disciplinary programmes. The role underpins client confidence and protects the contractor's technical, commercial, and reputational position.
Key Responsibilities
1. Professional Head & Technical Authority
Act as the Professional Head and senior technical authority for Buildings & Civils across all projects and frameworks.
Set and maintain engineering strategy, design philosophy, and assurance requirements for buildings, stations, depots, operational structures, and associated civils.
Provide authoritative decisions on technical compliance, constructability, temporary works, engineering risk, and acceptance.
Approve or oversee approval of key engineering deliverables including design submissions, temporary works, handback packs, and technical deviations.
Maintain and continuously improve engineering standards, specifications, and governance arrangements in line with client and regulatory requirements.
2. Engineering Governance, Assurance & Compliance
Establish and lead the engineering governance framework for Buildings & Civils works.
Ensure compliance with Network Rail standards, statutory legislation, and best practice (e.g. NR/L2/RSE/02009, CDM Regulations).
Ensure full compliance with temporary works governance, including TWC/TWS roles, categorisation, and independent checking in accordance with BS 5975.
Oversee structured engineering assurance including design reviews, IDC/IDR processes, assurance plans, audits, NCR management, and decision traceability.
Ensure robust configuration and documentation control including TQs, RFIs, technical approvals, and design change management.
Provide senior technical oversight of commissioning, handback, and operational acceptance.
Lead derogation/variation/deviation management.
3. Contractor's Engineering Manager (CEM) Leadership
Act as, or hold overarching accountability for, the CEM function for Buildings & Civils.
Establish and approve Contractor's Engineering Management Plans and discipline‑specific assurance plans.
Lead multi‑disciplinary engineering coordination across internal teams, designers, and supply‑chain partners.
Ensure effective engineering risk identification, mitigation, and formal acceptance throughout delivery.
Interface with client engineering assurance and asset teams to secure and maintain technical approval.
4. Contractor's Responsible Engineer (CRE) Oversight
Act as, or appoint and control, CRE (Buildings/Civils) roles across projects.
Approve scopes of responsibility, delegation, and limits of authority for CREs.
Ensure delivered works are safe, compliant, complete, and fit for handback.
Provide mentoring, technical direction, and challenge to CREs and senior project engineers.
5. Design, Construction & Buildability Leadership
Provide leadership across design development, construction methodology, sequencing, and temporary works strategy.
Ensure solutions are practical, efficient, safe to build, and aligned with programme and commercial constraints.
Drive early contractor involvement (ECI) to reduce risk and improve buildability.
Ensure inspection regimes, access for maintenance, and asset longevity are embedded into design.
6. Programme & Project Technical Oversight
Provide senior technical oversight across major projects and frameworks, including complex interfaces with track, signalling, M&E, telecoms, and operations.
Support bid, tender, and early‑stage project development with technical strategy, risk reviews, and value engineering.
Lead resolution of high‑impact technical issues, non‑conformances, and changes affecting safety, time, or cost.
Ensure engineering risks and assumptions are clearly communicated to project and commercial leadership.
7. Safety & CDM Leadership
Champion a strong safety and engineering excellence culture across the workforce and supply chain.
Discharge Designer and Principal Designer duties where required under CDM Regulations.
Provide leadership on temporary works governance and high‑risk construction activities.
Lead or support technical investigations, lessons learned, and continuous improvement initiatives.
8. Client, Regulator & Supply‑Chain Interface
Act as senior technical interface with Network Rail Asset Engineers, Engineering Assurance teams, and Independent Assessors.
Support audits, reviews, and external assurance activities.
Provide technical leadership to designers, subcontractors, and suppliers, ensuring alignment with standards and client requirements.
Build and maintain effective working relationships that underpin client trust and repeat business.
9. Commercial & Operational Contribution
Provide technical input to commercial decisions, procurement strategies, and contract negotiations.
Support cost control through early risk reduction, value engineering, and scope clarity.
Ensure engineering decisions support whole‑life asset value, maintainability, and operational resilience without transferring unmanaged risk.
10. Competence & Capability Management
Own the competence framework for Buildings & Civils engineering roles.
Implement and maintain a formal engineering authorisation system for CEM, CRE, and engineering roles aligned to NR/L2/RSE/02009.
Ensure all personnel and supply‑chain partners are competent, authorised, and suitably experienced.
Promote continuous improvement in technical capability, behaviours, and engineering leadership.
Essential Qualifications & Experience
Chartered Engineer status (e.g. CEng, MICE, MIStructE, MCIOB or equivalent).
Extensive experience delivering buildings and civils works for Tier 1 contractors in a regulated, safety‑critical environment.
Proven experience acting as or leading CEM and/or CRE (Buildings/Civils) roles.
Demonstrable track record of major project or framework delivery within rail or comparable infrastructure sectors.
Strong working knowledge of Network Rail standards, CDM Regulations, temporary works, ALO management, and engineering assurance.
Experience leading handover, HOTO, commissioning, and asset acceptance.
CSM‑REA knowledge.
Excellent leadership, communication, and senior stakeholder management skills.
Desirable Attributes
Experience on large, complex rail stations, depots, or major civils interfaces.
Experience shaping engineering governance for multi‑project delivery organisations.
Familiarity with digital engineering, BIM, collaborative planning, and modern assurance systems.
