Commercial Manager - Water

Commercial Manager

Location: Penrith / Cumbria, with travel across Northern England & Scotland

Working Pattern: Flexible / Hybrid - including potential 4-day week

Job Type: Permanent

Are you an experienced Commercial Manager or Estimator with a strong background in heavy civil engineering?

This is an opportunity to join an established and growing civil engineering contractor at an exciting stage of its development.

The business has ambitious growth plans and, having already made significant progress against its long-term turnover targets, is now strengthening its commercial function ahead of a substantial pipeline of infrastructure work.

The company is looking for a commercially strong individual who can take ownership across estimating, quantity surveying and procurement/buying.

You do not necessarily need experience across all three areas, but strong estimating and commercial experience within heavy civils will be particularly important.

Job Role

As Commercial Manager, you will play a key role in supporting both tendering and the commercial delivery of projects, working closely with the Managing Director and operational teams.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading and supporting the estimating of heavy civil engineering projects, including schemes valued at £1m+
• Preparing tenders, cost plans and commercial submissions
• Providing Quantity Surveying support throughout the project lifecycle
• Managing project costs, valuations, variations and commercial performance
• Supporting procurement and buying activities across projects
• Reviewing subcontractor and supplier quotationsWorking closely with clients, delivery partners and the wider operational team
• Helping develop and improve commercial processes as the business continues to grow
• Supporting upcoming long-term infrastructure frameworks across Northern England and Scotland

The company has a strong forward workload, including involvement in a major infrastructure framework commencing in 2027, working alongside established delivery partners.

Requirements

To be considered, you should have:

• Strong experience within heavy civil engineering
• Experience estimating projects valued above £1m
• A background as a Commercial Manager, Estimator, Senior Estimator, Senior Quantity Surveyor or similar
• Good understanding of project commercial management and cost controlExperience within water infrastructure would be highly advantageous, although it is not essential
• Experience working with civil engineering contractors
• The ability to work independently and take ownership of the commercial function
• Flexibility to spend time at the Penrith office and visit projects across Cumbria and into the Glasgow area when required

The business is flexible on how the role is structured. There are no rigid office-day requirements, and arrangements such as a four-day working week, accommodation support and different car allowance packages can be discussed.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a growing contractor where you will have genuine influence over the commercial function and play an important part in delivering the company's next stage of growth.