Senior Preconstruction Manager

Company Overview

We are currently working with a leading workplace design & build specialist delivering high‑quality commercial interiors across the UK. Their teams create inspiring spaces for clients ranging from SMEs to large corporations, providing end‑to‑end services including workplace strategy, design, technical development, pre‑construction and project delivery. They pride themselves on creativity, technical excellence and a collaborative culture that attracts high‑performing individuals who thrive in a fast‑paced, client‑focused environment.

Job purpose

The Employee's job role will be varied but will principally involve supporting the sales team to secure fast-track commercial office fit-out and refurbishment projects.
The Employee is responsible for ensuring that project profitability targets set at initial sales meetings are met.

Responsibilities

Co-ordination of structured and documented brief taking.
Provide Project Directors with the required support at subsequent negotiations on the prospective project.
Ensure that all aspects of the project are fully co-ordinated and pitch timetables are met.
Assess commercial risk of individual Projects with the project team, including viability of projects and ability to deliver to timescales and budgets.
Agree timescales for the Project - pre and post tender. Ensure that these are communicated and controlled.
Identify any potential Health & Safety issues regarding CDM, COSHH, method statements and risk assessments associated with the Project. Ensure Planning Co-ordinator responsible is allocated at an early stage.
Liaise with the Design team to ensure design buildability, value engineering and drawings/specification for client approval.
Where necessary, arrange for a member of the project team to assist clients in negotiations with their Landlords, Solicitors, Agents etc. to obtain all leases and licences to enable the works to proceed as quickly as possible.
Carefully monitor costs as designs are developed. Ensure full design package produced for Contract Managers.
Agree the stage for design freeze.
Liaise with internal divisions, as appropriate, to provide M&E, Voice & Data (IT) and furniture input at an early stage in the project.
Agree and write detailed specifications to enable the Contracts Team to obtain the most accurate and best possible price from subcontractors and suppliers for the works without interpretation when the project goes live.
Provide back to back quotations on all packages in particular specialist items, i.e. joinery, acoustic works and any external works of a complicated nature.
Agree contractual terms and conditions with the client, including the most commercially viable payment terms for the Group. Ensure all drawings, specification, contract documents are signed off prior to handover.
Provide a detailed item by item cost plan/estimate to enable strict financial control of live Projects. Cost plan to be agreed between the Contract Manager and Pre-Contract Manager prior to the project approval. The agreed cost plan must be capable of detailed comparison once packages are placed, and form the basis of cost control on the project.
Provide and capture accurate information within the CRM system and ensure that all pre-contract related activities have been completed at each project milestone.
Ensure that the Contracts team have been fully onboarded prior to the approval meeting and support them during this transition and approval process.
Seek positive feedback from the Contracts team to ensure continued accuracy in estimating and to ensure that planned variation orders are achieved.
Offer advice and assistance if necessary, to the Projects team post contract. Specifically ensure that where cost plan is not being met (+/- 2.5% on any one-line item), ensure that Project Managers are assisted in value engineering item to ensure original figures are returned or improved.

The employee will report directly to the Head of Pre Contracts on all project matters.

Required Experience (Essential)

A minimum of 5 years of experience in Construction Project Management and Estimation.
Experience of working in Commercial Office Interiors industry.
Sales and Board Level Pitch experience.
Personal Attributes
Continuous learning mindset
Team player
Excellent communicator
Be able to effectively communicate technical terms/processes with non-technical people
Flexible mindset
Not afraid to challenge
Leadership skills
Focused on continuous improvements

Eden Brown is committed to equality in the workplace and is an equal opportunity employer