The Client 

This business are an established fixture in the London refurbishment and fit out sector, and have built up an excellent reputation for the quality of their delivery, client focus and complexity of work undertaken. A large proportion of their work is within the commercial office sector with projects encompassing, structural alterations, cut and carve through to a high end landlord or end user fit outs. Despite building a name as one of the ‘go to’ contractors for commercial projects in London they have a track record of successfully delivering a diverse range of healthcare, retail, leisure and education projects, with jobs ranging in contract value between £1m - £40m.

Building strong and long last relationships with everyone they work with has been key to their growth and success. With a large proportion of their work coming from recommendation and repeat business. The company itself is split into three distinct divisions led by a divisional director with support from two project directors and two commercial leads. Their yearly turnover is around £150m.

As a company they consciously learn and evolve from changing market conditions. Post pandemic they undertook a few projects with onerous contract clauses, heightened risk and poor design. This has helped them develop a strong and robust approach to tendering, with a lot of additional due diligence and analysis taken on a tender return, helping them gain a strong understanding of the potential project whilst minimising risk. This puts them in a better place against their competition and for the future. They have a stringent recruitment process and aside from targeting candidates with relevant sector and industry experience, they have a particular focus on appointing people with a strong work ethic and a collaborate, honest, accountable and communicative approach.

The Project 

Complex refurbishment/ restoration of an iconic listed commercial building in Central London. Work consists of strip out/ restoration of original features, roof removal, temporary works, new steel work and installation of a substantial roof light spanning a large section of the building. The other section of the building is partially being demolished with a challenging ground works package including underpinning and pilling, new steel frame, brick external façade, and CAT B office fit out. Extensive m&e package and lift replacement.

Roles & Responsibilites 

This is a flagship and landmark project for this contractor and they are looking for a manager with experience delivering logistically complex refurbishments to lead this project. The successful candidate must have experience of controlling and administering the project programme, have a high level of understanding commercial project risk management and techniques, have experience of leading design, services and surveying teams, and have exemplary client and professional team communication skills.

• Take full responsibility for the leadership, development and effective delivery team.
• Deliver to set targets on time, cost, profitability and quality.
• Establish and maintain a high level relationship with the client and all associated professional teams
• Identify problems and offer solutions.
• Suggest trade contractors, systems and manufacturers for team appraisal.
• Review design and project programme and contribute where necessary
• Offer high level strategic thinking at project level.
• Contribute information to the proposal team, if required
• Produce precise and succinct project reports.
• Take responsibility for strategic control of the programme and progress reporting against this.
• To finds ways to recover delays where they have occurred
• To take a lead role in the presentation of the project to the client at Project meetings
• To offer build-ability advice and value engineering solutions
• Thorough understanding of construction methods and M&E systems