Tender Planner in Preston, Lancashire

Tender Planner - Main Contractor
Location: Preston, Lancashire (Head Office)
Salary/Package: £65,000 - £80,000 + Package
Job Type: Permanent

About the Company
Our client is a long-established, family-founded main contractor with more than a century of history and a strong reputation across the North West.

From its head office in Preston, with further offices in Liverpool and Manchester, the business delivers new build, refurbishment, extension and fit-out projects. It is supported by its own maintenance, joinery manufacturing and electrical divisions and more than 130 directly employed trade operatives.

The business works across the education, health, commercial, industrial, retail, residential, and sports and leisure sectors. Projects include university buildings, hospital and healthcare schemes, distribution centres, heritage refurbishments and student accommodation.

Known for working closely with clients and their consultants, with an award-winning health and safety record and a commitment to in-house skills and training, the business has a strong pipeline of tenders across traditional, two-stage, Design & Build and framework procurement routes.

To support this pipeline, they are looking to appoint a Tender Planner to join the pre-construction team at their Preston head office.

The Role
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Planner to take ownership of tender-stage planning and play a key role in helping the business win work.

The successful candidate will produce clear, realistic and persuasive tender programmes, construction sequences and logistics proposals. These will show the client how a scheme will be delivered safely and efficiently, while giving the business a robust basis for pricing.

Based at head office, you will work closely with the Pre-Construction Manager, estimators, bid team, design managers and operations teams. You will attend client interviews and presentations where needed, and hand over successful tenders to the delivery team with a well-developed programme.

The role would suit a Planner with main contractor experience who enjoys the pace and variety of the bidding environment, or a Project Planner looking to specialise in pre-construction and tender planning.

Key Responsibilities

Tender Programming

• Preparing detailed tender and pre-construction programmes for a wide range of projects.
• Reviewing tender documents, drawings, specifications and employer's requirements to establish scope and sequence.
• Developing construction sequences, phasing strategies and critical path analysis.
• Producing programme narratives, method statements and supporting information for tender submissions.
• Testing programme durations and resources with estimators, operations and the supply chain.
• Identifying programme risks and opportunities and proposing ways to reduce them.

Logistics & Bid Support

• Preparing site logistics plans, set-up drawings and phasing diagrams.
• Contributing to quality submissions, particularly the programme, methodology and logistics sections.
• Producing clear visuals and graphics, using 4D sequencing where appropriate, to support bids.
• Attending tender interviews, client meetings and presentations.
• Supporting the estimating team with time-related preliminaries and programme-driven costs.

Pre-Construction & Handover

• Developing programmes through the two-stage and Design & Build process, including design, procurement and approval milestones.
• Coordinating design, procurement and subcontractor lead times into pre-construction programmes.
• Assessing the programme impact of design changes and value engineering options.
• Handing over successful tender programmes to the delivery team and supporting the contract programme.
• Helping to develop planning standards, templates and best practice across the business.

About You

• Proven experience as a Planner with a main contractor, ideally with a strong focus on tender or pre-construction planning.
• Experience programming new build and refurbishment projects in sectors such as education, health, commercial, industrial or residential.
• Highly proficient in Asta Powerproject, with knowledge of Primavera P6 or MS Project beneficial.
• Confident producing logistics plans and phasing drawings, with AutoCAD, Revit or 4D/BIM tools a bonus.
• Strong understanding of construction sequencing, methodology and critical path analysis.
• Familiar with traditional, two-stage, Design & Build and framework procurement.
• Able to work to tight tender deadlines while keeping a high standard of accuracy and presentation.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, and confident in client-facing situations.
• A relevant degree or professional qualification (MCIOB, APM or similar) would be beneficial.
• Full UK driving licence.

What's on Offer?

• Salary of £65,000 - £80,000, depending on experience.
• Additional package.
• Permanent role based at the company's Preston head office.
• A long-established and highly respected North West main contractor.
• A varied pipeline of tenders across multiple sectors and procurement routes.
• A key role in a business that values pre-construction and winning work.
• Long-term career development within a stable, growing business.

Apply Today
This is a fantastic opportunity for a Tender Planner looking to take ownership of tender-stage planning with a respected North West main contractor.

If you have tender, pre-construction or project planning experience with a main contractor, we would be keen to hear from you.

Please get in touch today with our Commercial Specialist, Mark Harris, at Building Careers UK for a confidential discussion.

Building Careers UK specialises in Construction and Property recruitment and serves as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and an employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job, you accept the Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers which can be found on our website.

Building Careers UK is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

Please Note: Due to the high volume of applicants, only those shortlisted will be contacted.

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