Construction Assurance Specialist

Construction Services (CS) – Engineering is composed of highly qualified engineers with years of experience in the rail sector, certified in multiple disciplines, and backed by strong problem-solving capabilities. We combine technical proficiency with an in-depth understanding of the rail industry’s evolving needs, delivering projects that are both timely and cost-effective ensuring the highest standards of safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

We specialise in managing the complete lifecycle of rail projects involving track, signalling and overhead line equipment (OLE). From planning to execution, our team ensures that our systems are designed, installed, and maintained to the highest industry standards. We oversee technical coordination, risk management, and compliance to ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.

 

About the role:
Are you experienced and knowledgeable in Health & Safety in a Railway construction environment?

Do you want a job where you can put your skills and experience in to practice to ensure Construction Services deliver safely and handback quality renewal works?

Do you believe in the benefits of planned inspections, assurance checks, engineering verification and robust systems and procedures?

Can you take responsibility for site safety and intervene when necessary?

 

If this is you, then maybe this is the role for you;

We are seeking two Construction Assurance Specialists, one based out of our Crewe depot and the other from Baskerville House in Birmingham. Both roles will be working as part of the Engineering team, providing assurance on the delivery of Track renewals, Ballast Cleaning and Overhead Line Equipment projects across the UK. The roles provide assurance to all aspects of delivery including survey, preparation works, core works and follow up activities to ensure compliance to Company Standards and local processes and procedures as an aid to delivering a safe, quality, and efficient construction renewal service to our Regional Customers.

This role involves onsite assurance checking Work Package Plans (WPPs), Safe System of Work Packs (SSOWPs), ES/COSS briefings, welfare management, as well as all construction activities. You will be responsible for undertaking Planned Inspections, Engineering Verifications and Safety Tours whilst onsite. Please note our site work is predominately undertaken during midweek nights and at weekends, so a large proportion of our assurance checks and inspections will need to be done at these times. You will need to be able to communicate and influence at all levels, build relationships with Maintenance, the wider CS Teams, the workforce, and our delivery partners. As well as demonstrating your experience in construction or infrastructure maintenance, familiar with Construction Design Management (CDM 2015) and knowledge of the relevant Health & Safety and Assurance Standards are also key.

 

Above all, your ability to work as part of a wider team whilst managing your own workload, good time management and flexibility, along with good IT skills would make you an ideal candidate and potentially a valuable asset to the team.

 

You will undertake the day-to-day construction assurance to provide our services and its suppliers confidence that works are being delivered in line with expectation, with focus on assuring the operation of the railway is safeguarded and workforce safety is not compromised, through prescribed audits designed to improve performance and promote good practice.

 

Key Responsibilities:

1. Undertake site visits as set out by the project assurance function to provide effective governance and assurance of the construction activities undertaken.

2. Collate data from site visits to provide information to share with the wider Network Rail teams and its suppliers, identifying areas for improvement and sharing good practice.

3. Identify and manage poor performance onsite through the implementation of improvement plans to provide safety assurance and continuous improvement.

4. Work with the Project Assurance Engineer to implement a balanced and consistent approach to the construction assurance function.

5. Review and use the Construction Phase Plan, Work Package Plans, and any relevant documentation to conduct pre-start site visits and site visits once a period thereafter during the construction phase. Then produce and issue post visit inspection report.

6. Form working relationships with site teams to create an environment for continuous improvement.

7. Agree improvement plans and oversee to closeout in a timely manner when performance issues are identified.

9. Deliver safety and sustainability assurance (Functional Audit Plan, management reviews, project deep dives) and provide reports to inform relevant people in Construction Services of the findings to facilitate evidence-based approach to managing risks and opportunities for improving Construction Delivery performance in safety and sustainability.

10. Attend regular meetings with the Project Assurance Engineer to forecast site activity and assist in the identification trends and areas for focus.
Skills and Experience:

Essential;

• Experience and success within a construction assurance function

• Construction Industry Training Board – Site Manager Safety Training Scheme or similar or equivalent experience

• Membership of a relevant professional body for example Chartered Institute of Building, Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Railway Signal Engineers or equivalent.

• Demonstrable significant understanding of the CDM Regulations and health & safety legislation, regulations, and industry practices

• IT literate (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and web-based audit tools)

• Ability to operate effectively in the site environment.

• Demonstrable experience of effective team working, helping, and supporting others and sharing knowledge skills and experience

• Demonstrable experience of seeking ways to improve ways of working, being open to change and doing things differently.

• Demonstrable ability to make timely decisions and to think ahead.

• Demonstrable experience of being focused on their own and others safety and in understanding the implications of their behaviour and the safety rules.

• Demonstrable experience of having a positive attitude about work and change and demonstrating positive working behaviours.

 

 

Vacancy type: This role is permanent.

Location: The two positions are based in Birmingham and Crewe.

Hours: up to 35 hours per week with hybrid working as required as well as some night and weekend working, travel across the UK and overnight stays.

Salary range: £43,588 to £50,018 per annum, depending on skills and experience.

Closing date: 26 February 2025. Late applicants will not be accepted. This role is being advertised internally and externally.

 

 

You will need to complete a supporting statement addressing how you meet the essential criteria, please complete this as part of the application process and also add this to your CV in one document. Applicants who do not complete this statement will not be shortlisted.

 

Drugs and Alcohol Standard:

All prospective external candidates offered a conditional role will be required to undergo and pass a drugs and alcohol test.

Tagged as: assurance job, assurance jobs, coss, coss briefing, depot, engineering team, Governance, handback, hr, line, manager, network rail job, network rail jobs, network rail jobs in birmingham, quality assurance job, quality assurance jobs, quality assurance jobs birmingham, rail job, rail jobs, railway construction, Risk, safety, service, signal engineer, site manager, specialist engineering services, technical