Senior Project Communications Manager

Overview

About The Role Are you a skilled communications professional with a passion for shaping complex infrastructure programmes? Do you thrive in a fast‑paced, collaborative environment where your work directly supports safer, more efficient rail services across the UK? If so, we’d love to hear from you.

Balfour Beatty is looking for a Senior Project Communications Manager to lead the communications strategy for the Central Rail Systems Alliance (CRSA) — an industry‑leading partnership between Network Rail, Balfour Beatty, Atkins

Réalis and TSO. This is a high‑profile and influential role, responsible for protecting and enhancing the alliance’s reputation, engaging stakeholders, and ensuring our people stay informed, aligned and motivated to deliver vital rail renewals and systems works across the UK. This role can be based out of the Aston Depot, Birmingham or Doncaster Depot, with UK travel.

What you'll be doing

• Strategic Leadership
  • Developing and delivering a fully integrated internal and external communications strategy aligned to programme milestones, safety priorities and stakeholder needs.
  • Championing CRSA achievements, innovation and sustainability to demonstrate the value delivered for passengers, freight customers and the wider rail industry.
• Stakeholder Engagement
  • Building strong, collaborative relationships with Network Rail leaders, alliance partners, industry bodies, local authorities and community groups.
  • Ensuring clear, consistent and transparent messaging about planned works, benefits and community impacts.
• Risk & Issues Management
  • Acting as the CRSA’s primary point of escalation for emerging issues.
  • Working closely with Network Rail and Balfour Beatty media teams to identify proactive media opportunities and manage reactive or crisis communications.
• Content & Channel Ownership
  • Overseeing CRSA communication channels, multimedia materials and the editorial calendar.
  • Creating accessible, engaging content that simplifies complex rail systems information for diverse audiences.
• Internal Communications
  • Delivering timely, meaningful employee communications that reinforce core messages, strengthen safety culture, and support multi‑disciplinary project teams across the alliance.
• Governance, Budget & Compliance
  • Ensuring all communications meet Balfour Beatty and Network Rail standards, approvals and privacy requirements.
  • Managing the CRSA communications budget and overseeing agencies as required.

• Essential Skills & Experience
  • Degree in communications, public relations, marketing or a related discipline.
  • Experience working on construction or civil engineering infrastructure programmes.
  • Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills.
  • Strong stakeholder management and the ability to influence and negotiate.
  • Skilled at managing competing deadlines in a complex delivery environment.
  • Confident presenter to varied audiences.
  • Analytical thinker with strong problem‑solving capability.
  • Good understanding of the media landscape.
  • Proactive, collaborative and always seeking improvement.
  • Competent user of Microsoft Office.
• Desirable
  • Membership of CIPR, IOIC, CIM or similar professional bodies.
  • Understanding of regulatory environments in construction, rail or utilities.

Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.

• Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.
• 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata)
• Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave
• Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more…

Balfour Beatty works at the heart of the UK’s rail networks – designing, enhancing and maintaining thousands of miles of the railways that connect communities and underpin growth. From feasibility studies, planning and design through to implementation and asset management,…