Commercial Manager (Work Winning)

Wates Construction – London Division

At Wates, we're driven by a purpose to create tomorrow together — delivering high-quality construction solutions while leaving a positive legacy in the communities we serve. Our London Construction business continues to grow, and we are now looking to appoint a Commercial Manager with a strong work-winning focus to support our expanding pipeline.

Role Overview

This is a pivotal role within our London division, combining strong commercial leadership with a proactive contribution to pre-construction and bid activity. You will play a key part in securing new work, shaping commercial strategies, and ensuring robust governance across a range of projects.

We are open to candidates from a broad construction background — what matters most is your commercial expertise, strategic mindset, and ability to influence winning outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the commercial aspects of bid submissions, supporting the work-winning process from opportunity identification through to contract award
• Partner with pre-construction, operational, and design teams to develop competitive and commercially sound tender solutions
• Provide expert guidance on pricing strategies, risk allocation, and contract structuring
• Review, negotiate and manage contracts, with a focus on NEC and/or JCT forms
• Develop and implement commercial strategies aligned with business objectives and market conditions
• Support contract negotiations with clients, subcontractors, and supply chain partners
• Ensure robust cost planning, risk management and governance throughout the bidding process
• Contribute to continuous improvement across commercial and work-winning best practices

About You

• Proven experience in a Commercial Manager or Senior Quantity Surveyor role, ideally within a Tier 1 or leading contractor environment
• Strong track record of supporting or leading work-winning / pre-construction activity
• Deep understanding of NEC and/or JCT contracts — this is essential
• Commercially astute with the ability to assess risk and drive value-led decisions
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to collaborate across multidisciplinary teams
• Flexible in your project experience — we welcome candidates from across sectors (commercial, mixed-use, public sector, etc.)
• A proactive mindset with the ability to operate in a fast-paced, opportunity-driven environment