Business Manager in Newcastle upon Tyne

Company Description: Today, Assystem is among the top three independent nuclear engineering firms worldwide. With over 60 years of experience in highly regulated sectors, the group supports public and industrial stakeholders in the execution of complex and strategic infrastructure projects, subject to high safety and security requirements. Assystem mobilizes 8,000 experts in 13 countries and intervenes across the entire project lifecycle, in engineering, project management and digital solutions.

We are seeking an experienced Business Manager to lead a high-performing engineering consultancy portfolio delivering work packages and project-based Engineering outcomes. This role is accountable for a project-driven P&L, where success is built on the consistent delivery of high-quality engineering outputs, strong commercial control, and disciplined performance management across multiple delivery streams. Working in close partnership with the Programme Manager (who leads day-to-day project governance and delivery execution), this role ensures that all elements of the business are aligned to deliver sustainable, high-quality, and profitable outcomes. You will also deputise for the Senior Business Manager as required.

• Your Key Responsibilities
• P&L Leadership & Integration
• Own and deliver against a project-based P&L, ensuring revenue, margin, and cash targets are achieved.
• Integrate performance across key pillars (Programme Management, Engineering, Commercial, and Sales) to ensure joined-up execution of the business plan.
• Ensure that healthy project performance translates into sustained P&L success.
• Prepare and manage budgets, resource plans, and business forecasts to support the achievement of business objectives.
• Ensure proposed opportunities and commitments are rigorously assessed against business capability, resource availability, delivery capacity, and commercial objectives before acceptance.
• Delivery Assurance & Performance Oversight
• Work in close partnership with the Programme Manager to ensure effective governance, controls, and delivery standards are embedded across all work packages.
• Maintain senior-level oversight of project performance, ensuring delivery against quality, schedule, and budget expectations.
• Define and oversee portfolio-level KPIs and performance metrics, ensuring clear visibility of trends and risks.
• Ensure early escalation and intervention where projects show signs of distress.
• Forecasting, Reporting & Financial Control
• Lead monthly forecasting, reporting, and financial reviews, ensuring outputs are accurate, insightful, and decision-ready.
• Maintain a strong grip on cost, margin, revenue, and cash performance across the portfolio.
• Ensure all reporting is high quality and suitable for senior stakeholder engagement.
• Provide analysis and recommendations to support informed business decision-making and continuous improvement.
• Contract & Commercial Governance (NEC)
• Ensure appropriate oversight and assurance of NEC4 contract administration across the portfolio.
• Work with Commercial and Programme teams to ensure robust management of change, risk, and commercial positions.
• Support commercial teams in the negotiation and management of contract amendments, compensation events, variations, and associated commercial positions.
• Maintain a balanced approach that protects the business while supporting collaborative and strategic client relationships.
• Client Engagement & Pipeline Development
• Build and maintain strong relationships with client stakeholders at programme and commercial levels.
• Support the development of a pipeline of work packages and framework opportunities in collaboration with Account Managers.
• Support the development, review, and approval of proposals and quotations, ensuring alignment with customer requirements, delivery capability, and commercial objectives.
• Support the establishment and growth of long-term framework agreements and strategic customer relationships.
• Ensure that strong delivery performance leads to repeat business and long-term client partnerships.
• Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
• Ensure that effective processes, tools, and ways of working are in place across the business.
• Drive continuous improvement in delivery performance, efficiency, and consistency.
• Promote a culture of data-led decision-making and performance transparency.
• Identify and champion improvements in engineering methods, systems, digital tools, procedures, and ways of working that enhance quality, efficiency, and delivery performance.
• Leadership & Team Development
• Provide leadership across the business, working through direct teams and key functional leads.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and delivery excellence, tutoring Project Managers on the demands of the business and the wider context of their work.
• Support the development of capability across project, engineering, and commercial disciplines.
• Assess organisational capability and workforce requirements, supporting the development of skills, succession planning, and future resource capacity needs.
• Ensure teams are appropriately structured, resourced, and developed to meet current and future business demands.
• Compliance, Quality & Safety
• Ensure alignment with HSEQ, regulatory, and security requirements.
• Work closely with the HSEQ function to ensure customer quality requirements are fully understood and appropriately implemented.
• Provide assurance that quality standards are being consistently achieved across all work packages.
• Support audit readiness and implementation of corrective actions where required.
• Ensure all security requirements and obligations are maintained across the portfolio.

Qualifications Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven experience managing a P&L within an engineering consultancy or project delivery environment.
• Strong understanding of how to drive performance across a portfolio of engineering work packages.
• Experience working alongside Programme Managers or equivalent delivery leads in complex environments.
• Strong financial acumen, including forecasting, cost control, budgeting, and performance reporting.
• Solid understanding of NEC4 contracts and associated commercial principles.
• Demonstrated ability to set, monitor, and act on performance KPIs at portfolio level.
• Experience supporting bid, proposal, and commercial governance activities.
• Strong stakeholder management and client engagement skills.
• Experience leading and influencing multi-disciplinary teams.

Qualifications (Desirable)

• Degree in Engineering, Project Management, Business Management, or a related discipline.
• Experience within the nuclear sector or other highly regulated industries.
• Professional accreditation (e.g. APM, PMP, Chartered Engineer).

Additional Information

• A dynamic career management policy to enable our employees to progress through our five business lines: operations, project, technical, sales and support functions.
• Provide opportunities to work on exciting, global projects.
• Access to an employee assistance programme with free mindfulness, health, wellbeing resources and a confidential support line available 24/7 via phone or text.
• Discount vouchers for days out and restaurants, eye test and glasses vouchers, cycle to work scheme, free flu jabs.
• Enhanced sick pay.

Whilst we encourage applications from all nationalities, Assystem within the UK are subject to security and export control restrictions due to the nature of work to be undertaken. These restrictions mean that factors including your nationality, any previous nationalities you have held, and/or your place of birth may limit those roles that you can perform for the organisation.

We are committed to equal treatment of candidates and promote, as well as foster all forms of diversity within our company. We believe that bringing together people with different backgrounds and perspectives is essential for creating innovative and impactful solutions. Skills, talent, and our people’s ability to dare are the only things that matter! Bring your unique contributions and help us shape the future.