Project Delivery Engineering Manager (CDE)

Who We Are

Join Network Rail! Where People and Connections Matter

At Network Rail, we're dedicated to keeping passengers and freight moving safely and efficiently across the country. When you join us, you're not just part of a team—you're part of something that matters to millions. We believe that our people are at the heart of what we do, and every role plays a vital part in building a better, more connected railway.

We're committed to creating a diverse, inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. To discover more about our ED&I commitments click here. We value flexibility and understand the importance of a healthy work‑life balance. As a Disability Confident Leader, we'll do everything we can to accommodate any needs throughout the recruitment process.

Safe behaviour is a requirement of working for Network Rail. Applicants should be able to demonstrate their awareness of our safety vision.

About The Role

Eastern Routes Capital Programmes safely deliver high-quality rail infrastructure improvements that enhance performance, safety and sustainability for passengers, freight customers, and the communities we serve.

The Signalling, Telecoms, Electrification & Plant (STEP) Renewals team is an integrated client organisation. We define outcomes, specify requirements, procure delivery capability, and assure delivery. Physical design and construction are delivered through our supply chain partners, with routes, portfolios, and functions working as one client system.

Our engineering teams provide technical leadership, engineering assurance, standards compliance, and delivery oversight, ensuring projects are safe and fit for purpose.

This role can be based in York, Derby or London.

Job Purpose

The role will role model and embed Eastern Region's culture principles - Show We Care, Listen Learn Improve, Better Together and Keep It Simple - by:

• Creating an environment of psychological safety and accountability where people can challenge and improve working practices.
• Driving collaboration across teams and partners to deliver whole-system outcomes
• Promoting continuous improvement and learning from performance output
• Ensuring clear, simple, and focused governance and decision‑making

In the E&P Project Delivery Engineering Manager (CDE) role, you will lead a team of specialist engineers through all engineering activities within a portfolio of E&P projects. Alongside your team, you will manage the delivery of engineering products throughout the project lifecycle, providing assurance that it complies with the requirements of NR governance processes (i.e. Project Acceleration in a Controlled Environment, PACE), relevant standard and regulatory obligations are ultimately capable of acceptance back onto the network safely and on time.

You will engage with our clients and stakeholders, leading the specification of a varying portfolio of projects, and suppliers to ensure world class delivery.

Key Accountabilities

• Develop and manage processes to deliver, monitor, and review the multi-functional engineering outputs to support the project(s) schedule, budget, safety, environmental and quality requirements.
• Monitor compliance with legislation, Railway Group and Network Rail Company standards and establish remedial action if any non-compliance is identified.
• Implement an engineering competence management process, applied to both internal and contractor's design and construction personnel of engineering disciplines, so that only suitably qualified and experienced staff are utilised to control the engineering aspects of the project(s).
• Manage the introduction of new or amended system architectures including the attainment all necessary approvals prior to Entry into Service.
• Develop and monitor project processes for design and construction activities to deliver an integrated system architecture able to achieve whole life reliability, maintainability, operability, and cost effectiveness targets.
• Undertake the project categorisation for engineering, to determine level of engineering assurance to be undertaken on specific projects or programmes.
• Develop and manage a project engineering assurance regime system that monitors design and construction activities to confirm whether safety, environmental and quality of design, construction testing and commissioning and management systems is adequate.
• Undertake the role of Designated Project Engineer as defined by NR/L2/INI/02009 'Engineering Management for Projects'.

Essential Criteria

• Chartered Engineer
• University degree in a relevant engineering discipline
• Membership of an appropriate Professional Institution (ICE, IMechE, IET)
• Relevant experience of major multifunctional projects in the rail industry including project procedures / standards, system architectures and equipment
• Demonstrable experience of actively building internal and external network to support delivery.
• Demonstrable experience of coaching and addressing team and individual capability requirements.
• Demonstrable ability to clearly explain change initiatives and provide constructive challenge driving continuous improvement.
• Demonstrable experience of promoting physical and mental well‑being and safety of colleagues and of proactively identifying and acting on key business and/ or safety risks.
• Demonstrable experience of managing interrelated and complex issues across business processes and teams.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of risk assessment and risk management techniques
• Experience of engineering assurance activities
• Experience of Agile Client engineering assurance activities
• Experience of the Department Engineering Manager role as defined by NR/L2/INI/02009 'Engineering Management for Projects'.
• Experience of working in multi-year frameworks, NEC4 contracts, and 3-way working

Please note: Applicants must provide proof of essential qualifications and/or competencies where required, or demonstrate active progress toward obtaining them, or evidence their applicable experience as a condition of employment.

Network Rail welcomes applications regardless of age, disability, marital status (including civil partnerships), pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, transgender status, sex (or gender), employment status, trade union affiliation, or other irrelevant factor.

We are a Disability Confident Leader employer! We will interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria.

We are here to support you through every step of the recruitment process and to enable you to perform to the best of your ability. If you require any adjustments or modifications please contact Mark Holt (Resourcing Business Partner) at mark.holt@networkrail.co.uk. You can also visit Evenbreak's Career Hive for advice on accessibility support if you're unsure of the options available.

We positively embrace flexible working, recognising that employees may wish to balance work with their family and home life.

Network Rail is required to comply with UK Government standards when carrying out pre-employment checks for all new starters; this includes a basic criminal record check. In addition to the basic criminal record check, in accordance with the UK Government we are also required to verify your identity, right to work in the UK and previous three years employment history.

All offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks.

Please ensure you have the appropriate Right to Work status when applying for this role.

Keeping people safe on the railway is at the heart of everything we do, safe behaviour is therefore a requirement of working for Network Rail. You should be able to demonstrate your personal commitment to safety and awareness of our safety vision.

Network Rail can offer you a rewarding career with competitive pay and excellent benefits including a choice of contributory pension schemes, a generous annual leave package, a bonus scheme and an annual 75% subsidy on season tickets costing up to £3,333 (to a maximum amount of £2,500). You will also be entitled to 28 days annual leave.

Salary: £71,163 to £86,801 per annum (plus and Inner London Allowance of £3,270 per annum for London based roles).

Plus a car allowance of £6,000 per annum.

• Employees will be entitled to a 75% discount off leisure travel, this includes off peak and super off peak tickets
• Some of our roles require face to face Drugs & Alcohol testing. Further details will be shared with you as part of your formal offer.

Closing date: 26th October 2026. Late applications will not be accepted. We retain the right to close the advert before the listed closing date based on application volumes.

What's In It For You

Here are a few of the benefits we offer.

• 28-day annual leave with the option to buy and sell days
• Choice of pension schemes
• 75% discount of leisure travel for you and your family
• Private Healthcare
• 5 days paid volunteer or carers leave
• Up to 75% subsidised Rail and Underground travel
• Gym Pass -access to gyms across UK
• My Benefits platform- giving national and local retail discount

Our aim is to ensure your candidate experience is as positive as possible. If you require reasonable adjustments at any point, simply let us know and we'll do our best to assist you.

Your Experience And Skills

The ideal candidate shall hold demonstrable delivery experience with proven Engineering leadership and management capabilities for multidiscipline railway engineering projects.

They shall hold or have held line management responsibilities and be capable of guiding and supporting a team of Network Rail and supplier staff.

They shall hold or have held an Authority to Work (ATW) for the DPE01 or CEM01 competencies as defined in Network Rail standard 'NR/L2/RSE/02009/01 - Assessment for Project Engineering Roles' and be capable of achieving DEM01 competence within 1 year of appointment (with appropriate mentoring).

#J-18808-Ljbffr