At the end of October 2026, 78 director, head-of and chief roles were open across 31 UK construction employers, with 75 added during the month and 70 taken down, according to the Lechley Senior Hiring Index.
How many director roles are open in UK construction right now?
Counted every Monday from the employers' own careers pages.
Last updated 1 November 2026. By Scott Lechley, founder of Lechley Associates. Quantity Surveyor from 1990 to 2002, construction executive search since 2002.
The numbers, October 2026
- Open at the month end: 78 leadership roles across 31 employers, up 5 from the 73 open when the month began.
- Added during the month: 75. Came down: 70.
- Beneath the headline: a further 13 director-level seats open in finance, people and the support functions.
| Function | Open at month end | Added in October |
|---|---|---|
| Operations and delivery | 32 | 31 |
| Commercial | 12 | 11 |
| Pre-construction and work winning | 7 | 12 |
| Safety, quality and sustainability | 5 | 6 |
| Technical and design | 4 | 3 |
| Planning | 1 | 0 |
| Other leadership | 17 | 12 |
By region, London and the South East held 28 of the open roles and the North of England 14. Balfour Beatty added the most in the month, 12.
In more detail
The count comes from a sweep of the careers pages of around ninety UK construction, civil engineering, building services and infrastructure employers, run every Monday morning, so it describes the senior market itself rather than the agency adverts around it. A role enters the index on the sweep that first sees it and stays open until the sweep stops seeing it. The weekly series began on 17 September 2026, and each month has its own edition, with the figures to download, published in the first week of the next.
For the number this week rather than at the last month end, the running index on the Senior Hiring Index page is updated after every Monday sweep.
Read more
- Senior Hiring Index: the running count, updated every week.
- Senior Hiring Index, October 2026: the monthly edition, with the figures as a CSV.
- Construction director salary guide 2026: what the seats pay.
Common questions
What does the Senior Hiring Index count?
Director, head-of and chief roles advertised by a watchlist of around ninety UK construction, civil engineering, building services and infrastructure employers, including the client bodies on the major programmes. Associate, assistant and deputy director titles are excluded, as are non-executive seats.
Why are the numbers smaller than the job boards suggest?
A job board counts every posting, including the same role syndicated to several sites, agency adverts for unnamed clients and manager-level titles. The index counts a named employer advertising a named director seat, once.
Does an advertised role mean the seat is still open?
Not always. A role is held as open while the employer keeps advertising it. An advert coming down means the seat was filled, withdrawn or closed and re-advertised, so the figures are a count of adverts, not of appointments.
Can I use these figures?
Yes, with attribution to the Lechley Senior Hiring Index and a link to the October 2026 edition.
Start a conversation
If one of these seats is yours and it is still open, or you are weighing a move into one of them, I would welcome the chance to talk. No hard sell, no obligation.
