Construction leadership market intelligence is the evidence a board needs before it decides how to build and reward a leadership team: who holds the equivalent roles today, what those roles pay, and what it would take to move the right person. Talent advisory at Lechley covers that intelligence, salary benchmarking, and strategic advice on leadership structures, informed by more than two decades of relationships across every tier of the UK construction sector.
Construction Leadership Market Intelligence
Evidence before the decision.
What talent advisory covers
Market intelligence. Who holds the senior roles across a defined target universe, how those businesses are structured, and where leadership is moving. This is the same mapping that sits behind a retained search, commissioned for its own sake.
Salary benchmarking. What a role actually pays at the level and in the sub-sector you are hiring into, including how the package is built rather than only the base figure.
Strategic advice on leadership structures. How a team is put together, where accountability sits, and whether the shape of the leadership group matches the pipeline the business is chasing.
What the market pays
Regional director-level roles typically sit between £90,000 and £150,000 base. National and group-level positions commonly run £150,000 to £250,000, with total packages on major programmes and at group board level exceeding £300,000.
Those are indicative ranges, and the spread inside them is wide. Package structure varies significantly by sub-sector, business size and programme scale, which is why a benchmark for a specific role is worth more than a published band. Benchmarked data forms part of every search brief I take.
Where the intelligence comes from
Two things, and neither of them is a database subscription.
The first is relationships. Those extend across every major UK contractor, developer and infrastructure programme, built over more than two decades in the sector, first as a qualified Quantity Surveyor and then in search. The best senior leaders are rarely on the open market, so knowing where they are is the asset.
The second is the mapping itself. Every retained search builds a complete picture of who holds the equivalent role across a target universe: named individuals, current remit, reporting line, likely motivation.
How boards use it
Before a role is approved, to check the package will move the people it needs to move. Before a restructure, to see how comparable businesses have organised the same accountabilities. Before a search is commissioned, to establish whether it is viable at all on the terms available.
That last one matters. If a search is not viable as briefed, you hear it upfront, with the market evidence behind the judgement. It is a cheaper conversation than a failed search.
Where the work runs on into an appointment, it feeds directly into retained executive search; where it runs ahead of one, into succession planning.
Common questions
What does talent advisory include?
Talent advisory covers market intelligence, salary benchmarking and strategic advice on leadership structures. It is informed by more than two decades of relationships across every tier of the UK construction sector, and it helps boards make evidence-based decisions about how they build and reward leadership teams.
What do construction directors earn in the UK?
Regional director-level roles typically sit between £90,000 and £150,000 base. National and group-level positions commonly run £150,000 to £250,000, with total packages on major programmes and at group board level exceeding £300,000. Package structure varies significantly by sub-sector, business size and programme scale.
Is benchmarking included in a retained search?
Yes. Benchmarked data forms part of every brief, so the package on offer is tested against the market before the first approach is made rather than after a preferred leader has declined.
What does the market intelligence draw on?
Relationships built across every major UK contractor, developer and infrastructure programme, and the mapping done on live searches, where every credible holder of an equivalent role is identified by name, remit and reporting line.
Can you tell a board whether a search is viable before it commits?
Yes, and I will say so plainly. If a search is not viable on the terms offered, because the package, the location or the brief does not match what the market will move for, you hear that upfront rather than eight weeks later.
Start a conversation
If you are about to make a leadership decision and want the market evidence behind it first, that is a short conversation and a useful one. No hard sell, no obligation.