Senior Design Manager

Position: Senior Design Manager (Permanent)
Design Manager – Residential & Public Sector | SE London & Kent | Permanent | Feb 2025

The Role:

Fed up with being boxed into pure pre-con or stuck chasing consultants with no authority?
This is a proper hands-on Design Manager role — taking ownership of live projects and seeing them through the full design journey.

You’ll be site-based on existing residential schemes, working closely with the construction and commercial teams, with tenders and new work allocated to you once secured.

There’s a Pre-Construction Manager in place, so this is very much about delivery, coordination, and control. Hybrid working is available once you’re established.

The Projects:

Residential refurbishment and new-build schemes.
Public sector projects coming through a framework (education / government-led work).
Traditional and D&B projects, taken through the full RIBA stages.
Live sites plus a growing forward pipeline.
What they’re looking for:

Experience as a Design Manager (or strong Senior Design Coordinator ready to step up).
Comfortable taking public sector projects through all RIBA stages.
Confident coordinating architects, consultants, and internal teams.
Practical, delivery-focused — not just pre-con or desk-based.
Background from contractor or developer environments welcomed.
Able to work site-based across SE London / Kent.
They’re not hung up on brand-name employers — capability and attitude matter far more than logos.
The Company:
A well-established residential contractor/developer delivering projects across London and the South East.

Privately owned, hands-on, and steadily growing — this is an environment where Design Managers have real influence, not just a title.

Also known as:
Design Manager, Senior Design Coordinator, Project Design Manager

Sound interesting?
Let’s have a chat — no pressure.
Michael Ogunyankin | (phone number removed) | (url removed)
(If this isn’t for you, feel free to forward it to a colleague who fits.)