Design Manager

Birmingham, United Kingdom / Bristol, United Kingdom / Cambridge, United Kingdom / Glasgow, United Kingdom / Leeds, United Kingdom / London, United Kingdom / Manchester, United Kingdom / Plymouth, United Kingdom

Country:
United Kingdom

Contract type:
Permanent

Work pattern:
Full Time

Market:
Buildings

Project programme and commercial management

Location/s: Bristol, Leeds, Plymouth, Cambridge, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, London; UK

Recruiter contact: Andrea Gaffney

Mott Mac Donald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices.

We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual.

Whether you want to grow as a subject matter expert or broaden your experience with roles across our international community, you’re surrounded by global specialists who want to combine their expertise and champion you to be your best. As a proudly employee‑owned business, we benefit our clients, our communities, and each other, investing in creating the right space for everyone to feel empowered, included, and valued.

Whatever your ambition, Mott Mac Donald is where people come to be brilliant.

About the business unit

The Buildings Unit (BLD) has a major presence in Mott Mac Donald’s regional offices throughout the UK and mainland Europe, providing a wide range of diverse and transferable cross‑sector skills across five key Sectors:
Advisory, Built Environment, Energy, Transportation and Water. We also provide local services to customers and technical leadership to the rest of the Group in these sectors.

The Design Manager is responsible for leading and coordinating the design process on multidisciplinary buildings projects, ensuring that design solutions are fully integrated, buildable, and aligned to programme, cost and quality requirements.

Working closely with Project Managers and technical discipline leads, the role focuses on design leadership, coordination, and technical assurance, particularly within Design & Build and contractor‑led delivery environments.

This role suits individuals with strong design management experience who are comfortable managing complex interfaces between designers, contractors and clients, and who want to play a key role in delivering high‑quality buildings projects.

• Design leadership & coordination
  • Lead and coordinate multidisciplinary design teams across all project stages
  • Develop and manage the design brief, ensuring clarity on scope, interfaces and deliverables
  • Coordinate design outputs across internal teams, contractors and external consultants
• Design planning & integration
  • Develop and manage the design programme, aligned with overall project delivery plans
  • Support the integration of design, procurement and construction activities
  • Work with Project Managers to ensure alignment between design progression and project milestones
• Technical assurance & compliance
  • Oversee design reviews, technical assurance processes and quality checks
  • Ensure designs comply with relevant standards, codes and client requirements
  • Monitor design risks and manage technical issues throughout the lifecycle
• Act as the primary point of coordination for design‑related matters
• Engage effectively with clients, contractors and stakeholders to resolve design challenges
• Support clear communication of design intent and changes across the project team
• Risk, value & commercial alignment
  • Identify and manage design and technical risks, supporting mitigation strategies
  • Support alignment of design solutions with project cost, programme and commercial objectives
  • Work collaboratively with commercial and delivery teams to ensure design outputs are deliverable within agreed budgets
  • Contribute to value engineering and optimisation of design solutions
• Support and mentor design teams, promoting a…