Assistant Design Manager; Client Side

This range is provided by Grõ Careers. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Direct message the job poster from Grõ Careers

Location: Essex - Well suited to architects based in North & East London considering a client-side move

Working Pattern: Full‑time, office‑based (collaborative, in‑house environment)

This is a role for architectural professionals who still care deeply about design but want to influence it from the client side, with greater ownership, broader visibility, and a clearer line between good design decisions and real‑world outcomes.

Grõ Careers is partnering with a design‑led property development business whose in‑house Design team sits at the centre of every flagship scheme.

Rather than outsourcing responsibility, they retain control of design quality, planning strategy and consultant relationships… shaping projects from the earliest conversations through to planning and beyond.

As the team grows, they are now looking to bring in and develop an Assistant Design Manager (or emerging Design Manager) to work closely with the Planning & Design Director and senior team members on a wide range of complex, bespoke developments.

This is not a drawing‑production role… and it’s not a step away from design either.

You will be involved at the point where design thinking matters most: early‑stage strategy, planning, programming, coordination and decision‑making.

Working alongside experienced Design Managers who are there to help and guide, you will help guide and interrogate work largely produced by external architectural studios, ensuring schemes are robust, well‑considered and aligned with planning, design and commercial objectives.

Your work will span a diverse portfolio, including urban infill and regeneration sites, mixed‑use residential developments, heritage and refurbishment schemes (listed buildings included), and larger, multi‑storey projects with complex planning considerations.

Every project is different. There are no house types, no templates, no shortcuts.

As part of the in‑house Design Management team, you will support design management activity across RIBA Stages 0 to 3, including:

• Reviewing, marking up and steering early design and planning information
• Supporting pre‑application discussions and planning submissions
• Coordinating information from external architects and consultants
• Helping manage programmes, expectations and design quality
• Preparing and refining material for planning and internal sign‑off
• Attending meetings with planning authorities and consultant teams
• Working closely with Development, Land, Technical and Construction professionals

You will spend your time thinking, reviewing, questioning and shaping, rather than producing full drawing sets.

This role is intentionally open to different backgrounds, but we believe it will resonate most with:

• Architectural Assistants (Circa 3 years plus of industry experience)
• Recently qualified Architects looking to move client‑side
• Junior / Assistant Design Managers or DM's from consultancy
• Architects who enjoy planning, coordination and design review
• Designers ready to step away from pure production into design management

You don’t need to be a Revit specialist here. Most coordinated work is produced in AutoCAD, and the ability to annotate, mark up and communicate design intent (using tools like Photoshop and InDesign) is far more important.

• A modern open plan office space
• Full‑time, office‑based role
• Healthy work/life balance with no overtime culture (work stays at the office)
• Small, collaborative, design‑literate team
• Lots of perks including gym membership, free lunches, CPD's etc
• Direct exposure to senior decision‑makers
• Clear pathway into full Design Manager, SDM or Development Management roles
• A business that invests in long‑term careers, not short‑term fixes

• Pension contribution
• Annual bonus
• Christmas shutdown (not taken from annual leave)
• Long‑term progression within a growing in‑house team
• Paid training and qualification support Why This Role Stands Out…

  This role is designed for architectural…