Head Of Design

Head Of Design

Department: Building Fabric - Pre-construction

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: London

Harmony is on a mission to be the best life safety partner to work with and for. Rated an ‘Outstanding Employer’ by Best Companies in 2025, we are only getting bigger and stronger — and we’re looking for A-players to help us get there.

We are passionate about making a difference and obsessed with quality. Our goal is to build a world where every resident can sleep safely at night, knowing their home is 100% safe.

We are looking for a Head of Design to lead and own Harmony’s design function within our Building Fabric Pre-Construction team in London. This is a newly created senior role that sits at the heart of how we win and deliver work — responsible for the technical quality of our designs, specifications, and scopes across passive fire, fire doors, fire stopping, and wider building fabric works.

As we scale, the quality and credibility of our design output is a key differentiator. You will build the design function from the ground up, set the technical standard, lead a growing team of designers and surveyors, and work hand in hand with our pre-construction, procurement, and delivery teams to ensure what we design is buildable, compliant, and priced to win.

• Own and lead Harmony’s design function across the Building Fabric division — setting the technical standard for how we design, specify, and scope passive fire and building fabric works.
• Lead the production of technical designs, drawings, specifications, and scope of works documents across live tenders and pre-construction activity.
• Ensure all design outputs comply with relevant British Standards, Approved Documents, the Building Safety Act, and client requirements — and that compliance is documented and defensible.
• Work closely with the estimating and pre-construction teams to ensure designs are accurately costed, fully scoped, and competitively priced.
• Build, develop, and lead the design team — recruiting, mentoring, and setting the standard for technical quality across the function.
• Act as Harmony’s senior technical design authority — reviewing and signing off designs, specifications, and scopes before submission.
• Develop and maintain Harmony’s design methodology, tools, templates, and standard details — building a scalable, repeatable design process that supports growth.
• Engage with clients, consultants, and specifiers at a senior level — providing technical design advice, reviewing specifications, and representing Harmony’s capability in pre contract conversations.
• Monitor changes in standards, legislation, and technical guidance and ensure Harmony’s design approach evolves accordingly.
• Support the delivery teams with design queries, RFIs, and technical issues arising on live projects.

• An A-player mindset — high standards, extreme ownership and the drive to do things properly, the first time.
• Proven track record leading a design function or holding a senior design authority role within passive fire protection, building fabric, fire doors, or a closely related construction discipline.
• Deep technical knowledge of passive fire systems — fire stopping, fire doors, compartmentation — and the standards and regulatory framework that governs them (including BS 9999, Approved Document B, the Building Safety Act, and related guidance).
• Strong experience producing and reviewing technical designs, specifications, and scope of works documents across complex building fabric projects.
• Proven leadership skills — experience building, managing, and developing a technical team.
• Commercially aware — able to work closely with estimating and pre-construction teams to ensure designs are buildable and priced to win.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills — credible and articulate at the highest client and consultant level.
• Degree in building surveying, civil or structural engineering, architecture, fire engineering, or a related discipline.
• Chartered membership of a relevant professional body (RICS, CIOB, IFE, or equivalent).
• London-based and available full time.

• Experience working across…