Senior Design Manager

About the role

Join our Regional Civils Central and South East design and technical community and lead the delivery of complex, high-impact infrastructure projects across the Midlands, London and East Anglia. As a Senior Design Manager, you’ll operate across single major schemes or a portfolio of projects typically ranging from £5m to £100m+, spanning Active Travel, place-making, Climate Resilience, Defence and Power.

You’ll take ownership of the design and technical function from preconstruction through to delivery — developing clear design strategies and maintaining control of the design process to ensure solutions are buildable, compliant and commercially robust. Working at the centre of project teams, you’ll drive outcomes that meet programme and cost targets while delivering winning, deliverable solutions for our customers.

You’ll also play a key role in shaping early project outcomes, working closely with internal teams, partners and the supply chain to influence design from the outset. From supporting work-winning activity through to driving innovation, value engineering and best practice, you’ll ensure every solution is efficient, sustainable and aligned to both customer expectations and Balfour Beatty’s commitment to safe, high-quality delivery.

As a Senior Design Manager, you will have the following accountabilities:

• Lead the development and implementation of design solutions, ensuring they meet customer requirements, programme and budget constraints, and are presented for approval
• Manage and coordinate the Design Team, including M&E elements, ensuring effective briefing and performance of internal, external and novated teams
• Oversee subcontractor design packages, ensuring technical compliance and timely approvals
• Support and manage the change control process, including assessment and implementation of design changes
• Drive the value engineering process to optimise cost, quality and buildability
• Represent the business within Safety by Design and Engineering forums, championing best practice
• Develop and manage the design deliverables programme, ensuring:
  • A clear, agreed schedule of design deliverables
  • Effective gate review processes and timely sign-off, with appropriate stakeholder communication
  • Coordination and production of all design documentation in line with project and contractual requirements
• Support the implementation of BIM UKCS protocols, including collaboration, data management and model sharing
• Provide guidance on buildability across all design packages to both design and construction teams
• Liaise with statutory authorities (e.g. planning, building control, utilities) to support approvals and compliance
• Undertake line management responsibilities, supporting and developing Design Managers across projects

We’re looking for someone with:

• Proven experience operating at a senior level, delivering design services within a work-winning / preconstruction and project delivery environment, with a strong track record of implementing effective design strategies
• Strong leadership capability, able to drive high-quality design outputs in line with customer and business sector priorities
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective relationships across partners and project teams, often under time pressure
• Experience leading teams and supporting the development of others
• Commercial awareness, with strong numeracy and bid/report writing skills
• A clear understanding of "what good looks like" in bid submissions, with hands‑on experience delivering successful, work‑winning proposals
• Good working knowledge of BIM and digital delivery tools (e.g. ACC), supporting collaborative design management
• Experience working with modern procurement routes and contract forms (e.g. NEC)
• Relevant professional membership (e.g. ICE, IStructE, CIHT) aligned to the discipline
• A valid CSCS card
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office, with wider digital capability desirable
• In‑depth knowledge of relevant codes of practice, standards and regulatory requirements
• A continuous improvement mindset, with a focus on innovation, customer outcomes and business…