
Design Manager
- Preston
- £65,000-80,000 per year
- Permanent
- Full-time
Location: PrestonSalary: £65,000 – £80,000 + Excellent Benefits PackageAbout the RoleAn exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Design Manager to join a leading design & build contractor supporting key frameworks within the water sector. Based in the North West, you’ll work in collaboration with multi-disciplinary site teams, overseeing both in-house and external designers to ensure timely, compliant, and cost-effective technical delivery across multiple projects.As a central figure in the design process, you’ll manage risk, drive buildability and quality, and align deliverables with client expectations-particularly United Utilities.Key Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain the Design Deliverables Plan in collaboration with the project delivery team.
- Oversee the commercial design forecast and monitor it against tender allowances.
- Lead coordination between internal design teams and external resources to meet programme needs.
- Manage supply chain design inputs, ensuring compliance and engineering integrity.
- Drive tender design development and support estimating with accurate pricing for design elements.
- Monitor and manage Technical Query (TQ) registers via Lead Design Engineers.
- Engage with clients to integrate their requirements into design decisions.
- Allocate Design Engineers to projects based on resource requirements.
- Maintain the Design Risk Register, identifying and mitigating technical risks.
- Support planners in developing and updating detailed design management programmes.
- Strong communication and leadership skills with the ability to influence and motivate design teams.
- Proven experience in M&E or Civil design and build contracting, preferably within the water sector.
- Proficient in Common Data Environments (CDE) such as SharePoint or ProjectWise.
- Knowledge of BIM processes, with a proactive attitude toward digital innovation.
- Strong IT proficiency (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint).