Design Manager

Reference: MO38
Posted: February 11, 2025

Ambitious/experienced Design Manager required by the regional Winchester office of this busy main contractor to work on several projects in the Hampshire and Surrey areas.

Ideally situated along the M27 / M3 corridor, or within this wider region, the role will be to take the lead for Design Management for projects, from input to tenders, second stage preconstruction, and live through the construction phase on site.

The scope of works you will focus on is typically private and local authority schools and colleges, care and retirement homes, healthcare, commercial, and leisure.

Work is secured via a mixture of competitive tenders, negotiated work for repeat clients, plus regional and national frameworks.

Reporting to the Area Manager and Head of Design for the group, working with preconstruction and project delivery teams, as Design Manager you will be responsible for:

1. Management of the design development for your schemes;
2. Chairing regular design team meetings;
3. Management of consultant design teams;
4. Regular liaison with client, architect, consultants, and the construction team;
5. Agreement of information required schedule; Ensuring key dates achieved;
6. Review of construction design information for buildability, compliance with contractors proposals, employers requirements, budget, current building legislation;
7. Identifying opportunities for value engineering where appropriate;
8. Proactive issue resolution;
9. Managing specialist sub-contractor design teams;
10. Overall managing the smooth and timely delivery of detailed design information for procurement and construction throughout the build process;
11. Management, support, and development of other Design Managers within the business.

The role is typically 3 days in the office plus visits to your sites, with some flexibility for working from home.

About the Company/Client/Project:

The company is a busy southern main contractor, with several offices and experience plus a proven track record in the delivery of schemes ranging from £4m to £20m in value across the patch in the following sectors - private and local authority schools and colleges, care and retirement homes, healthcare, leisure, offices.

This is a relatively new regional business unit established last year, supported by another office and currently in the process of winning work and growing the turnover with an aim to achieve circa £35m within the next 3-4 years.

It is an exciting time to join the business, working with the small existing team and playing a key and critical role through this growth phase.

Requirements including certificates and qualifications:

Either from an Engineering/Construction delivery or Architectural background, you will possess excellent technical and commercial knowledge, a keen understanding of construction methodology, materials and systems, procurement lead in times, building regulations.

You will have excellent communication and negotiation skills, strong planning and problem-solving ability, initiative, and a positive approach. In terms of character, you will be a self-motivated, positive, and ambitious individual able to work well within a large team dynamic.

You will ideally have a proven track record of successful project delivery with a recognised Tier1 or 2 Main Contractor in a Design Management role. Also, you could potentially be an architect with practical experience as Project Architect or Contract Administrator looking to make the move into the Main Contractor DM role.

High standards, attention to detail, and the drive to deliver on programme, specification, and budget will be very well rewarded with an excellent salary, benefits, promotional, and development prospects.

For more information on this contract please contact Martin Olney on or send your CV to .

Candidates must be able to prove their eligibility to work in the UK.