Design Manager

Lendlease Corporation; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & wellbeing program

Parental leave 26 weeks

Wellbeing days 3x per year

Flexible work options

Salary sacrifice options

Career development opportunities

Job summary

Lendlease is seeking a Design Manager in Sydney to lead the full design strategy and delivery for major project scopes. You’ll oversee consultants, guide the project team, and ensure design outcomes meet safety, quality, cost, and buildability standards.

Your leadership will shape design management plans, coordinate across design, construction and procurement, and engage with authorities and stakeholders to keep programs on track.

Qualifications

• 8+ years’ experience in design management within large or complex construction projects.
• Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Proven ability to manage consultants, resolve technical challenges, and drive design excellence.
• Deep understanding of design processes, regulatory requirements, buildability and quality standards.
• Proven change management experience.
• Major D&C project experience with demonstrated team and multi-discipline design leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead the overall design strategy, planning, and execution across all project phases.
• Oversee and advise the design team, consultants, and key stakeholders to ensure coordinated and timely design delivery.
• Drive development of project briefs, design management plans, and detailed design programs.
• Manage and resolve complex design and technical issues, ensuring compliance with safety, sustainability, and quality requirements.
• Provide strong leadership in consultant selection, performance management, contract administration, and documentation standards.
• Review design outputs for buildability, budget alignment, risks, and value optimisation opportunities.
• Guide submissions and approvals with authorities and support high‑level stakeholder and client engagement.
• Maintain oversight of design‑related cost planning, budgets, variations, and risk/ opportunity reporting.
• Ensure consistent adherence to company design procedures, systems, and governance requirements.
• Lead collaboration between design, construction, and procurement teams to ensure seamless project delivery.

Skills

Design management

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Regulatory compliance

Buildability

Job description

Lendlease is a globally integrated real estate group with core expertise in Investment Management, Development, and Construction. For more than 60 years, we have created thriving places around the globe. We are dedicated to relationships, open and honest, true to our word, challenging in our approach, exceptional in everything we do, and one team. We live our values, respect, integrity, innovation, collaboration, excellence, and trust.

About the Role

With a national delivery capability, Lendlease Construction provides innovative and industry-leading project management, design and construction services driven by sector focused knowledge and experience. We push boundaries and embrace challenges. Our clients come to us when it’s important to handle complexity, drive diversity, offer strategic and long-term value, and to create innovative and sustainable solutions.

Lendlease currently has an opportunity for a Design Manager in Sydney to lead the full design strategy and delivery for major project scopes. You’ll oversee consultants, guide the project team, and ensure every design outcome meets our standards for safety, quality, cost, and buildability.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the overall design strategy, planning, and execution across all project phases.
• Oversee and advise the design team, consultants, and key stakeholders to ensure coordinated and timely design delivery.
• Drive development of project briefs, design management plans, and detailed design programs.
• Manage and resolve complex design and technical issues, ensuring compliance with safety, sustainability, and quality requirements.
• Provide strong leadership in consultant selection, performance management, contract administration, and documentation standards.
• Review design outputs for buildability, budget alignment, risks, and value optimisation opportunities.
• Guide submissions and approvals with authorities and support high‑level stakeholder and client engagement.
• Maintain oversight of design‑related cost planning, budgets, variations, and risk/ opportunity reporting.
• Ensure consistent adherence to company design procedures, systems, and governance requirements.
• Lead collaboration between design, construction, and procurement teams to ensure seamless project delivery.

About You

• At least 8 years’ experience in design management within large or complex construction projects in a main contractor environment
• Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Proven ability to manage consultants, resolve technical challenges, and drive design excellence.
• Deep understanding of design processes, regulatory requirements, buildability and quality standards.
• Proven change management experience
• Major D&C project experience with demonstrated team and multi-discipline design leadership

Benefits

• Health & Well-being program, including well-being leave to relax and recharge, health assessments, and gym/exercise discounts
• Balance your career and personal life with work flexibility, purchase additional annual leave and extensive family support benefits
• 26 weeks paid parental leave
• 3x extra Wellbeing days per year (on top of annual leave)
• Large pipeline of project work for career development and growth opportunities
• Bonus scheme, Employee Share Acquisition program and options for salary sacrificing

At Lendlease we offer workplaces that unite diverse minds; where respect, equitable treatment and equitable opportunity are just the norm.

We value the unique experiences, perspectives and aspirations that every candidate brings.

Lendlease remains committed to supporting under-represented groups and providing a wide range of inclusion initiatives, so that everyone is supported to thrive.

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is reflected in a range of initiatives, including our Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan, which guides our partnership with First Nations peoples to advance reconciliation, create opportunities, and support thriving communities through First Nations-led city shaping.

Lendlease welcomes applicants regardless of gender identity, ethnicity, people with a disability, sexual orientation, or life stage.

If you do not meet all the criteria or require adjustments to proceed with your application, we encourage you to reach out for a further discussion.

Lendlease is Australia’s leading real estate business with an international investments platform. We’re city shapers, asset creators and trusted partners. Our deep property experience and bold thinking delivers innovative real estate and investment solutions. Very few organisations can build cities from scratch, including the infrastructure to connect people, with skills to design, develop, fund, build and manage, but we can. We purposefully seek to hire people who share our values and passion to make a positive impact. Whether big or small, we make a difference and all of us have a part to play in our success. Together we make a difference.