Design Manager

Red Sky Personnel Ltd; Greater London; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading civil engineering firm is seeking a Design Project Manager for a heavy civil engineering project in Central London. The role involves leading the design and pre-construction phase, managing multi-disciplinary teams, and ensuring compliance with engineering and safety standards. The successful candidate will handle project risks and drive effective collaboration among stakeholders, addressing the challenges posed by the urban environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate the full design and pre‑construction process, managing multi‑disciplinary engineering teams.
• Produce and manage design briefs, scopes, programmes, and deliverables.
• Oversee site investigations, surveys, and early construction planning activities.
• Identify and manage project risks, constraints, and approvals.
• Chair design and progress meetings, resolving technical queries.
• Support commercial and procurement activities.

Job description

This role leads the design and pre‑construction phase of a major heavy civil engineering project in Central London. It focuses on developing construction‑ready solutions, coordinating multi‑disciplinary design teams, and ensuring that engineering, safety, and buildability standards are fully met.

Key responsibilities include managing design packages, leading reviews, overseeing site investigations and surveys, and driving early planning activities such as consents, utilities interfaces, and procurement inputs. The position also requires close collaboration with commercial, delivery, and technical stakeholders to manage risks, opportunities, costs, and programme commitments.

The project's urban location adds significant complexity, involving constrained working environments, dense utilities networks, and multiple third‑party interfaces. The Design Project Manager ensures all design outputs are integrated, compliant, efficient, and deliverable within the challenging conditions of a major Central London civils scheme.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate the full design and pre‑construction process, managing multi‑disciplinary engineering teams and design packages.
• Produce and manage design briefs, scopes, programmes, and deliverables, ensuring technical quality, safety, and buildability.
• Oversee site investigations, surveys, utilities information gathering, and early construction planning activities.
• Identify and manage project risks, constraints, interfaces, and approvals, including third‑party and stakeholder coordination.
• Chair design and progress meetings, driving resolution of technical queries and ensuring integration between permanent and temporary works.
• Support commercial and procurement activities by informing budgets, design assumptions, methodologies, and contract requirements.