Design Project Manager

-; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading engineering firm is seeking a Design Project Manager to oversee planning and coordination for water and wastewater projects. The ideal candidate will have an engineering degree, 5-10 years of related experience, and proven skills in managing multi-disciplinary teams. Responsibilities include delivering design works, ensuring compliance with CDM 2015 principles, and supporting robust technical solutions. The position allows for hybrid working, promoting a balance between office collaboration and remote work.

Qualifications

• 5-10 years of experience in the water/wastewater sector preferred.
• Proven experience managing multi-disciplinary design teams.
• Understanding of CDM 2015 principles and their application.

Responsibilities

• Manage design works packages and ensure compliance.
• Coordinate delivery of design work packages in line with BIM requirements.
• Ensure designs meet Employer's requirements and manage the design programme.

Skills

Excellent written and oral communication

Ability to work on multiple projects

Good communication and people skills

Education

An engineering degree (Mechanical, Electrical, Civil or equivalent)

Tools

Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Project)

Asite

Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC)

Job description

About The Role

Role Summary: The Design Project Manager will provide planning, design, and coordination support on Coffey projects and tenders. This pivotal role will involve active participation and oversight across the full design lifecycle, including Early Contractor Involvement (ECI), outline design, detailed design, and providing construction support. As part of the design and project teams, the DPM will carry responsibility for managing the design phase to ensure programme, cost, and quality requirements are met. They will play an important role in liaising with internal and external design consultant teams, ensuring that designs are controlled, optimised, and deliver practical solutions that can be built safely and efficiently. This position is offered on a hybrid working basis, with three days per week in the office and two days remote.

The position requires supporting the development of technical solutions for water and wastewater assets, covering both new facilities and upgrades, while ensuring compliance with project objectives and client expectations.

Key Responsibilities

• Management and coordination of the delivery of design works packages, ensuring effective communication and clear assignment of responsibilities, and full compliance with Coffey quality control procedures.
• Management of interfaces between internal and external design resources, including subcontract design packages, ensuring coordinated delivery of all design work packages in line with BIM requirements and the associated Common Data Environment (CDE).
• Coordination of information between designers and relevant other parties who are likely to be affected by aspects of the design.
• Ensuring the design meets the Employer's requirements, and that value engineering proposals are appropriately assessed and implemented.
• Effective management of the design programme and budget, including regular review of resource hours and variances. Implement robust change control to manage scope, cost, or schedule deviations, informing the Design Manager and Project Manager as required.
• Work with the project site team and coordinate the delivery of robust technical solutions to design issues arising on site.
• Communicate freely to develop ongoing relationships with clients, stakeholders and customers.
• Ensure the delivery of safe and compliant designs in accordance with CDM 2015 principles, proactively identifying, eliminating, and mitigating foreseeable risks through effective design coordination and collaboration with the Principal Designer, design team, and construction partners.

About You

Essential Criteria

• An engineering degree (preferably Mechanical, Electrical, Civil or equivalent) to support your competency in the role.
• 5-10 years of experience, with water/wastewater industry experience preferred.
• Proven experience managing multi-disciplinary design teams within the water or wastewater sector, including coordination of internal, external, and subcontract design resources.
• Experience in the full project lifecycle, from Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) through detailed design to construction support, within a design-and-build environment.
• Have an understanding of CDM 2015 principles and their practical application in design, including the ability to identify, manage, and communicate design risks to ensure health, safety, and compliance.
• Excellent written and oral communication.
• Ability to work on multiple projects.
• Good communication and people skills.
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office suite of applications, including MS Excel, MS Office and MS Project.
• Excellent written & fluent English.

Desirable Criteria

• Strong understanding of BIM processes and Common Data Environment (CDE) platforms, with practical experience ensuring design compliance and information management in line with ISO 19650 standards.
• Demonstrated capability in design programme and budget control, including change management.
• Proficiency in design management and collaboration tools such as Asite and Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC).
• Holds a valid CSCS card and a current EUSR Clean Water Hygiene card.

About Us

Coffey is a water infrastructure and civil engineering specialist operating in every major construction sector throughout Ireland and the UK. Passionate about quality and efficiency, this passion drives our belief in delivering projects with the best workforce. The hallmarks of our work are innovative solutions, engineering ingenuity, professional construction management and the highest level of safety and quality. We pride ourselves in nurturing an environment that empowers critical thinking, creative problem‑solving, customer focus, efficiency and flexibility.

Coffey values are at the heart of everything we do - Do the right thing, Do it better, Do it together.