Drainage and Water Design Team Leader

Kier Group; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Kier Design in the UK seeks a Drainage and Water Design Team Leader to lead a specialist team across transport infrastructure projects, setting high-quality design delivery standards and ensuring outputs are coordinated, compliant and commercially sound.

You will shape technical direction with colleagues to support project performance and create the conditions for people to do their best work, influencing design quality beyond delivery.

Qualifications

• Experienced design leader who can build confidence, capability and accountability across multi-level teams.
• Commercially aware, with the ability to manage programmes, budgets, risks, and client expectations without compromising technical quality.
• Confident advising and influencing clients, stakeholders, local authorities, Lead Local Flood Authorities, National Highways, and utility partners.
• Technically strong in highway drainage, water management, flood risk, SuDS, and compliant design delivery.
• Motivated by developing people, improving design practice, and delivering work that makes infrastructure more resilient, sustainable, and useful to the communities.

Responsibilities

• Leading and developing a high-performing design team, creating a culture of technical curiosity, collaboration, and ownership
• Providing technical leadership across drainage and water design work packages, with a focus on quality, compliance, buildability, and long-term value
• Planning, pricing, resourcing, and delivering work packages, using sound judgement to manage risk and keep commitments on track
• Building trusted relationships with clients and partners, acting as a clear, credible voice for Kier Design
• Championing better ways of working, from lessons learnt and digital tools to sustainable design thinking and technical innovation

Job description

We're looking for a Drainage and Water Design Team Leader to join Kier Design in our Exeter or Salford office.

This is an opportunity to take a visible leadership role within a major UK design consultancy, shaping technically robust, sustainable drainage and water management solutions across nationally significant transport infrastructure programmes.

Kier Design brings together more than 750 design professionals across the built environment, combining consultancy thinking with direct access to some of the UK's most complex infrastructure challenges. We're looking for someone who can lead with credibility, raise standards, and help develop a team known for its technical quality, collaborative approach, and practical innovation.

Location: Exeter or Salford based with hybrid working available
Hours: 40 per week - some flexibility on hours available if desired, just let us know when you speak to us.

We are unable to offer certificates of sponsorship to any candidates in this role.

Are you…

• An experienced design leader who can build confidence, capability, and accountability across multi-level teams
• Commercially aware, with the ability to manage programmes, budgets, risks, and client expectations without compromising technical quality
• Confident advising and influencing clients, stakeholders, local authorities, Lead Local Flood Authorities, National Highways, and utility partners
• Technically strong in highway drainage, water management, flood risk, SuDS, and compliant design delivery
• Motivated by developing people, improving design practice, and delivering work that makes infrastructure more resilient, sustainable, and useful to the communities it serves

What will you be responsible for?

As Drainage and Water Design Team Leader, you'll provide technical and delivery leadership for a specialist team working across a diverse portfolio of transport infrastructure projects. You'll set the tone for high-quality design delivery, ensuring outputs are coordinated, compliant, commercially sound, and aligned to client priorities.

You'll work closely with the Drainage & Water Lead and colleagues across Kier Design to shape the team's technical direction, support consistent project performance, and create the conditions for people to do their best work. This is a role for someone who wants to influence design quality, not just manage delivery

Your day to day will include:

• Leading and developing a high-performing design team, creating a culture of technical curiosity, collaboration, and ownership
• Providing technical leadership across drainage and water design work packages, with a focus on quality, compliance, buildability, and long-term value
• Planning, pricing, resourcing, and delivering work packages, using sound judgement to manage risk and keep commitments on track
• Building trusted relationships with clients and partners, acting as a clear, credible voice for Kier Design
• Championing better ways of working, from lessons learnt and digital tools to sustainable design thinking and technical innovation

Rewards and benefits

We're proud to be able to offer our brilliant people a wide variety of benefits that you can tailor to your needs. You can see more information of benefits here.

Diversity and inclusion

Making Kier a diverse and inclusive place to work is a huge priority for us. We're proud of the steps we've taken so far, but we know we must always do more. Our employees are key in shaping Kier's diversity and inclusion initiatives and our people have made a huge impact on how we work, by using their experiences to shape our policies. You can see our D&I action plan here.

As a Disability Confident employer, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this role will be offered an interview.

Due to the nature of this role, you will also be required to complete a Basic Disclosure and Barring Service Check (applicants with convictions will be treated on a case-by-case basis. We do not discriminate based on an applicant's conviction history or the details of any convictions disclosed to us). Some roles may also be subject to further pre-employment checks.

• Job Description_D&W_Transp Team Leader_Apr2026 (2).pdf