Exciting opportunity for a Trainee Design Manager

Stepnell; Southampton; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 31,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Starting salary £28K

Contributory Pension

On-the-job training

Career progression

Job summary

Stepnell is expanding its design team and seeks a Trainee Design Manager who will work alongside experienced professionals on live sites and in the office. You will gain competencies across architectural and design techniques while supporting project teams across multiple regional offices.

The role offers on-the-job training, a starting salary of £28,000, a contributory pension, and clear career progression opportunities for ambitious individuals with design aptitude and drive.

Qualifications

• Design skills and knowledge required.
• Persistence and determination.
• Initiative and problem solving ability.
• Analytical thinking and strong communication.
• Attention to detail and flexibility in changing environments.

Responsibilities

• Manage information flow from designers to construction team to ensure timely, high-quality drawings.
• Oversee the design process using technical expertise.
• Collaborate with clients to meet expectations and ensure safety considerations.
• Review designs with health and safety in mind.
• Help reduce financial risk by minimizing design errors and maintaining thorough documentation.
• Keep up to date with building legislation and codes of practice.

Skills

Design skills

Persistence

Initiative

Problem solving

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Flexibility

Computer literacy

Driving licence

Education

Architectural design degree

Job description

Stepnell is a leading regional contractor, a complete construction partner with proven end-to-end project lifecycle expertise. We serve a broad spectrum of private and public sector clients, ensuring they realise their vision by providing a more holistic approach to project design, build, management and delivery. We are an established, mature business with the resources and infrastructure to deliver larger, more challenging projects generally up to £25 million.

We are ambitious and continue to grow our business; but despite our stature, we remain a family business at heart. We combine the focus and accessibility of a regional contractor, with a depth of technical competency, professional capability and national reach usually reserved only for larger organisations.

Stepnell has a fantastic opportunity for a Trainee Design Manager and we are currently looking for architectural design students/graduates to join our friendly and supportive team. You will be working as part of a regional team alongside trained professionals to deliver work to the highest standards. You will gain competencies in a wide range of architectural and design techniques.

Stepnell operate across a number of regional offices, in Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Rugby, Bristol, Cardiff, Oxford, Exeter and Southampton.

Successful applicants will work on a number of live construction sites and in the office. You must have a genuine interest in architecture and design and want to work in the construction industry.

You will gain competencies in a wide range of skills and expect to undertake the following:

• Managing the information flow from designers to the construction team whilst ensuring drawings and designs are produced on time, to a high quality, and are easy to understand
• Overseeing the design process using technical expertise
• Working with clients to ensure that their expectations are met
• Reviewing designs with health and safety in mind
• Avoiding errors and reducing financial risk during construction
• Maintaining thorough documentation of the design process
• Keeping up-to-date with changing building legislation and codes of practice relating to design

To succeed y ou will need:

• Design skills and knowledge
• Persistence and determination
• Initiative
• Problem solvingwith the ability to come up with new ways of doing things
• Analytical thinking skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Be thorough and pay attention to detail
• Flexibility and open to change
• Able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
• Get to site either with access to a vehicle and a full UK driving licence

Trainee Design Manager

Training

• Professional Development with RIBA
• Continuous Professional Development

Rewards

• Starting salary of £28K
• Contributory Pension
• You will receive continuous 'on the job' training and professional development.
• Excellent career prospects are available for those with the drive and ability to achieve.
• Opportunities to progress to management, earn more money and build a successful career.

Closing date for applications 31st January 2027

Telephone Interviews - January-February 2027

Face to face interviews - March-April 2027

Offers of employment no later than 31st May 2027

Start Date – 6th September 2027

Why Stepnell

At Stepnell, we’re passionate about empowering our people to thrive. We believe in building fulfilling and rewarding careers by investing in talent, nurturing growth, and inspiring innovation. With the prestigious Investors in People Gold accreditation, we’re proud to place our people at the heart of everything we do. Every team member is valued, and curiosity and collaboration are central to our team culture. We’re committed to enabling our people to make a real impact and drive meaningful change throughout our business.

To show our appreciation, we offer generous and competitive benefits including, an enhanced pension scheme with a Stepnell contribution of 7% to help secure your financial future, annual leave that increases with service and the flexibility to purchase more, a market leading employee referral scheme, and for eligible roles comprehensive health coverage, adjustable start and finish times and a car allowance or company car.

Join us in a collaborative and inclusive environment where your well-being is our priority, and your contributions are truly valued.

About Stepnell

As a family-owned business with over 159 years of history, Stepnell is built on stability, trust, and long-term thinking. We make decisions with the future in mind for our people, our clients and our communities.

Our capabilities span construction, property, development, energy solutions, bespoke joinery and concrete repair, allowing us to offer services that meet a wide range of client needs. Operating through eight regional offices in Rugby, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Wantage, Bristol, Southampton, and Exeter and across three core business units, we maintain a strong local presence while delivering consistently high standards.

Today, repeat clients account for 75% of our turnover a testament to our reliability and the quality of our relationships.