Lead Design Manager

J Dunton Associates Ltd; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

4-day week

Paid authorised overtime

25 days annual leave

Private health insurance

Employee Assistance Programme

Cycle to Work Scheme

Career progression

Office attendance

Job summary

J Dunton Associates Ltd is seeking a Lead Design Manager to take ownership of design delivery on data centre infrastructure projects. You will manage client relationships, oversee multi-disciplinary teams and drive performance against programme, budget and quality.

This senior role includes mentoring the Intermediate Design Managers, chairing reviews, and supporting proposals and business development. You will Champion internal tools and ensure standards compliance across complex, fast-moving

Qualifications

• Significant experience in design management, including lead consultant experience.
• Experience in a multi-disciplinary consultancy environment.
• Strong client relationship management and escalation handling.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary client contact, owning the relationship end-to-end.
• Own design delivery against programme, cost and quality.
• Mentor Intermediate Design Manager(s) and support development.
• Lead coordination of multidisciplinary design teams to deliver clash-free design.
• Chair design reviews and workshops with client and consultant teams.
• Contribute to proposals, scope development and resourcing decisions.

Skills

Lead design

Client management

Conflict resolution

Contractual awareness

MEP knowledge

Stakeholder comms

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical or mechanical engineering

Job description

With over four decades experience in the industry and enjoying continuous growth, J Dunton Associates Ltd are recruiting for a Lead Design Manager to work on infrastructure projects in the data centre industry. This is a fantastic opportunity to come and join our team of experts, working together to deliver excellent value for our clients whilst continuing your own professional development..

Company

JDA is a dynamic multi-disciplinary consultancy who provides innovative and specialist design engineering services in the UK & overseas.

We deliver an integrated consultancy service for the design and implementation of building mechanical, electricaland control systems. We offer impartial and objective advice from initial concept through to detailed design and supervision under construction.

We are experienced and trusted providers of innovative design ideas that support industry growth, encourage socialresponsibility, and deliver client satisfaction. We are committed to being industry experts, our enthusiasm for all aspects of engineering making us the team we are today and tomorrow.

We are:

• Enthusiastic about all aspects of engineering.
• Dedicated to delivering innovative design ideas to our clients and the industry.
• Approachable, motivated, and trusted.
• Focused on our continuous professional development & knowledge sharing.
• Committed to our team having a good work-life balance.
• Passionate about creating a more sustainable future.
• Having fun along the way!

Job Role

The Lead Design Manager will act as the lead point of contact on their projects, taking full ownership of design delivery, client relationships, and commercial outcomes. This is a senior role with direct responsibility for mentoring and developing the Intermediate Design Manager(s) within the team, and managing the technical, commercial, and interpersonal communication outcomes on complex, fast-moving data centre projects.

• Act as the primary point of contact for clients, owning the relationship end-to-end and managing expectations across all project stages.
• Take full accountability for design delivery outcomes against programme, cost, and quality.
• Mentor, direct, and support the development of the Intermediate Design Manager(s), including day-to-day task allocation, technical review of their outputs, and input into their professional development.
• Lead the resolution of technical, commercial, and interpersonal conflicts between disciplines, subconsultants, and client teams, managing difficult conversations and escalations as they arise.
• Own commercial and contractual oversight of design activities, ensuring alignment with scope, budget, fee, and appointment terms.
• Assess client directed change requests against active scope and timeline and support the arrangement of additional scope and timeline whilst managing client expectations.
• Lead coordination of multidisciplinary design teams (MEP, architectural, structural, civil, permitting, acoustic, and other specialists) to deliver clash-free, buildable, standards-compliant design.
• Identify, escalate, and drive resolution of design risks and issues, engaging client and internal stakeholders as required.
• Chair design reviews and technical workshops with client and consultant teams.
• Contribute to fee proposals, scope development, and resourcing decisions for projects under their management.
• Develop and maintain long-term relationships with third-party consultants, equipment vendors, and design partners.
• Ensure design activities comply with relevant industry standards, codes, and directives, holding the wider team accountable to these.
• Support business development activity, including input into proposals and client pitches.
• Report progress, risk, and commercial status to senior management and clients as required.
• Support and drive development of internal tools and processes.
• Lead page turns and technical review procedures.
• Champion and drive the use of internal mandatory tools such as the dashboard, risk and assumptions registers and RFI logs.
• Chair regular internal team members and external stakeholders.
• Maintain detailed minutes, notes trackers and reports throughout the course of projects.
• Ensure effective communications are ongoing between internal teams and disciplines.
• Drive effective communication between internal team members and external parties such as sub-consultants, project management teams, other disciplines not operating as sub-consultants, and client teams.

Key Skills / Experience

• Significant experience in design management, including prior experience operating at lead consultant level.
• Proven track record working within a multi-disciplinary consultancy environment.
• Strong client relationship management skills, with experience owning client accounts and handling escalations directly.
• Well-developed conflict management and negotiation skills, able to resolve disputes between technical, commercial, and client stakeholders.
• Strong commercial and contractual awareness relevant to consultancy appointments.
• Proven experience on data centre or similarly complex, mission-critical projects.
• Strong knowledge of MEP systems and infrastructure specific to data centre projects.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Bachelor’s degree in electrical or mechanical engineering or related field desirable.
• Proactive and self-motivated, able to lead others while working autonomously.
• Knowledge of other engineering disciplines is desirable.

Package

JDA recognises the importance of attracting talent by offering competitive salaries and flexible working in a friendly and supportive environment.

• Location: Flexible working (working from home or office, periodic attendance at our Ingatestone and London offices will be required for collaborative work, training, and socialising).
• Hours: Full-time (JDA offers a 4-day week with compressed hours).
• Paid authorised overtime.
• 25 days annual leave (there is an additional discretionary Christmas & New Year “shutdown”).
• 6% Employer contributions and 5% Employee (of qualifying earnings) contributions.
• Wellness benefits – Private health insurance, Employee Assistance Programme, Cycle to Work Scheme, Access to holistic financial planning advice.
• Structured professional development with opportunities for career progression.