Principal Designer / Principal Designer Advisor

SOCOTEC UK Limited; Greater London; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading consultancy in building compliance is seeking an experienced Principal Designer to provide technical leadership on complex construction projects. The role involves ensuring compliance with the Building Safety Act and coordinating design risk management. The ideal candidate will have chartered status and significant experience in regulatory compliance and risk management. This position offers a competitive salary and benefits, including a generous holiday allowance and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

25 days holiday with the option to buy more

Electric car scheme

Employee recognition schemes

Family friendly support

Employee assistance programmes

Enhanced company pension

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in building regulations or design risk management.
• Proven experience acting as Principal Designer on complex projects.
• Strong understanding of the Building Safety Act and related regulations.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior technical leadership on major construction projects.
• Ensure compliance with Building Regulations and associated legislation.
• Act as a trusted advisor to clients on design safety and risk management.

Skills

Project leadership

Stakeholder management

Design risk management

Regulatory compliance

Communication skills

Education

Chartered status with RICS or CABE

Technical or compliance certifications

Job description

Principal Designer / Principal Designer Advisor – Building Regulations & Compliance Consultancy

The Principal Designer / Principal Designer Advisor will provide senior technical leadership and governance on major, complex, and high-risk construction projects, acting in the statutory role of Principal Designer or as Principal Designer Advisor under the Building Safety Act Regulations.

The role focuses on leading project-level compliance, design risk management, and regulatory coordination, ensuring that health, safety, building regulation, and compliance risks are identified, managed, and communicated throughout the design and construction lifecycle.

Working closely with clients, designers, contractors, regulators, and internal technical teams, the role-holder will ensure projects meet statutory obligations, industry best practice, and SOCOTEC standards, while contributing to service excellence, reputation, and strategic growth.

Working across a variety of projects both autonomously and as part of a wider team, tasks you will be required to undertake as part of your role include (but are not limited to):

Principal Designer Leadership & Statutory Compliance

• Act as Principal Designer or Principal Designer Advisor on major and complex projects, including higher-risk buildings where required
• Ensure compliance with the Building Safety Act, Building Regulations, and associated legislation throughout the project lifecycle
• Plan, manage, monitor, and coordinate design work to eliminate, reduce, or control foreseeable health, safety, and building safety risks
• Ensure that design risk management information is clearly communicated between duty holders

Project Delivery Excellence

• Provide senior-level oversight to ensure projects are delivered to the highest professional, statutory, and SOCOTEC quality standards
• Support effective project governance, including programme milestones, risk mitigation, and issue resolution
• Work collaboratively with internal teams (building control, fire, façade, structural, and compliance specialists) to deliver integrated outcomes
• Ensure proportional, pragmatic, and well-documented approaches to risk management on major projects

Business Development & Client Engagement

• Act as a trusted senior advisor to clients on design safety, regulatory compliance, and risk management strategies
• Build and maintain strong client relationships through consistent technical excellence and leadership
• Support business development activities by contributing to fee proposals, scope definition, and technical inputs for bids related to PD and compliance services
• Represent SOCOTEC in client meetings, regulator discussions, and multi-disciplinary design forums

Service Line Development

• Lead the creation and refinement of specialist service lines within the Building Regulation and Compliance division
• Evaluate market trends to inform service innovation, pricing models, and delivery strategies
• Collaborate cross-functionally with other technical and operational leads to integrate services and optimise resource sharing

Training, Mentoring & Technical Governance

• Develop and deliver a structured training and mentoring programme to build technical capability and succession within the team
• Conduct performance reviews, CPD planning, and competency assessments aligned with professional standards (RICS, CABE, etc.)
• Champion a culture of learning, collaboration, and continuous improvement
• Ensure knowledge transfer across teams and consistent application of technical methodologies

Collaboration, Mentoring & Technical Support

• Provide guidance and mentoring to junior Principal Designers / BR Consultants, and technical staff
• Support consistency of PD delivery standards, methodologies, and best practice across projects
• Contribute to internal technical guidance, templates, and continuous improvement initiatives
• Support knowledge sharing across disciplines and service lines

Quality, Compliance & Safety

• Uphold rigorous quality assurance, compliance, and safety standards across all technical operations
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislative and regulatory changes, ensuring proactive adaptation of internal procedures
• Lead technical audits and peer reviews to ensure consistency, accuracy, and excellence in delivery

Health & Safety Leadership

• Champion a positive and proactive health and safety culture through exemplary leadership
• Ensure compliance with SOCOTEC and client quality, safety, and environmental systems
• Promote a culture where safety, workplace health, and environmental responsibility are prioritised

Here at SOCOTEC, we deliver excellence to our customers by recruiting and retaining the very best industry talent. To be successful in this role, you will be able to demonstrate:

• Chartered status with RICS, CABE, or equivalent preferred
• Recognised technical or compliance certifications
• CSCS card holder favourable
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in building regulations, design risk management, compliance, or building control
• Proven experience acting as Principal Designer or PD Advisor on complex or high-risk projects
• Strong understanding of the Building Safety Act, CDM Regulations, and associated guidance
• Experience working with multidisciplinary design and construction teams
• Expert knowledge of design risk management and statutory compliance
• Strong leadership and stakeholder management capability
• Excellent technical judgement and problem-solving skills
• Clear, confident communicator at senior client and regulator level
• Commercial awareness and ability to support bids and proposal

SOCOTEC is the UK's leading provider of testing, inspection and certification services. We offer an unrivalled range of technical expertise and services throughout the UK and worldwide. By joining us, you’ll be part of a 2,000+ strong team, where we will provide you with both the flexibility and a host of opportunities. We are committed to personal and professional development, and you will be supported and mentored at every step of your journey with us. You will join a large team of industry-leading, expert professionals and receive exposure to some of the best opportunities and challenges available.

As well as a competitive salary, we can offer you a wide range of benefits including, 25 days holiday with the opportunity to buy more. Where applicable we also offer an electric car scheme, employee recognition schemes, family friendly support, employee benefits and discounts app, employee assistance programmes and enhanced company pension.

Think you’ve got what it takes to add value to our success? We would love to hear from you and look forward to receiving your application.

Building a safer and more sustainable world is the core mission we set out to achieve at SOCOTEC, it is at the heart of everything that we do. We are committed to acting as a key player in society, investing in innovative solutions to ensure social and environmental concerns are at the forefront of all of our business operations.