Senior Architect

Sodexo Ltd; Belfast City District; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mental health support

Employee Assistance Programme

24/7 virtual GP

Discounts for you and family

Retirement plan

Cycle to Work

Volunteer day

Job summary

Sodexo Ltd in Northern Ireland is seeking an experienced Architectural Lead to shape the future of a large, diverse estate across NI. You will lead architectural resources, engage with senior stakeholders, and turn bold ideas into practical plans that inform investment and decarbonisation.

Working with the Estate Strategy and Planning Manager, you'll connect projects to a bigger vision, manage budgets and design teams, and ensure compliance with regulations while driving modernisation.

Qualifications

• Degree and ARB registration in architecture or related field.
• Minimum seven years post-qualification experience.
• Knowledge of NI planning and building regulations.
• Experience in estate strategy, asset planning and site masterplanning.
• Experience guiding projects through all RIBA work stages.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience managing budgets, resources and project delivery.
• Proficiency in architectural software (Revit preferred).
• Knowledge of BIM Level 2.

Responsibilities

• Refresh the Estate Strategy and deliver site masterplans and feasibility studies.
• Lead in-house Architects and Technologists; coordinate external design teams.
• Develop Estate Management, Asset Management strategies and plans.
• Create masterplans and project blueprints turning priorities into opportunities.
• Provide architectural advice for business cases, bids and estate decisions.
• Manage budgets, design fees, resources and change control.
• Develop design guidance meeting current legislation and RIBA Plan of Work.
• Support estate modernisation and decarbonisation.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Budget management

Project delivery

Strategic thinking

Education

Architecture degree / ARB qualification

Tools

Revit

AutoCAD

SketchUp

Adobe InDesign

Photoshop

BIM Level 2

Job description

Shape places. Influence investment. Help transform an estate across Northern Ireland.

40 hours per week

Monday–Friday, 08:00–17:00

Sodexo rewards and benefits

Travel across Northern Ireland

Your next opportunity starts with the bigger picture.

Where others see buildings, you see possibilities. A site with untapped potential. A space that could work harder. An opportunity to bring long-term ambitions to life.

At Sodexo, we’re looking for an Architectural Lead to help shape the future of a large, complex and varied estate across Northern Ireland. This is your opportunity to bring together creative thinking, technical expertise and strategic insight to influence how sites are used, developed and modernised.

Working alongside the Estate Strategy and Planning Manager, you’ll help turn ambitious ideas into practical plans—informing future investment, supporting decarbonisation and creating spaces that respond to changing needs.

An opportunity to make your mark

You’ll have the variety of working across multiple sites, the responsibility of leading architectural resources and the opportunity to work directly with senior stakeholders.

From early feasibility studies to masterplans, blueprint development and future project pipelines, you’ll help connect individual projects to a much bigger vision. If you’re motivated by solving complex problems and seeing your expertise shape decisions, there’s plenty here to get excited about.

What you’ll do

Unlock the potential of the estate:

Play a key role in refreshing the Estate Strategy and manage the delivery of site masterplans, feasibility studies and assessments to achieve the objectives of this strategy.

Lead and inspire:

manage in-house Architects and Architectural Technologists, supporting their contribution and coordinating external Integrated Design Teams.

routemap:

Utilise your expertise and the resources within the team to develop a suite of tactical documents including an Estate Management Strategy, Asset Management Strategy and Asset Management Plans to guide estate management decisions.

Build the foundations for future investment:

develop masterplans, project blueprints and dossiers that turn emerging priorities into clearly defined opportunities.

Make your expertise count:

provide architectural advice for business cases, commercial bids and estate planning decisions.

Drive effective delivery:

manage budgets, design fees, resources and change control, balancing creativity with commercial awareness.

Help set the standard:

develop design guidance and ensure projects meet current legislation, regulations and the RIBA Plan of Work.

Support lasting change:

contribute to the modernisation and decarbonisation of the estate.

What you’ll bring

You’re an experienced architect who enjoys bringing people and ideas together. You can move confidently between technical detail and strategic conversations, building trust and helping others see what’s possible.

You’ll also need:

• A degree and relevant postgraduate or professional qualification in Architecture, Planning, Surveying, Estate Management or a related built environment discipline.
• Current

Architects Registration Board (ARB) registration.

• A minimum of

seven years’ post-qualification experience.

• Working knowledge of Northern Ireland planning and building regulations.
• Experience in estate strategy, asset planning and site masterplanning.
• Experience managing architectural projects through all RIBA work stages.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience managing budgets, resources and project delivery.
• Proficiency in architectural software such as Revit (preferred), AutoCAD, SketchUp, Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, or equivalent.
• Knowledge of Building Information Modelling (BIM) Level 2.
• Willingness to travel throughout Northern Ireland.

Chartered membership of RIBA is desirable.

Security requirements

Successful candidates must have lived continuously in the UK for the past five years and must be willing and able to undergo the required security clearance and vetting process.

More than a role—a place to belong

At Sodexo, you’ll join a team where your contribution matters and your expertise has a purpose. Alongside your salary and bonus, we offer:

• Mental health and wellbeing support.
• An Employee Assistance Programme for personal, legal and financial advice.
• 24/7 virtual GP access and lifestyle rewards.
• Discounts for you and your family.
• Financial wellbeing tools and a retirement plan.
• A Cycle to Work scheme.
• A paid volunteering day to support a cause that matters to you.

Sodexo reserves the right to close this advert early if we receive a high number of applications.