Senior Design Manager (Water)

SYSTRA UK & Ireland; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

SYSTRA UK & Ireland is seeking a Senior Design Manager to lead the design delivery of water sector work packages, coordinating multidisciplinary teams and maintaining strong client relationships.

You will apply project controls, manage budgets and ensure compliance with health, safety and environmental legislation, including CDM, while guiding teams across water and wastewater projects.

Qualifications

• Strong leadership and communication skills with client focus.
• Good client and stakeholder management abilities.
• Knowledge of BIM, CAD and project controls.
• Chartered Engineer status or working towards chartership.
• PM qualification would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead design delivery for water sector work packages.
• Coordinate resources and multidisciplinary inputs.
• Contribute to planning, procurement, reporting and tendering.
• Maintain high standards of technical delivery and safety.

Skills

Leadership

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Commercial awareness

Client relationship mgmt

Education

Degree in Civil/Water Engineering

Chartered Engineer (CEng) or progressing

Project/Programme management qualification

Tools

BIM

CAD

Project controls

Job description

Around the world, SYSTRA’s specialists plan, design, integrate, test, commission, project manage and deliver mass transit and mobility solutions that are relied on by more than 50 million people every day.

For more than 60 years, the Group has been committed to helping cities and regions contribute to their development by creating, improving and modernising their transport infrastructure with sustainability, accessibility and innovation at the heart of our designs. With over 10,300 colleagues globally and around 1000 in the UK & Ireland we are growing significantly and seeking out the very best talent to join the SYSTRA signature team and be part of leading the way in infrastructure design.

Context

We are looking for a Senior Design Manager with demonstrable experience of delivering projects for water company clients in the regulated water sector to support programme and project delivery. The individual should be capable of leading complex packages of work, coordinating multidisciplinary inputs and maintaining strong client relationships.

Missions/Main Duties

The postholder will lead the design delivery of allocated water sector work packages, ensuring solutions are delivered on time, within budget and to the required quality, regulatory and client standards. They will apply effective project controls, monitor progress against programme and budget, and ensure compliance with relevant health, safety and environmental legislation, including CDM Regulations, while supporting the delivery of safe, efficient and sustainable outcomes across water and wastewater projects.

Working closely with clients, project teams, contractors and stakeholders, the postholder will:

• coordinate resources
• manage the flow of design information and support collaboration across multidisciplinary teams.
• contribute to planning, procurement, reporting, tender preparation and stakeholder engagement,
• promote high standards of technical delivery and behaviours aligned with SYSTRA’s values of excellence, respect, empowerment and teamwork.

The postholder will also maintain effective financial and project controls across allocated projects, including the preparation and management of forecasts, cost and revenue budgets, and resource allocation plans. They will ensure that changes to fees, programme or scope are properly managed and documented, and will provide clear reporting to the Project Manager on programme performance, resource requirements and budget status to support efficient, well-controlled project delivery.

Profile/Skills

Skills And Knowledge

Strong leadership, interpersonal and communication skills, with good commercial awareness.

Good client, stakeholder and relationship management skills.

Knowledge of systems and procedures that support high-quality, safe and environmentally responsible project delivery.

Knowledge of BIM, CAD, project controls and analysis tools, resource management systems, Integrated Management Systems, and current HSE/CDM legislation.

Experience

Experience in the design delivery of civil or water engineering work packages, with a focus on client requirements, value for money and innovation.

Experience in developing and maintaining resource allocation plans, applying project controls and procedures, and monitoring progress against programme and budget.

Experience in project controls, programming, monitoring and reporting.

Experience in the development, review and application of design management documentation, including compliance with Integrated Management Systems.

Experience in supporting contract preparation, project planning and programming.

Experience in supervising and supporting team members, including Assistant Project Managers, Graduates and Apprentices, while assisting engineering or project management as required.

Experience working collaboratively with multidisciplinary design teams, including UK-based and overseas teams, as well as contract partners, to achieve project objectives.

Qualifications

Degree qualified in Civil Engineering, Water Engineering, Project Management or a related discipline.

Chartered Engineer status (CEng), or working towards chartership with a recognised engineering institution such as ICE, IMechE or equivalent.

A project or programme management qualification would be advantageous.

Workplace Type

Hybrid