Technical Director

Willmott Dixon Group; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Private medical for you and partner

Life assurance

Incentive bonus

Car scheme

Job summary

Willmott Dixon invites a seasoned Technical Director to join the Board and steer long‑term growth through technical excellence, strategic vision, and strong people leadership. You will oversee Design, Digital, Sustainability, Aftercare, Quality and People functions, driving value for clients and stakeholders.

The role demands a senior leader capable of translating strategy into actionable plans, building capability, and guiding cross‑functional teams toward measurable performance and sustainable

Qualifications

• Senior leader with experience in technical, design or construction environments.
• Experience delivering predictable and profitable growth.
• Strong governance, risk management and decision-making skills.
• Excellent leadership and stakeholder management across multiple disciplines.
• Ability to translate business strategy into practical, executable plans.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the design function to deliver high‑quality, innovative, and commercially viable solutions.
• Drive the adoption and integration of digital technologies across the business.
• Champion the sustainability strategy and measurable environmental improvements.
• Ensure a high‑performing aftercare function that delivers exceptional client support.
• Lead quality governance to reduce risk and defects across projects.
• Create a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous development.
• Build and nurture leadership across the organisation and support succession planning.
• Develop relationships with design consultants and professional service partners.

Skills

Leadership

Governance

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

People development

Change management

Job description

We are seeking an exceptional Technical Director to join our Board and play a pivotal role in delivering our long‑term growth ambitions. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced leader who can combine technical excellence with strategic vision, commercial awareness, and strong people leadership.

As a Board Director, you will work collaboratively with fellow Board members to drive sustainable, profitable growth while ensuring the business continues to deliver outstanding service, innovation, and value to clients and stakeholders.

You will be responsible for leading and developing our technical functions, ensuring they operate efficiently, consistently, and in line with our strategic objectives.

The Role

The Technical Director will provide strategic leadership across the following areas:

Design

• Lead and develop the design function to deliver high‑quality, innovative, and commercially viable solutions.
• Ensure technical excellence, compliance, and continuous improvement across all projects.
• Champion best practice, quality assurance, and knowledge sharing.

Digital

• Drive the adoption and integration of digital technologies throughout the business.
• Lead digital transformation initiatives that improve productivity, collaboration, and customer outcomes.
• Ensure the business remains at the forefront of industry innovation.

Sustainability

• Lead and champion the company’s sustainability strategy across projects and operations.
• Drive measurable improvements in environmental performance and reporting.
• Ensure sustainability supports customer relationships, innovation, and business growth.

Aftercare

• Ensure a high‑performing aftercare function that delivers exceptional client support and long‑term customer satisfaction.
• Develop processes that strengthen customer relationships and encourage repeat business.
• Monitor performance and implement continuous improvements.

Quality

• Lead technical assurance and quality standards across all projects.
• Reduce risk, defects and avoidable cost through robust governance and continuous improvement.
• Promote best practice and lessons learned to drive consistency and customer satisfaction.

People

• Build, develop and inspire high‑performing teams.
• Create a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous development.
• Support succession planning and leadership development across the business.
• Work closely with Preconstruction and Operations teams to support successful project delivery.

Design Partners

• Lead and develop relationships with our design consultants and professional service partners.
• Drive continuous improvement through consultant performance reviews, feedback and lessons learned.
• Ensure our design partners consistently deliver quality, innovation, and value.

What We're Looking For

Essential criteria:

You will be an experienced senior leader with a track record of delivering results in technical, design or construction related environment and will have experience of:

• Delivering predictable and profitable growth.
• Maintaining strong customer relationships, repeat business and client trust.
• Making timely decisions while ensuring appropriate governance and risk management.
• Holding individuals and teams to account while maintaining high levels of engagement and performance.
• Translating business strategy into clear, practical, and effective execution.
• Building organisational capability faster than workload growth.
• Developing strong leadership and accountability within the tier below Board level.
• Understanding and embracing the interdependency of Board members in achieving collective success.
• Working in a technical role within the construction or related sector

Desirable experience:

• Previous experience in a director level role.
• Strong commercial and strategic thinking.
• Excellent leadership and stakeholder management skills.
• The ability to influence and build relationships at Board level and beyond.
• Experience of leading multidisciplinary teams and driving organisational performance.
• A passion for developing people and building capability.
• Strong governance, risk management, and decision-making skills.
• A collaborative leadership style with a focus on achieving collective success.

Additional Information

In return we reward our people generously with a competitive package that gives you flexible benefits to fit your lifestyle and priorities. This includes but is not limited to, a pension scheme, full private medical for you and a partner, life assurance, incentive bonus and a car scheme. You will also benefit from a motoring expenditure allowance (MEA) and everyone can access a new generation of low carbon and electric cars via the Willmott Dixon run car leasing scheme.

At Willmott Dixon we provide an inclusive and flexible working environment for people to thrive in, and we are happy to support agile working wherever possible.

We are a proud member of the Disability Confident Scheme.

About Us

Over 170 years of rich history, Willmott Dixon's purpose is beyond profit; delivering brilliant buildings, transforming lives, strengthening communities, and enhancing the environment so our world is fit for future generations. Ensuring that we add lasting value to the neighbourhoods we work in; our values, people, innovation, partnerships and focus on sustainability has allowed us to build a successful and solid privately owned business where our people can thrive.

Willmott Dixon was recognised by The Sunday Times as one of the Top 10 "Big" Companies to Work For in 2025, named among the Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality in 2024, and ranked in the Top Five of Europe's 1,000 best workplaces by the Financial Times in 2025. Willmott Dixon is also the first major contractor and developer to win a King's Award for Enterprise in the category of sustainable development.