About this Role:

Ambitious and highly effective Senior Design Manager with a high level of preconstruction experience required by the Southampton office of this busy Tier 1 National Main Contractor to work with the preconstruction team on one of several framework schemes in the Southampton and Portsmouth areas.

With a very healthy workload secured and on site currently or in second stage preconstruction phase, the requirement has arisen for an additional Senior Design Manager to support the work winning function initially before running on with second stage with a successfully secured scheme.

Focus is typically projects in the education, healthcare, defence and local authority sectors - predominantly 2 stage D&B scheme procured on a variety of local and national frameworks, including DfE, P22, DEOP, SCF, etc.

Schemes range in size from £25m upwards to £50m+.

Duties will include:

Input to framework expressions of interest, mini competitions and bids.
Management of the design development for bids and tenders;
Engagement with consultant design team; Chairing design team meetings;
Regular liaison with key clients, trusts and end users / heads of department;
Engagement with and managing specialist sub-contractor design teams;
Agreement of information required schedule; Ensuring key dates achieved;
Dealing with local authorities to achieve planning permissions;
Review of construction design information for buildability, compliance with contractors proposals, employers requirements, budget, current building legislation, etc;
Identifying opportunities for value engineering where appropriate;
Preparation for and attending client presentations; Ongoing client engagement.
Proactive issue resolution;
Overall managing the smooth and timely delivery of detailed design information for procurement and construction throughout the preconstruction and build process.

About the Company/Client/Project:

The company is the busy Southern Regional office of a national main contractor, with experience and a proven track record in the delivery of new build and refurbishment schemes in primary and secondary education, healthcare, defence, commercial offices, local authority, higher education faculty buildings, leisure, etc predominantly in the Hampshire and Dorset areas.

Turnover is circa £130m for the office which is located in Southampton with easy access from the M27 / M3.

Requirements including certificates and qualifications:

Either from an Engineering/Construction delivery or Architectural background, you will possess excellent technical and commercial knowledge, a keen understanding of construction methodology, materials and systems, procurement lead in times, etc.

Previous national framework experience and a high level of preconstruction experience is highly desirable for this role.

You will have excellent communication and negotiations skills, strong planning and problem solving ability, initiative and a positive approach. In terms of character, you will be a highly driven, positive and ambitious individual able to work well within a large team dynamic.

You will ideally have a proven track record of successful project delivery with a recognised Main Contractor in Senior / Design Management role.

High standards, attention to detail and the drive to deliver on programme, specification and budget will be very well rewarded with excellent salary, benefits, promotional and development prospects.

For more information on this contract please contact Martin Olney on (phone number removed) or send your CV to

Candidates must be able to prove their eligibility to work in the UK