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About the Role

GHD is seeking a Senior Design Manager to lead multidisciplinary design teams on major AMP8 water and wastewater programmes. This role involves guiding design teams through all project phases, managing design risk, and collaborating with clients and contractors. The position is for an influential leader who challenges conventional thinking and shapes project delivery, rather than focusing on administrative tasks.

Responsibilities

Lead multidisciplinary design teams on major AMP8 water and wastewater programmes.
Guide design teams from optioneering and outline design through detailed design and construction support.
Manage design risk, technical interfaces, assumptions, decisions, reviews, and assurance activity.
Work closely with clients, contractors, framework partners, and supply chain specialists.
Challenge traditional delivery approaches and identify smarter, simpler, and more sustainable solutions.
Support work winning, framework growth, client engagement, and early project shaping.
Mentor Design Managers, coordinators, and discipline leads to strengthen the team as the work bank grows.

Requirements

Led multidisciplinary design teams in water, infrastructure, utilities, construction, or major capital programmes.
Understand how to manage interfaces between disciplines, clients, contractors, and delivery partners.
Can balance technical quality, commercial awareness, programme pressure, and buildability.
Confident in design governance, risk management, change control, design reviews, and assurance.
Can communicate clearly with senior clients, technical specialists, and project teams.
Care about developing people and building resilient teams.
Stay calm under pressure and can turn uncertainty into a practical plan.
Ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, make sound decisions, manage interfaces, and create trust in complex delivery environments.
Demonstrate judgement, leadership, and delivery ownership.
Water sector experience is valuable, but relevant experience from adjacent infrastructure, utilities, energy, rail, reservoirs, treatment, industrial, or major project environments may also be highly relevant.
Chartered or Incorporated status is welcome, but equivalent experience demonstrating strong leadership, technical judgement, and design governance capability will be considered.
Experience with design and build with Tier 1 & 2 contractors is welcome and beneficial.

Skills

Design Management
Leadership
Risk Management
Interface Management
Client Engagement
Team Mentoring
Technical Collaboration
Problem Simplification
Decision Making
Communication

Location

Work Type

Full-time

Experience Level

Senior

Education Level

Chartered or Incorporated status welcome, equivalent experience considered.

About the Company

GHD is a leading professional services company delivering advisory, design, and construction-related services to turn ideas into reality.
The UK water sector is entering a critical delivery period with significant investment in resilience, environmental improvement, asset performance, spill reduction, and future water security.
GHD has a wider technical, environmental, digital, and delivery capability that candidates can draw upon.
GHD is focused on building its UK water design management capability.

Equal Opportunity

GHD does not believe there is only one route into design management; the strongest teams are built from different backgrounds, disciplines, and career paths.
GHD welcomes people returning from career breaks, people who have moved between sectors, and people whose leadership experience has been gained outside a conventional design office route.
GHD is particularly interested in people who can bring different perspectives, challenge, and help build teams that reflect the communities and clients they serve.