Graduate Design Managers (London) - Summer/Autumn 2026 starts

Company Description Work with Us. Change the World. At AECOM, we're delivering a better world. Whether improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water, or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive. We are the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world's most complex challenges and build legacies for future generations.

There has never been a better time to be at AECOM. With accelerating infrastructure investment worldwide, our services are in great demand. We invite you to bring your bold ideas and big dreams and become part of a global team of over 50,000 planners, designers, engineers, scientists, digital innovators, program and construction managers and other professionals delivering projects that create a positive and tangible impact around the world.

We're one global team driven by our common purpose to deliver a better world. Join us.

Job Description At AECOM we recognise that the management and coordination of the design of major, complex, multi-disciplinary projects presents a number of significant challenges. As part of our Design Management team you will establish and implement the processes/procedures and controls to successfully manage the design process and enable designers to focus on the design. This includes ensuring that there is clear definition of scope, promoting good communication, driving coordination, monitoring design quality, actively managing the client and stakeholder approvals processes, monitoring progress and ultimately delivering reduced design risk, greater programme certainty and increased quality of service.

Job Responsibilities Working alongside and reporting to a Design Manager our Graduate Design Managers support AECOM Design Teams and external clients by providing assistance with the management of the design process in London, the UK and internationally. The Graduate Design Manager will be expected to support with the following tasks:

• Managing Sub-consultants
• Prepare responsibility matrix to identify sub-consultant responsibility for each area of scope.
• Draft and agree sub-consultant back-to-back contracts so that all scope is accounted for.
• Prepare and update cash flow projections.
• Establish procedures for invoice submission for sub-consultants and monitor.
• Track and report on the progress of all sub-consultant invoices and prepare a monthly Financial Report.
• Establish and Manage Design Procedures
• Establish and implement design procedures and protocols to be followed by the Design Team necessary for successful project delivery.
• Procedures shall be collated in a Design Management Plan and will include information such as organisation charts, Project Directory, communication routes etc.
• Management of any information exchange, including monitoring of deliverables issued by sub-consultants to determine whether submittals are as per agreed scopes.
• Production of an integrated design schedule following liaison with all Design Team members and including key milestones laid out by the Client.
• Internal milestones, co-ordination sequences and delivery dates will be shown.
• Monitoring Design Schedule and Progress
• Reporting design progress and identify areas of risk/ concern that are approaching.
• Identification of design deliverables, who they will be prepared by and when.
• Documentation and Deliverables
• Prepare reports in the necessary format as required.
• Monitor and collate comments from the Client on design submission and manage responses from the Design Team.
• Track and monitor status of all comments affecting design stage and final close-out.
• Prepare and maintain drawing register.
• Manage project websites where necessary.
• Organise Project Meetings and the Decision Making Process
• Prepare and agree with the client and design team a schedule for all project workshops and meetings, including a preliminary outline agenda, location etc.
• Prepare in advance a formal timetable and agenda for all project workshops and obtain all necessary input from the Design Team to ensure all key issues are addressed.
• Prepare and issue minutes of all major project workshops and meetings, circulate these minutes for comment before formal issue to the Client where applicable.
• Establish procedures and processes to assist in the briefing and information gathering process such as a Request for Information (RFI) system. Responsibilities and roles of decision making to be identified.

Qualifications Minimum Requirements Bachelor's or Master's degree (minimum 2:1 or equivalent) in Architecture or a related discipline that demonstrates an understanding of the design and construction process. Enthusiasm for the built environment and a genuine interest in pursuing a career in design management.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills Good understanding of the design process and its key stages. Strong organisational, project, and design programming skills. Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to collaborate across disciplines. Commercial awareness and an understanding of how projects are delivered from concept to completion.

Additional Information Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible since CVs will be reviewed, and candidates selected on a rolling recruitment basis for either immediate or advanced offer start. Please include a covering letter with your application and provide all predicted and/or obtained academic grades and details of the dates you are able to work to/from and well as locations you would be interested in. You must have the right to work in the UK.

Professional Development Our Graduate Development Programme (GDP), along with our huge scope of projects across the globe, will challenge and inspire you to make a real difference to the world we live in. Our GDP forms a core part of our business strategy globally, designed to develop the best talent across numerous disciplines to lead our business into the future.

We have over 750 graduates on our programmes across the UK & Ireland, from over 40 different disciplines, each and every one of them making a tangible difference to the environment we all live and work in. We will provide you with all the tools and support you need to achieve your professional development ambitions, including Chartership with the relevant international professional institution – where we have graduates working towards over 30 professional institutions in the UK & Ireland. We will push you to achieve the highest standards and expect our graduates to pass their professional review first time. You will be assigned a mentor to support and guide your development, and undertake regular training modules throughout the programme. There will be on-the-job technical development and classroom training where required, and the opportunity to work on live client projects, with significant multi-disciplinary exposure.

About AECOM AECOM is the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities.

AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $14.4 billion in fiscal year 2023. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you're working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients. AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families.

We're the world's trusted global infrastructure firm, and we're in this together – your growth and success are ours too. Join us, and you'll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know if you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.