BR PD Architect: Lead Compliance in the Future of Retrofitting in Social Housing

Architect with Building Regulations Principal Designer experience. Join Ambue Ltd: lead compliance in the future of retrofitting in social housing. We are a RIBA Chartered Practice with a multi-disciplinary team, using technology and innovation to help combat climate change and fuel poverty. Our mission is to streamline and automate the delivery of retrofit projects at scale across the UK social housing sector. We support our clients in retrofitting thousands of existing homes across the UK, from single houses and small blocks of low-rise flats to higher-risk buildings. Every home we help to retrofit becomes a home that offers a higher standard of living for the people in it.

Our Professional Services Offer:

• Architectural design
• Retrofit design
• Retrofit coordination
• Retrofit assessment
• Domestic energy assessment
• Sustainability consultancy

Principal Designer input, in accordance with the Building Regulations and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (BR and CDM), runs through several parts of our service where clients need broader compliance support. Our expertise extends to the complexities of heritage properties and higher-risk buildings. We are steadily evolving and streamlining how we deliver this service, alongside our PAS 2035 retrofit, design, and wider consultancy work.

You will hold our Building Regulations Principal Designer standard, lead the project team in delivering to it, and produce the design work yourself. We are looking for an ARB registered Architect, a CIAT Chartered Architectural Technologist (MCIAT), or a comparably UK-accredited building professional, who is motivated to support our team through the challenges of net zero and to deliver healthy social homes across the UK. You will lead by example on Building Regulations Principal Designer duties, guiding and advising colleagues across the discipline, and ideally the CDM Principal Designer duties as well.

Your role will be to lead and continue the development of our Principal Designer services, ideally combining BR and CDM, threading compliance requirements through our end-to-end retrofit process and leading the project team in discharging Ambue's Principal Designer duties. As a key member of the project team, you will influence the design process and make sure the BR and CDM Principal Designer duties are carried out. You will work with Project Architects, Project Managers, and the senior leadership team.

You will demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the relevant regulations and wider guidance, ethical practice, client management, and leadership. You will understand the importance of design responsibility and be able to evidence how you have achieved consensus on compliance among different designers, including clients, consultants, and contractors. Your work will inform the continued development of the Ambue software platform, leading to the compilation of the Golden Thread and BIM data, as we scope and develop the tools and processes to automate and manage the BR and CDM Principal Designer duties efficiently.

From time to time a higher-risk building comes along. If you are keen to move into higher-risk building work, this is an opportunity to take that on with support and build regulated HRB experience alongside our team.

Join our remote-first team. Ambue is a remote-first business. Our UK-based professionals live and work across the country, supported by an international team of software developers across Europe and the Far East.

Requirements:

• ARB registered Architect, CIAT Chartered Architectural Technologist (MCIAT), or a comparably UK-accredited building professional, with around three to five years' post-qualification experience, including refurbishment projects.
• Evidence of specific training for, or significant experience in, the role of Building Regulations Principal Designer.
• A sound understanding of the Building Regulations and their implementation.
• Proven experience leading multi-disciplinary teams in the design and delivery of architectural projects.
• Proficiency in technical design, detailing, quality control, and the management of each stage of the RIBA Plan of Work.
• Confidence in working with, guiding, and advising contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, clients, and colleagues, with the ability to analyse, conclude, and communicate the critical aspects of a project to recorded, safe, and compliant outcomes.
• Contract management experience and excellent record keeping.
• A well-rounded approach to project delivery.
• The ability to produce, and more often to lead others to produce, all required design outputs and correspondence.
• Experience leading projects for commercial clients, ideally in the social landlord sector.
• Proficiency in project programming using common project management software.
• Microsoft Office proficiency.
• A valid full UK driving licence.
• An appetite to develop into higher-risk building work, with support, as those projects arise.
• BIM and CAD familiarity. This role does not primarily involve CAD drawing work. Ambue uses ArchiCad, and some interaction with the software may be required.

We are looking for a highly motivated, self-directing, inquisitive, and technology-minded professional, with the collaborative drive to tackle the climate emergency while holding firm to compliance. You will be adaptable, quick to learn, well read in your field, and keen to put new ideas into practice.

In addition to the salary range shown, we offer flexible working, an excellent work/life balance as a remote-first business, and typical industry benefits. Please submit a covering letter setting out your relevant experience and your interest in the role, together with your CV and short examples of your project work.