SPA Design Lead in Peterborough

Join Anglian Water's Strategic Pipeline Alliance as a Design Lead. Location: Flexible/Hybrid work from Peterborough office and home. Employment Type: Full-time until December 2026, then part-time input for remainder of 2027.

Are you detail-oriented, organized, and passionate about contributing to one of the UK’s most ambitious water infrastructure projects? The Strategic Pipeline Alliance (SPA) is searching for a Design Lead to support and enhance our project delivery team.

What will you be doing as our new Design Lead?

• You will take a lead on design delivery of the Infra or Non-Infra element of major potable water transfer projects (project value up to £200M).
• Work collaboratively with the Head of Engineering, Design Manager and Senior Designers to understand design needs, then manage the design team relating to your section of the SPA delivery programme from feasibility through to construction and commissioning.
• You will work collaboratively with Delivery teams, including construction, procurement, enabling, planning and commercial, to ensure the design is delivered efficiently in accordance with constructability requirements.

Key responsibilities:

• Plan, forecast and resource design activities across their element/s of the project, monitoring workload and leading the design teams to output design in a timely and efficient manner.
• Collaborate across the wider project delivery team, working closely with project management, construction, enabling, planning, commercial and procurement teams.
• Develop close working relationships with AW Operational stakeholders to support design decision making and Client sign-off.
• Enable good information flow, e.g. via Technical Queries etc.
• Guide your team in producing designs in accordance with CDM regulations, minimising safety risks in construction, commissioning and subsequent maintenance and decommissioning.
• Ensure survey works are specified in a timely manner to support delivery of the projects, including Utilities, Ground Investigation and Existing site surveys.
• Liaison with Temporary Works Design.

A little bit about your skills, experience and behaviours:

This job might be for you if you are:

• Educated to degree level in an engineering or related subject.
• Experienced of working in multi-disciplinary teams and have a track record of managing a section of the design works.
• Experienced in managing throughout the Design Phase a section of a project, including for example civil, mechanical, electrical and control aspects; and experienced in delivering with a production methodology mindset, including modular designs.
• Understanding of the importance of design interactions throughout the project lifecycle.

Not only do we look for the best talent to join us on our journey, we also look for individuals to demonstrate key behaviours that align with our values and beliefs. Working with the highest degree of integrity, we want SPA employees to take ownership and accountability for their outputs and be driven to continuously improve how they work. SPA employees should act with the customer’s best interest at heart, be clear and transparent communicators and be passionate about operating in an ethical fashion.

Why Join SPA?

The Strategic Pipeline Alliance Project is at the exciting delivery stage, with additional projects lined up for AMP8. At SPA, we embrace innovation, digital technology, and collaboration with our partners, including Farrans, MMB, Costain, and Jacobs. Together, we’re combating climate change and securing clean water for generations to come.

Flexible Working: We support remote working, part-time hours, and flexible schedules to suit your lifestyle if the role allows. Location: Our office is in Peterborough, with operational hubs across the project area. This role is predominantly site based.

Diversity and Inclusion: SPA is committed to building an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone.

Our Purpose: Our mission is simple yet vital: To Make the East of England Resilient to the Effects of Drought. Join us in shaping a sustainable future while being part of a team where everyone can thrive.

SPA is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and recruit based on merit and potential, ensuring every colleague feels a sense of belonging.

We are looking for talented people to join one of our key projects. The Strategic Pipeline Alliance is creating nearly 500 kilometres of new, interconnecting pipelines to help combat the impact of climate change and keep fresh, clean water flowing across the Anglian Water region. Our aim is to make the region, one of the most rapidly growing in the country, resilient to the risks of drought by securing water supplies for future generations.

The new network of pipelines will be longer than HS2, making it one of the largest infrastructure projects for a generation. It is a complex and challenging major infrastructure project. We selected partners that bring a wealth of experience, new mindsets, thinking and innovation for what is an incredibly exciting programme. They are: Costain, Farrans, Jacobs, Mott MacDonald Bentley.

We strive to create the right environment to keep Anglian Water at the forefront of the industry and look, in return, for high‑performing candidates who demonstrate values that align with ours. Due to the nature of the alliance, and based on the role offered, you will be employed by one of the five partners, joining teams containing some of the most talented and innovative consultants and contractors in the region at a crucial time.

You will need to demonstrate: integrity, mental agility, leadership skills, a desire to learn and an open, honest and caring nature.

This programme forms a key part of our Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), which sets out how we will manage the water supplies in our region to meet current and future needs over 25 years. It is a critical, long‑term project and construction is due to begin in the summer of 2021 and will take nearly five years to build.

Anglian Water has joined forces with construction and engineering giants Costain, Farrans, Jacobs and Mott MacDonald Bentley as part of a contract worth more than £350million. We will complete one of the largest strategic water infrastructure projects the UK has ever seen and will create up to 500km of interconnecting pipelines.

We provide the very best training and look, in return, for people with integrity, mental agility, leadership skills, a desire to learn and an open, honest and caring nature.

The programme forms a key part of Anglian Water’s Water Resources Management Plan which looks 25 years ahead to manage and secure the water resources by safeguarding against the potential future impacts of water scarcity, climate change and growth, while protecting the environment.