Senior Project Manager - Design in London

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Design Senior Project Manager to lead the design phase of the HRS03 HV Power package for HS2. You will be working directly for the Siemens Costain Joint Venture (SMCJV) and reporting to the Delivery Director, working closely with the Engineering Lead and engineering team. You will be instrumental in ensuring the successful delivery of both Scheme and Detailed designs, adhering strictly to the package design programme, budget and resources. This role requires a deep understanding of complex infrastructure projects, electrical power systems, and robust design management principles.

Responsibilities

• Design Leadership & Management: Lead and manage the design team, ensuring clear communication, effective collaboration, and optimal performance throughout the Scheme and Detailed design phases. Oversee the development and delivery of all design outputs for the HRS03 HV Power package, ensuring compliance with project requirements, technical specifications, and relevant standards. Ensure all designs align with the technical requirements and operational context outlined in WI3000 High Voltage Power Systems Technical Specification. Implement and enforce the design processes and procedures as stipulated in WI 0300 Systems Integration, Contractor's Design, Digital Engineering, and Transverse Process Requirements, particularly regarding systems integration, requirements management, interface management, and technical assurance. Drive adherence to the project's Design Management Plan, ensuring all design activities are planned, executed, monitored, and controlled effectively.
• Technical Assurance: Lead the design through the HS2 Technical Assurance (TA) process, ensuring all deliverables meet the HS2 Design Vision and the Employer's Requirements.
• Programme, Budget Management & Reporting: Develop, maintain, and manage the detailed design programme for the HRS03 HV Power package, identifying critical paths, dependencies, and potential risks. Monitor design progress against the programme, proactively identifying and addressing any deviations to ensure on-time delivery. Manage the design budget, tracking expenditure, forecasting costs, and implementing cost control measures to ensure delivery within financial constraints.
• Early Warnings & Compensation Events: Proactively manage the NEC3 Early Warning process to mitigate design risks. Assess and value Compensation Events (CEs) arising from design changes.
• Value Engineering: Identify innovative design solutions to improve the project's gain-share potential under the Option C pain/gain mechanism.
• Risk Mitigation: Maintain a robust design risk register, focusing on reducing technical uncertainty before the construction phase begins. Prepare regular progress reports for senior management, highlighting key achievements, challenges, and mitigation strategies. Develop and prepare reports to support the wider project reporting requirements. Work with the Project Controls team to automate and streamline reporting processes, instilling a regular reporting cadence into the Engineering team.
• Stakeholder Management: Manage the delivery and performance of both in-house design engineers and specialist external subcontracting entities. Act as the primary point of contact for all design-related matters concerning the HRS03 HV Power package, fostering strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including HS2 Ltd, other contractors, and regulatory bodies. In collaboration with the Package Engineering Lead and the Traction or Non-Traction CEM (Contractor's Engineering Manager), plan and facilitate design reviews, workshops, and coordination meetings, ensuring effective communication and resolution of design issues. Collaborate closely with the Lead Integrator and Lead Designer roles, as defined in WI300, to ensure seamless integration of the HV Power system with the wider HS2 railway system.
• Interface Management: Resolve complex technical interfaces between power systems and the SCADA control layer, ensuring "design for manufacture" and "design for maintenance" principles are applied.
• Risk & Assurance: Identify, assess, and manage design risks, developing and implementing effective mitigation strategies. Ensure all designs undergo rigorous technical assurance processes, adhering to the three levels of technical assurance (railway-level, system-level, and contract-level) outlined in WI300. Champion a culture of safety and quality within the design team, ensuring all designs meet the highest standards of reliability, availability, maintainability (RAM), and system safety.
• Safety & CDM: Ensure all designs comply with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and HS2's specific health and safety requirements.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Essential: Proven experience as a Design Project Manager on HV Power infrastructure projects, ideally within the railway or power sectors. Demonstrable experience in managing the design of High Voltage Power Systems. Experience in developing and implementing Design Management Plans. Solid understanding of project management methodologies, including programme and budget control. Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and engage diverse stakeholders. Relevant engineering degree (e.g., Electrical Engineering) or equivalent professional qualification. Project Management qualification (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2) is desirable.

Qualifications

• Essential: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.

About Us

Costain helps to improve people's lives with integrated, leading edge, smart infrastructure solutions across the UK's energy, water, transportation and defence markets. We help our clients improve their business performance by increasing capacity, improving customer service, safeguarding security, enhancing resilience, decarbonising and delivering increased efficiency. Our vision is to be the UK's leading smart infrastructure solutions company. We will achieve this by focusing on blue chip clients whose major spending plans are underpinned by strategic national needs, regulatory commitments, legislation or essential performance requirements. We offer our clients leading edge solutions that are digitally optimised through the following five services which cover the whole lifecycle of their assets: future-shaping strategic consultancy; consultancy and advisory; digital technology solutions; asset optimisation and complex programme delivery. Our culture and values underpin everything we do.

Costain appreciate the time and effort taken when applying for one of our positions but, due to the high volume of responses, we are unable to provide individual feedback on candidates at application phase. We do share individual feedback following an interview. A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that disclose they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people.