Senior Project Design Lead - Water Sector in London

Location: London & Falmer (Hybrid – 2/3 days in the office)

Salary: £74000

Job Type: Full Time, Permanent (37 hours per week)

Sector: Water / Utilities Infrastructure

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Senior Project Design Lead to join a leading water industry infrastructure programme. This is an excellent opportunity for a technically strong, senior engineer to take ownership of design delivery across larger and more critical infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects or sub-programmes of work, leading a multi-disciplinary supplier and in-house design team.

You will provide technical input and develop solutions throughout the identification of needs, design, construction and commissioning process, making decisions and recommendations recognised as authoritative across engineering design and technical activities. In the majority of cases, you will hold the final input on the design to be constructed.

You will lead in-house outline design and optioneering to ensure the lowest Totex solution is selected, and that technically fit-for-purpose, robust outline and detailed designs are delivered in a timely manner across larger and more critical schemes than those typically managed by a Project Design Lead.

Key Responsibilities

• Safety & Environment: Operate in line with corporate health and safety, environmental and quality standards, ensuring the project team complies with CDM regulations. Develop and maintain project related health and safety strategies, including risk assessments that manage risk to acceptable levels, and ensure designs deliver environmentally sustainable solutions.
• Design & Technical Leadership: Drive efficiency and rigour in delivery through cross-project coordination and leadership. Take responsibility for the quality of all design deliverables, the delivery of least whole life value (Totex) solutions, and ensure designs are produced within required timescales and budget. Manage scope and change control, coordinate design resources effectively, and assist the Programme Design Manager in developing simple, effective technical delivery procedures that improve design production against time, cost and quality targets.
• Innovation: Challenge existing company standards and ways of working to promote continuous improvement, researching industry best practice and promoting digital design concepts in collaboration with the supply chain and contractor delivery partners.
• People: Coach and mentor Assistant Project Design Leads and Project Design Leads, working with senior managers to ensure staff remain engaged. Collaborate with other Senior Project Design Leads to build an environment where staff feel able to innovate and challenge, using failure as a positive reinforcement for learning.
• Financial & Commercial: Ensure lowest whole life cost solutions are delivered to outperform project budgets, working alongside Project Managers and Programme Design Managers on budgetary accounting and business case development, while negotiating and influencing senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Programme: Ensure the design programme is achievable, providing early warning of any delays and ensuring designs are delivered on time.
• Customer: Ensure designs align with customer and regulator expectations, and represent the business through attendance and presentation at technical and commercial conferences as required.

What We're Looking For

• Experience within a water industry infrastructure programme and project delivery environment, including delivery of complex individual or groups of projects
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate technical ideas to both technical experts and non-technical audiences
• Excellent verbal and written English
• Strong financial awareness and commercial acumen
• Confident decision maker, able to justify and stand behind decisions where required
• A collaborative team player who works effectively across departments and with external stakeholders
• MEng/BEng/BSc or HND/HNC in Engineering, Environmental Science or a related numerate subject
• Member of an appropriate professional institute (Chartered, or working towards Chartership)
• Desirable Qualifications:
• APM Project Professional Qualification
• Managing Successful Programmes Practitioner Certification
• NEC for Project Managers
• Knowledge of DWI and Environment Agency requirements relating to WINEP/WRMP/DWMP
• Knowledge of DCO and DPC or similar processes

Why Join Us?

This is an excellent opportunity for a senior engineer to take a leading technical role within a major water infrastructure programme, managing larger and more critical projects with genuine influence over engineering outcomes and the chance to mentor others and drive innovation across the business.

To apply, please submit your CV today.