Design Manager - Northern Ireland with UK Travel in Hillsborough

Location: Northern Ireland with regular travel to the London / Southeast region.

Division: Building

Benefits: Pension, Subsidised Private Medical Cover, Life Assurance Scheme, Car Allowance

Are you ready to take the helm in driving design excellence within one of the industry’s leading organisations? GRAHAM is seeking a highly experienced Design Manager to lead design and technical delivery across projects and tenders throughout the London and Southeast region. Reporting to the Regional Design Manager, you will play a pivotal role in managing the design process within the Building Division, acting as a key member of the wider project delivery teams. This position contributes significantly to project bidding, project execution, and the long-term success and growth of the business unit. Strong technical expertise, innovative thinking, and effective teamwork are crucial to excelling in this role.

As a Design Manager, you will drive design quality, ensure buildability, and deliver efficient, cost-effective solutions. Your responsibilities will include:

• Managing permanent and temporary works designs for live projects and tender submissions.
• Working closely with tender and project teams to align and manage design expectations.
• Developing and maintaining design programmes and integrating them into the overall project programme.
• Fulfilling Designer duties for pre-construction activities in accordance with CDM Regulations.
• Contributing expert design input for tender submissions and providing technical guidance throughout project stages.
• Coordinating temporary works design requirements and managing the flow of design information between parties.

Essential Competencies & Experience:

• Degree-qualified in Architecture, Engineering, or Construction Management.
• Extensive design management experience within the construction industry, ideally with a main contractor.
• Strong ability to manage the full design lifecycle, from tender stage to project delivery.
• Excellent technical understanding of construction methodologies, buildability, and regulatory requirements.
• Proficiency in design and project management software (e.g., AutoCAD, Revit, MS Project).
• Exceptional organisation, multitasking, and time management skills.
• Strong communication and stakeholder coordination abilities.
• Proven capability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams.
• A proactive, solutions-oriented mindset with strong attention to detail.

Desirable Competencies & Attributes:

• Chartered status (e.g., RIBA, CIOB, ICE, CIAT) or working towards accreditation.
• Experience managing design outputs on major projects (£20m+).
• Knowledge of digital design technologies, BIM protocols, and common data environments.
• Strong understanding of temporary works coordination.
• Demonstrated ability to influence design outcomes to achieve value engineering and design efficiency.
• Experience working within fast-paced, highly collaborative contractor environments.
• A commitment to continuous improvement and driving innovation in design practice.

This job description is intended to give the post holder an appreciation of the role envisaged and the range of duties to be undertaken. It does not attempt to detail every activity. Specific tasks and objectives will be agreed with the post holder at regular intervals.

Our Commitment: At GRAHAM, we are proud to say that we are a committed Equal Opportunities Employer and we aim to be the first choice for people from all backgrounds. We seek to promote respect for the individual and equality of opportunities. We believe that everyone should be treated solely on the basis of personal merit and contribution throughout their GRAHAM career journey and not on the value of artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences.

If you require any adjustments or accommodations during the application or interview process, please let us know. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We are dedicated to making our policies and guidance accessible to all applicants and employees.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we guarantee an interview to disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for the role. If you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme, please contact Louise Hunter, Resourcing Manager.

We are only able to consider applications from individuals who are eligible to live and work in the UK, as per Home Office regulations. Please check your eligibility with the regulations before applying. Individuals with a current time restricted right to work in the UK should contact the Human Resources team in the first instance.

A basic disclosure may be requested if security clearance is required by 3rd party clients and a criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to obtaining a position. Our Access NI/Vetting and Barring Scheme Policy and Policy on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders is available upon request.

GRAHAM reserves the right to carry out checks to ensure the validity of an applicant’s experience and/or qualifications and we expect all applicants to comply with any such requests for information. Failure to do so or evidence of any falsification of information will lead to either removal from the recruitment process or if already in employment potential termination of contract through the company disciplinary procedure.