Design Manager

About JJ Rhatigan Company: JJ Rhatigan Company is a main building contractor with over 70 years’ experience delivering high-quality, sustainable projects across Ireland and the UK. We specialise in residential, commercial, education, healthcare, and mixed-use developments, delivered with innovation, integrity, and a commitment to excellence.

The Role: We are seeking an experienced Design Manager to join our growing UK delivery team. You will play a key role in managing and coordinating the design process across complex UK projects, typically ranging from £20m to £100m+, from pre-construction through to design close-out.

Key Duties And Responsibilities:

• Manage the design process across live and pre-construction projects, ensuring all design information is fully coordinated between consultants, subcontractors and internal teams.
• Engage in pre-construction activities, working closely with the estimating and commercial teams to review tender documentation, identify design risks, opportunities, assumptions and cost impacts, and support bid de-risking.
• Manage the production of design with full awareness of commercial, contractual and programme constraints, ensuring designs are within budget, buildable and aligned with procurement and construction strategies.
• Prepare, manage and maintain the Design Programme / Information Release Schedule (IRS), ensuring alignment with construction and procurement programmes and proactively flagging risks or delays.
• Chair and manage Design Team Meetings and design workshops, driving consultant performance and ensuring clear actions, responsibilities and close-out periods are agreed and tracked.
• Produce and maintain key design management documents and trackers, including (but not limited to): Design Programme / IRS, Design Responsibility Matrix, Design Risk Opportunity Schedule, Planning Condition Tracker, Building Control and Warranty Trackers, Design Change / Change Control Tracker, Design Fee and Consultant Payment Schedules.
• Coordinate the appointment of the Design Delivery Team, including preparing and issuing consultant scope packages, design deliverables, programme requirements and responsibility matrices.
• Ensure all design outputs are thoroughly reviewed and coordinated, with “For Construction” information issued to the required standard and aligned with tender allowances and Employer’s Requirements.
• Drive health, safety and buildability considerations throughout the design process, actively reducing risk both in the final design and during construction.
• Manage consultant performance and design fee payments against agreed milestones, reviewing invoices prior to commercial approval.
• Lead the design close-out process, ensuring timely discharge of planning conditions, building control and warranty requirements, completion of as-built information, OM manuals, testing, certifications and final approvals.
• Produce regular design reports and contribute to internal Design Review Meetings, working closely with the Regional Design Lead to resolve issues and maintain programme certainty.

Skills Experience Required:

• Proven experience as a Design Manager within a main contractor environment in the UK or Ireland.
• Strong understanding of UK construction processes, planning conditions, building regulations, warranties and design management best practice.
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams and projects simultaneously in a fast-paced delivery environment.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to challenge design development against budget and buildability.
• Excellent coordination, communication and stakeholder management skills, with confidence leading multidisciplinary design teams.
• Experience managing design programmes, information release schedules and change control processes.
• High level of attention to detail and a methodical, organised approach to design delivery.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and experience using Procore or similar document and project management platforms.
• Ability to mentor and develop junior team members and contribute positively to team culture.

Qualifications:

• BTEC, HNC/HND or Degree in Construction Management, Architecture, Building Studies or a related discipline (or equivalent industry experience).
• Minimum 5 years’ experience managing elements of construction projects, with demonstrable design management responsibility.

What JJ Rhatigan Can Offer You:

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Clear career progression and ongoing training, CPD and professional development.
• Opportunities to work on complex, high-profile UK residential and mixed-use projects.
• A collaborative, forward-thinking environment within a growing UK business.

If you are a driven Design Manager looking to play a key role in delivering high-quality UK projects, we would love to hear from you.

JJ Rhatigan Company is an equal opportunities employer.