Drainage and Water Design Manager

Kier Group plc; Salford; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - GBP 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading engineering consultancy is seeking a Drainage and Water Design Manager to oversee a talented team and manage a £3m portfolio of services. The role requires strong leadership and communication skills to support project delivery and client relationships in Building & Development, Transportation, and Water sectors. Applicants should have experience in managing complex projects and hold a full UK driving licence. Remote working is available with occasional travel required.

Benefits

Wide variety of benefits tailored to needs

Diversity and inclusion initiatives

Qualifications

• Experience leading and developing design teams with a supportive leadership style.
• Skilled at managing programmes and budgets across complex engineering projects.
• Excellent relationship-building and communication abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead and nurture multiple design teams across different locations.
• Manage programmes, budgets, and risks across project portfolios.
• Build and maintain strategic client relationships.

Skills

Leading design teams

Managing programmes and budgets

Relationship building

High-quality engineering solutions

Communication skills

Job description

Overview

We are looking for a Drainage and Water Design Manager to join our Design team based in Exeter, Ipswich, Salford, Speke, or Wymondham. Kier Design is a top-25 engineering consultancy delivering a wide range of services across all sectors of the built environment, providing construction-focused, innovative and sustainable solutions. We have preferential access to Kier's £11bn+ project pipeline, including mega projects like High Speed 2 and Hinkley Point C, frameworks with national and local government and other public bodies, and a range of other interesting projects in every sector of the built environment.

Location: Exeter, Ipswich, Salford, Speke, or Wymondham — remote working available, with occasional travel to the office required.

Hours: 37.5 hours per week — some flexibility on hours available if desired, just let us know when you speak to us.

Note: We are unable to offer certificates of sponsorship to any candidates in this role.

What you will be responsible for

As a Drainage and Water Design Manager, you'll be working within the Drainage and Water team, supporting them in delivering a £3m portfolio of Drainage & Water services. You'll lead a talented 35-person team across multiple locations, ensuring we deliver high-quality solutions that nurture client relationships and foster growth across our Building & Development, Transportation, and Water projects. Your day to day will include:

• Leading and nurturing multiple design teams across different locations, providing mentorship and fostering collaboration
• Managing programmes, budgets, and risks across complex project portfolios
• Building and maintaining strategic client relationships to support growth and service development
• Ensuring design outputs meet quality standards, regulations, and client expectations
• Driving innovation and improvement initiatives, enhancing our capabilities and efficiency

What we are looking for

This role of Drainage and Water Design Manager is great for you if:

• You have experience leading and developing design teams, with a caring and supportive leadership style
• You're skilled at managing programmes, budgets, and risks across complex engineering projects
• Have excellent relationship-building abilities and communication skills
• Delivered or delivering high-quality engineering solutions in Building & Development, Transportation, or Water sectors
• Hold a full UK driving licence and can travel to our various team locations when needed

Rewards and benefits

We"re proud to be able to offer our brilliant people a wide variety of benefits that you can tailor to your needs. You can see more information about benefits in the company materials.

Diversity and inclusion

Making Kier a diverse and inclusive place to work is a huge priority for us. We"re proud of the steps we have taken so far, but we know we must always do more. Our employees are key in shaping Kier's diversity and inclusion initiatives and our people have made a huge impact on how we work, by using their experiences to shape our policies. As a Disability Confident employer, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this role will be offered an interview.

We look forward to seeing your application to #joinkier