Senior Design Manager

Balfour; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading construction firm is seeking a Senior Design Manager to join their UKCS Scotland Buildings Team for a new Hospital build contract in Fort William. The ideal candidate will manage the design process, ensuring compliance with project requirements and budget constraints while delivering innovative solutions. This role demands strong leadership capabilities, a proven track record in design management within construction, and excellent communication skills. Competitive salary and opportunities for professional development are offered.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Professional development opportunities

Flexible working environment

Qualifications

• Proven experience in design management within a construction context.
• Experience delivering design strategies and managing design processes.
• Hands-on experience with bids in a competitive environment.

Responsibilities

• Manage design development and ensure compliance with project specifications.
• Collaborate with the design team and external parties to deliver project goals.
• Lead design reviews and manage stakeholder communication.

Skills

Experience in delivering design services

Strong leadership skills

Good interpersonal and communication skills

Knowledge of BIM

Numeracy and report writing

Education

Relevant Professional membership

Valid CSCS card

Tools

BIM tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

About The Role

Job Title: Senior Design Manager

Location: Fort William

Project Type: Buildings

Company: Balfour Beatty Group

Balfour Beatty are currently seeking an experienced Senior Design Manager to join our UKCS Scotland Buildings Team on a new Hospital build contract based in Fort William.

Balfour Beatty is a leading international infrastructure and construction group. We finance, develop, build, and maintain innovative and efficient projects that underpin daily life, support communities, and enable economic growth. Our unparalleled expertise and resources ensure that we deliver high-quality projects safely, on time, and within budget.

Now is a great time to join us. As a leading international construction group with a healthy pipeline of work, we’re growing our teams. Shape a career to be proud of as part of an award-winning team.

Our team shapes projects that connect communities and impact daily life for millions. Join our Regional Scotland team as a Senior Design Manager to build new futures.

Own your career, and you can build something to be proud of at Balfour Beatty. By joining our well-established construction teams working on our significant future pipeline of large-scale critical infrastructure projects in Scotland, you will work with true experts who will share their knowledge and provide support, encouragement, and invaluable feedback so you never stop learning. Bring us your capability, and we’ll help you take it much, much further.

What you’ll be doing

Our ideal candidate will primarily work to support the implementation and manage the control of the design process to ensure that the design and procurement of specialist packages are delivered to meet project requirements and are in line with cost parameters.

Key Accountabilities

• Utilising the suite of approved Regional Scotland Design Management documents, manage the design development and delivery of project information, noting the desire to generate complete, compliant, co‑ordinated and fully costed drawings and specifications (including CDP subcontractor input) to meet programme requirements.
• Manage and ensure effective briefing of the Design Team. This includes, where necessary, the management of any 3rd parties or novated design teams to ensure that they meet all customer specifications, and where necessary, checking the competence and resources of any incumbent design teams or 3rd parties.
• Manage the development and implementation of design proposals ensuring they meet customer requirements including budget constraints, presenting proposals for approval to the customer. The design should deliver:
• Safety in construction and use
• Quality within affordable parameters
• Ease of maintenance, energy efficiency with minimum environmental impact
• Innovation to meet customer goals and positive impact on the local community
• Provide advice and guidance on the “buildability” of the design proposals to the design and construction teams on all packages.
• Liaise with all statutory bodies/authorities as required – such as planning, building control including SER requirements.
• Lead the development and management of the design deliverables programme:
• Ensure there is a clear schedule of design deliverables
• Lead gate reviews activities to ensure that they are timely and appropriate sign off is achieved at each project gate to include appropriate communication to Bid Managers and other Design/Work Winning team members as required,
• Lead the co-ordination and production of design data, bid deliverables, reports and documentation essential to the project and contractual requirements and report progress against the design deliverables programme.
• Lead the implementation of the project BIM deliverables, including teamwork and collaboration and the management and sharing of data relating to BIM models – all in collaboration with the Regional Digital team.
• Liaise with our BIM management during the bid and construction stages ensuring the supply chain is fully aware of BIM requirements
• Consider the application of Lean construction techniques in order to save money, reduce waste and optimise construction.
• Ensure that learning and best practice is captured from the bid/project with the aim of sharing it across the Regional business.
• Proactively contribute to the Risk and Value Management process
• Live the Balfour Beatty Values
• Ensure a relentless focus on Zero Harm
• Support the delivery of UKCS’s Sustainability activities.

Who we’re looking for

Talk Positively: You are passionate about what you do, talk with pride and enthusiasm about the Balfour Beatty business, our colleagues, our industry, and our future.

Collaborate Relentlessly: You share ideas and expertise, build connections and work with your team to drive performance and strengthen relationships.

Encourage Constantly: You nurture a supportive environment, empowering, motivating and inspiring colleagues with regular and powerful feedback.

Make a Difference: You challenge yourself to always have a positive impact, find solutions and stand up and be counted when it matters.

This role requires an individual with proven experience in delivering design services within a Site Based and Work Winning environment and successfully implementing design strategies as well as relevant project experience.

Leadership skills in a matrix organisation are required to deliver design services in a timely manner with a customer and business sector specific focus. Good interpersonal and communication skills are required, coupled with an ability to form effective relationships with partners under time pressure. The individual will know ‘what good looks like’ in bid submissions and work winning and have hands on experience of delivering work-winning bids in a timely manner.

Understanding and experience of site based activities and the key role that design management plays in effective project delivery.

Good working knowledge of BIM is required. The individual will have experience within the most current forms of procurement.

Relevant Professional membership with an appropriate institute. A valid CSCS card is a requirement.

Excellent IT Skills relevant to the Regional Business are desirable. Detailed knowledge of codes of practice and other regulatory material, applicable to the Regional Business.

The individual should have a desire to continuously pursue innovation and development, with a focus on the customer and the relevant Business Stream.

Numeracy and bid/report writing is a requirement.

Why work for us

• Be part of a major energy infrastructure investment that’s shaping the UK’s low‑carbon future.
• Work on challenging, high‑profile projects with the support of a skilled, multi‑disciplinary team.
• Join a culture of learning, improvement, and excellence—where your voice makes a difference.
• Enjoy a competitive salary, development opportunities, and a flexible, inclusive working environment.

Professional and personal development

The size and scale of Balfour Beatty coupled with our strong pipeline of work provides incredible opportunities, regardless of what stage you are at in your career.

We encourage and empower our employees to take control of their career and explore which part of the business they want to work in and what role is right for them. We actively encourage our managers and employees to have open communication throughout the year about wellbeing, development and career opportunities.

We're proud of the Balfour Beatty Academy. Whether it’s sharpening your technical expertise, improving your personal skills or seeking support to become professionally qualified, our 70:20:10* approach to development means we have a learning approach that suits everyone.

• 70% learning on the job, 20% learning from those around you, and 10% formal training courses and learning events.

About Us

From Dunfermline’s tramways in 1909 to highland hospitals today, Balfour Beatty has been trusted for over a century to deliver the complex and critical infrastructure and iconic buildings Scotland relies on.

We have the people, knowledge and experience to safely deliver projects right first time, maximising value for money and ensuring a positive social impact and inclusive economic growth for local communities.

Our award‑winning sustainable projects, including active travel, Passivhaus and retrofit, demonstrate our commitment to supporting Scotland’s transition towards net zero in the built environment.

Diversity and inclusion

At Balfour Beatty we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone is able to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. To find out how we are making this a reality, visit www.balfourbeatty.com/diversityandinclusion.

To help and support us with our desired commitment to create an inclusive culture we are members of WISE, ENEI, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also a Gold Award holder in the Ministry of Defence ‘Employer Recognition Scheme’ and actively encourage applications from Armed Forces personnel, veterans and reservists.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to working with people who have disabilities and long‑term health conditions to remove barriers for them in obtaining employment. We are also committed to offering applicants with a disability an interview if they meet the minimum requirements for the role. For more info, visit: https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/.

We are looking to continually improve our resourcing process and ensure that it is fair and inclusive for all. If you have any feedback on the process, please share this with us at: [e-mail].

For further information about Balfour Beatty Regional Scotland please go to www.balfourbeatty.com/careers/Scotland – You can also check out further job opportunities in the careers section.