The Opportunity
Our client, an established M&E engineering specialist based in Wigan, is looking for a Design Manager to lead their design function.
Lead the whole design function on education, healthcare, local authority and transport work, for a client base built on long-term public sector relationships and repeat framework projects.
You would own mechanical and electrical design quality, standards and output across live projects. Most of the design itself is produced by external consultants, so the role is about setting the brief, appointing and managing the right consultants, reviewing what comes back and holding it to programme and standard, alongside acting as the senior design point of contact for clients and main contractors. It is a role with real scope to shape how the design function operates, working closely with pre-construction, estimating and delivery rather than in isolation.
The client is open on level: as well as established design managers, they will consider a senior design engineer ready to make the step up into design management for the first time.
This is a permanent role in Wigan, £70,000 to £80,000 depending on experience, plus a full benefits package.
About the Business
Public sector and framework work changes what a design function is for. When the same clients come back, the standards, templates and details you set get used again rather than rebuilt from scratch, so the value of getting them right compounds. That is a large part of why this role exists, and why it carries the BIM and CAD standards alongside the projects.
The range of scale is unusual as well. Smaller, fast-turnaround schemes run alongside multi-million-pound projects, which means the design function has to work at two very different tempos at once and hold quality across both.
What You'll Be Doing
Setting the design standards and ensuring consistent quality across all design output, whether produced internally or by external consultants
Appointing and managing external design consultants, setting scopes and briefs and holding them to programme, budget and quality
Building and maintaining a reliable consultant panel, so the right resource is available as the pipeline changes
Taking design deliverables from concept through to construction, ensuring technical accuracy and buildability
Acting as the senior design point of contact for clients, main contractors and consultants
Reviewing and approving design output before issue, maintaining rigorous quality control
Supporting the pre-construction and estimating teams with design input at bid stage
Maintaining and developing BIM and CAD standards, templates and workflows across the design function
Working closely with delivery teams to resolve design queries and support constructability throughout installation
What We're Looking For
A strong mechanical or electrical design background within building services, with experience owning design quality and output across multiple projects
Comfortable managing and reviewing design produced by external consultants
Confident engaging directly with clients and main contractors on technical and design matters
Strong working knowledge of Revit, AutoCAD and BIM coordination processes
Degree, HNC/HND or equivalent in Mechanical or Electrical Building Services Engineering
Full UK driving licence
Experience of education, healthcare or wider public sector design work is a strong advantage, and chartership or working towards it is welcomed, though neither is essential.
This does not need to be a move sideways. If you are a senior or principal design engineer who has been coordinating consultants and holding quality on other people's output already, the client is open to that step up.
•Owning how the design function operates, from consultant selection through to standards
•Ownership of design quality, standards and output across every live project
•The senior design point of contact for clients and main contractors
•Sat alongside pre-construction, estimating and delivery
•A production design role. The output is coordinated and approved, not drawn
•A design lead with no say in who produces the work
•A function that runs in isolation from the bid and delivery teams
•A place where BIM and CAD standards are someone else’s problem
What's on Offer
Leadership of the design function, with real scope to shape how it operates
Variety of scale, from fast-turnaround schemes through to multi-million-pound projects
An established business with in-house delivery and estimating capability supporting the design function
How to Apply
Apply using the button below, or contact Mike Halliwell directly for a discreet conversation.