Design Manager

We are currently recruiting for an experienced Design Manager with specialist water industry expertise to join a tier-one engineering leader. In this role, you will lead the design function for a major, high-profile water supply works upgrade in the Hampshire area, focused on enhancing local water resilience, pumping stations, and large-scale filtration assets. This is a long-term contract position that can pay outside ir35.

As Design Manager, you will take full ownership of the design process from initial concept through to construction handover, ensuring all solutions are innovative, cost-effective, and fully compliant. Your day-to-day will involve:

• Design Leadership: Managing and coordinating multi-disciplinary design teams (process, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering) to ensure a fully integrated project delivery.

• Programme & Delivery: Driving the design programme to meet critical milestones, managing design risks, and ensuring buildability is embedded early in the process.

• Value Engineering: Reviewing technical solutions to optimize asset performance, reduce carbon impact, and identify cost-saving efficiencies across the works.

• Change & Compliance: Managing design changes, technical queries (RFIs), and ensuring full alignment with strict client specifications and asset standards.

• Stakeholder Management: Acting as the primary design interface between the client's engineering teams, operations personnel, and supply chain partners.

Due to the technical complexity and specific nature of this water infrastructure programme, we can only consider candidates who meet the following criteria:

• Water Industry Expertise: Extensive experience working as a Design Manager within the UK water sector (clean water infrastructure, water supply works, rapid gravity filtration, or pumping stations is highly advantageous).

• Tier-1 Contractor Foundation: A proven track record of delivering complex, multi-million-pound engineering design packages within a main contractor or joint venture environment.

• Technical Background: A degree or equivalent qualification in Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, or Process Engineering, backed by strong technical literacy.

• Commercial Awareness: Clear understanding of how design influences procurement, construction staging, and commercial contract frameworks (NEC).

• Location Ready: Commutable to the Hampshire site / regional office for required collaborative design workshops and site reviews.

Randstad CPE values diversity and promotes equality. No terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate against any of the protected characteristics that fall under the Equality Act 2010. We encourage and welcome applications from all sections of society and are more than happy to discuss reasonable adjustments and/or additional arrangements as required to support your application.

Candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK.

For the purposes of the Conduct Regulations 2003, when advertising permanent vacancies we are acting as an Employment Agency, and when advertising temporary/contract vacancies we are acting as an Employment Business.