Company Description

Work with Us. Change the World.

At AECOM, we're delivering a better world. Whether improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water, or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive. We are the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world’s most complex challenges and build legacies for future generations.

There has never been a better time to be at AECOM. With accelerating infrastructure investment worldwide, our services are in great demand. We invite you to bring your bold ideas and big dreams and become part of a global team of over 50,000 planners, designers, engineers, scientists, digital innovators, program and construction managers and other professionals delivering projects that create a positive and tangible impact around the world.

We're one global team driven by our common purpose to deliver a better world. Join us.

Job Description

Core Duties

• Design Management: Undertake the role of Lead Design Manager on projects across the UK and Internationally – typically one or more moderately complex projects – often supported by a team of more junior staff.

• Internal management: Undertake a management function within the Design Management team – supporting the Leadership team, and assisting in the development of the team in-line with the business plan and strategic vision.

• Team growth and development: Assist in the development of the Design Management team members, capability, and knowledge base, through mentoring, training, and reviews.

• Quality assurance: Review of work outputs from Design Management team prior to issue to ensure quality and compliance with contractual obligations.

• Commercial project manager: Become certified in management of AECOM financial processes and invoicing, ensuring projects are run with commercial acumen, meeting budgets and expectations of the business.

• Relationship management: This is a Client and technical-discipline-facing role, therefore skills in maintaining and developing both internal and external relationships.

Within AECOM and the team:

• Work closely with the team Leadership – the Design Management Directors, as well as regional and sector leads – to help manage the Design Management team across the UK.

• Support the Leadership team in their roles and undertake duties such as business development, team performance reviews etc. as required.

• Gain an understanding  of  the  Leadership team’s roles  and  responsibilities  and  when  required, supplement and deputise in their absence.

• Contribute to the DM business planning as required.

• Support the continuous review of business planning targets to monitor progress of the team.

• Develop a strong network within AECOM across teams and disciplines, leading to exceptional project delivery quality for our clients.

With our Clients and our project teams:

Where necessary play a hands-on role in the successful delivery of our projects, undertaking all design management duties including but not limited to:

Managing Sub-consultants

• Prepare responsibility matrix to identify sub-consultant responsibility for each area of scope.

• Draft and distribute sub-consultant back-to-back contracts so that all scope is accounted for.

• Manage updates to sub-consultant contracts and prepare final documents.

• Prepare and update cash flow projections.

• Establish procedures for invoice submission for sub-consultants and monitor.

• Track and report on the progress of all sub-consultant invoices and prepare a monthly Financial Report.

Establish and Manage Design Procedures

• Establish and implement design procedures and protocols to be followed by the Design Team necessary for successful project delivery.

• Procedures shall be collated in a project handbook called ‘Design Team Procedures’ or equivalent. The Design Team Procedures document will include information such as organisation charts, Project Directory, communication routes etc. The document should be communicated to the entire project team.

• Management of any information exchange including monitoring of deliverables issued by sub-consultants to determine whether submittals are as per agreed scopes.

Monitoring Design Schedule and Progress

• Produce an integrated design schedule following liaison with all Design Team members and including key milestones laid out by the Client. Internal milestones, co-ordination sequences and delivery dates will be shown.

• Monitor design progress and identify areas of risk/ concern that are approaching.

• Identification of design deliverables, who they will be prepared by and when they need to be delivered.

Documentation and Deliverables

• Prepare reports in the necessary format as required.

• Monitor and collate comments from the Client on design submission and manage responses from the Design Team.

• Track and monitor status of all comments affecting design stage and final close-out.

• Prepare and maintain drawing register.

• Manage project websites where necessary.

Monitor and control project finances

• Agree discipline specific fees (underpinned by robust resource schedules) based on defined scope, deliverables and schedule

• Implement EVM systems and monitor/report on performance

• Act as AECOM internal Project Manager

   Organising Project Meetings and the Decision-Making Process

• Prepare and agree with the Lead Designer a schedule for all project workshops and meetings, including a preliminary outline agenda, location etc.

• Prepare in advance a formal timetable and agenda for all project workshops and obtain all necessary input from the Design Team to ensure all key issues are addressed.

• Prepare and issue minutes of all major project workshops and meetings, circulate these minutes for comment before formal issue to the Client where applicable.

• Chair Design Team meetings where required.

• Establish and implement procedures and processes to assist in the briefing, information gathering and client sign off process such as Stakeholder Engagement Plans, Request for Information (RFI) systems and approval procedures. Roles and responsibilities of decision makers are to be clearly identified.

The team you’ll join

The team are a multi-faceted group of 60 professionals situated across the UK, organised geographically into regional teams. The team operate and service clients/projects in all sectors, and all geographies, most notably including UK, Europe, and Middle East. The team members have varied backgrounds, including architecture, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, project management, and of course design management. The team is highly diverse across all characteristics – something we strive for - and they are all passionate about design and delivery of projects in the built environment. Complementing our team of Design Managers, we have a team of Information Managers and BIM experts, helping us deploy industry best practice management solutions and driving modernisation of design project delivery.

The Design Management team sit closely aligned with our Project Management, Cost Management, Programme Management, and Programme Advisory services, collated under our Global Program Management offer. Our Design Management team sits within our Buildings + Places global business line, and supports our other business lines including Environment, Water, and Energy (EWE), Transportation, and Program Management.

You would likely join the team based in the South of England regional group, within commuting range of London. You will notionally be joining a new aviation-sector project we are to commence, leading the Design Management function for a project within the client’s organisation.

Some recent project examples: UK tertiary education campus programme, UK Parliament infrastructure redevelopment design project, various significant UK airport design programmes, UK Ministry of Defence new build projects, Middle East sporting and concert venue projects, Middle East cultural heritage projects, global new city masterplan projects, European data centre delivery project, UK new-build harbour design project, UK rail projects linked to HS2, and many more.

https://aecom.com/uk/services/property-solutions/design-management/ and https://aecom.com/uk/services/program-management/ to find out more.

Qualifications

The jobholder will be expected to display a range of competencies, both behavioural and technical in undertaking the role. These are included in the Design Management Induction Plan. Due to the functional role of a Design Manager, they will be expected to convey a positive attitude whilst maintaining the highest standards in undertaking their work and acting with integrity and professionalism at all times.

Essential:

• Design: a deep interest in and understanding of the design process, focussed in the built environment.  

• Design management: Experience in development and implementation of design management tools and procedures. 

• Communication skills: Excellent written, verbal, and presentational skills.  

• Project management: Project management controls skills and design scheduling skills.  

• Commercial control: commercial awareness of projects and understanding of the importance of commercial outcomes in a business setting. 

• Attention to detail: a strong focus and attention to detail during the design and delivery process, helping us drive project success with timely Design Management intervention.

• Independence: ability to work mostly independently with some instruction on specific assignments, objectives, complex features and possible solutions

• Team skills: ability to work within a diverse team of design and project professionals of varied skillsets, background, and knowledge areas.

• Software packages: Proficiency in MS Office suite – Project/Excel/PowerPoint/Word.

Desirable:

• Construction knowledge/experience. 

• Experience of working alongside Design Teams in a range of sectors.

• Aviation sector design project experience

• Late-stage project delivery experience.

• Infrastructure project experience.

• Experience working as a Design Manager for a contractor, in a commercially rigorous environment.

• High complexity project experience, with complex interfacing relating to services and infrastructure.

• Buried asset, and/or utilities, and/or MEP services, and/or tunnelling project experience.

• Commercial project management experience.

• Scheduling software experience e.g. Primavera P6

• Line management / team management experience.

• Chartering or incorporation with an appropriate professional institution.

• A background and training in engineering or architectural design / project delivery e.g. a design related degree, or equivalent career experience.

• Experience working in secure environments including but not limited to, UK aviation and airports, UK MOD sites, UK Parliament sites, UK defence sites – and an ability to secure the appropriate levels of clearance and vetting where required.

• Further job-specific qualifications in the field of Design Management and Project Management e.g. APM PFQ, PMQ, PMI, etc.

• Situated in the Midlands or South of England, commutable to the Greater London regional office in Aldgate, East London

Evidence of these capabilities and values being displayed will be reviewed continuously as part of career progress reviews with your line manager, as well as at year end through our ‘Performance & Rewards’ review process. Goals, progress against goals, and training and development requirements will be discussed and agreed with the team to enable further career development.

Qualifications

The jobholder will be expected to display a range of competencies, both behavioural and technical in undertaking the role. These are included in the Design Management Induction Plan. Due to the functional role of a Design Manager, they will be expected to convey a positive attitude whilst maintaining the highest standards in undertaking their work and acting with integrity and professionalism at all times.

Essential:

• Design: a deep interest in and understanding of the design process, focussed in the built environment.  

• Design management: Experience in development and implementation of design management tools and procedures. 

• Communication skills: Excellent written, verbal, and presentational skills.  

• Project management: Project management controls skills and design scheduling skills.  

• Commercial control: commercial awareness of projects and understanding of the importance of commercial outcomes in a business setting. 

• Attention to detail: a strong focus and attention to detail during the design and delivery process, helping us drive project success with timely Design Management intervention.

• Independence: ability to work mostly independently with some instruction on specific assignments, objectives, complex features and possible solutions

• Team skills: ability to work within a diverse team of design and project professionals of varied skillsets, background, and knowledge areas.

• Software packages: Proficiency in MS Office suite – Project/Excel/PowerPoint/Word.

Desirable:

• Construction knowledge/experience. 

• Experience of working alongside Design Teams in a range of sectors.

• Aviation sector design project experience

• Late-stage project delivery experience.

• Infrastructure project experience.

• Experience working as a Design Manager for a contractor, in a commercially rigorous environment.

• High complexity project experience, with complex interfacing relating to services and infrastructure.

• Buried asset, and/or utilities, and/or MEP services, and/or tunnelling project experience.

• Commercial project management experience.

• Scheduling software experience e.g. Primavera P6

• Line management / team management experience.

• Chartering or incorporation with an appropriate professional institution.

• A background and training in engineering or architectural design / project delivery e.g. a design related degree, or equivalent career experience.

• Experience working in secure environments including but not limited to, UK aviation and airports, UK MOD sites, UK Parliament sites, UK defence sites – and an ability to secure the appropriate levels of clearance and vetting where required.

• Further job-specific qualifications in the field of Design Management and Project Management e.g. APM PFQ, PMQ, PMI, etc.

• Situated in the Midlands or South of England, commutable to the Greater London regional office in Aldgate, East London

Evidence of these capabilities and values being displayed will be reviewed continuously as part of career progress reviews with your line manager, as well as at year end through our ‘Performance & Rewards’ review process. Goals, progress against goals, and training and development requirements will be discussed and agreed with the team to enable further career development.

Additional Information

About AECOM

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $14.4 billion in fiscal year 2023. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion – a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation and benefits programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We also provide a robust global well-being program. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

ReqID: J10108170

Business Line: Building Engineering

Business Group: DCS

Strategic Business Unit: Europe & India

Career Area: Program & Project Management

Work Location Model: Hybrid