Senior Design Manager

Are you a Senior Design Manager looking for your next opportunity in the East Midlands?

Atkins Search are proud to be working with a well-established, privately owned main contractor with a strong presence across the UK, known for delivering high-quality, design-led construction projects across the commercial, residential, education, MOD, healthcare and mixed-use sectors.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a contractor with a strong reputation for technical delivery, innovation and a collaborative working culture.

Based in Derby, our client is a well-established construction main contractor with over 50 years of proven delivery across the Midlands. They pride themselves on the quality of their work, delivering varied and interesting construction projects across the Midlands. With a large portfolio of schemes, our client operates across MOD facilities, healthcare developments, MOJ projects, commercial builds and industrial sectors, with the client at the focus of their approach.

As Senior Design Manager, you will lead the coordination and delivery of design activities across both pre-construction and live project phases. You will play a central role in managing design intent, ensuring buildability, compliance and quality from concept through to completion.

You will be the key link between the client, consultants, internal teams and specialist subcontractors -driving collaboration, programme certainty and the integration of innovative and sustainable design solutions.

As a Senior Design Manager in Nottingham, your responsibilities will include (but not limited to):

• Lead the design process across one or more live or pre-construction projects
• Coordinate design consultants and specialist subcontractors to ensure timely, high-quality output
• Manage the design programme, RFI processes, document control and change management
• Ensure compliance with Building Regulations, CDM, the Building Safety Act and planning conditions
• Promote and embed Safety in Design (SiD) principles and risk mitigation strategies
• Oversee BIM coordination, clash detection and design audits
• Support tender submissions, value engineering exercises and buildability reviews
• Represent the business in client and design team meetings, ensuring strong communication and issue resolution
• Contribute to internal design reviews, lessons learned and continuous improvement initiatives
• Mentor and support junior members of the design and technical team

To be successful in this Senior Design Manager role, you will ideally demonstrate the following:

• Proven experience as a Design Manager or Senior Design Manager in a main contracting environment
• Strong knowledge of construction methodologies, building regulations and statutory approvals
• Experience working on design and build projects across sectors such as residential, education, commercial, MOJ/MOD or healthcare
• Ability to lead multi-disciplinary design teams and coordinate specialist subcontractors
• Familiarity with BIM workflows and digital design management tools
• Excellent communication, organisational and stakeholder management skills
• Relevant construction-related qualifications (degree/HNC or equivalent)

A comprehensive and competitive package is on offer, which includes:

• Car allowance or company vehicle
• Private healthcare
• Enhanced pension contributions
• Bonus scheme
• Generous holiday entitlement
• Ongoing professional training and development
• Laptop, phone and other relevant tools
• Supportive and collaborative working environment

Apply Now: Senior Design Manager Job in Nottingham

Ready to progress your design management career in Nottingham? Apply today to join our client and work on some of the most exciting construction projects.

Atkins Search acts as an employment agency for the Built Environment including but not limited to Construction, Consultancy, Residential and Infrastructure sectors. By submitting your CV, you consent to Atkins Search processing your personal data in line with our Privacy Policy. At Atkins Search, we welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to providing equal opportunities for everyone throughout the recruitment process. Please note that any salary or benefits listed are indicative only and subject to suitability of skills and experience.