Design Manager

About the role

Design Manager - Balfour Beatty (@one Alliance)

Location: Peterborough (Hybrid working available)

Balfour Beatty play a key role as part of the {(6) Anglian Water's @one Alliance: Overview | LinkedIn} @Anglian Water's one Alliance. The Alliance is a ground-breaking collaboration between Anglian Water and eight industry-leading partners: Balfour Beatty, Barhale, Binnies, MMB, MWH Treatment, Skanska and SWECO. And together, we deliver around 40% of Anglian Water's capital investment programme.

As we progress through AMP8 - our most ambitious asset management period to date - we're delivering nature-based and sustainable infrastructure, from wetlands to urban drainage schemes, setting new benchmarks for environmental performance.

As our new Design Manager, you'll lead a talented multi-disciplinary team of around 15-20 engineers, delivering innovative design solutions across a varied portfolio of potable water projects.

From treatment works upgrades and groundwater abstraction schemes to critical maintenance and emergency response projects, you'll play a key role in shaping the solutions that provide safe, reliable water to millions of customers. You'll have the opportunity to influence strategy, develop people, champion innovation and help drive sustainable outcomes as we deliver one of the UK's largest water investment programmes.

What you'll be doing

Key Accountabilities

Design Management

• Lead and inspire a multi-disciplinary engineering team, creating a positive and high-performing culture.


• Oversee the delivery of engineering design solutions across a diverse portfolio of water non-infrastructure projects.


• Develop and manage Engineering Project Plans covering scope, programme, risk, cost and resourcing.


• Work with Senior Discipline Engineers to identify and develop the most effective treatment and process solutions.


• Ensure design quality standards are met through a right-first-time approach.


• Manage and integrate supplier and subcontractor design activities to ensure successful project delivery.

Project Delivery

• Collaborate with project delivery, commercial and operational teams to achieve outstanding project outcomes.


• Drive value, affordability and efficiency throughout the design process.


• Support project programmes to ensure milestones and objectives are achieved.


• Deliver designs that support sustainability ambitions and improve environmental performance.

Health & Safety

• Undertake delegated Principal Designer responsibilities in accordance with CDM regulations.


• Lead the development and management of design risk assessments.


• Ensure health and safety considerations are embedded throughout the design process.


• Support the development and assessment of CDM competence across your team.

People & Team Development

• Lead, coach and develop your team, helping individuals achieve their full potential.


• Create opportunities for professional growth and career development.


• Manage performance, objectives and resource allocation across the portfolio.


• Support recruitment and talent development to build future capability within the business.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Drive engineering excellence through innovation and continuous improvement.


• Champion digital engineering tools and modern ways of working.


• Support the engineering transformation journey through AMP8.


• Promote sustainable design practices that reduce carbon and enhance natural capital outcomes.

Who we're looking for

To be successful in this role, you will have

• Ideally A degree in an engineering discipline, and Chartered Engineer status, or be working towards Chartered status.


• Experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams and delivering complex design solutions.


• Knowledge of the UK water sector, ideally including potable water treatment and non-infrastructure projects.


• Strong leadership and people management skills, with the ability to motivate and develop high-performing teams.


• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate across disciplines.


• A strong understanding of quality assurance, risk management and delivering projects safely and right first time.


• Experience managing design programmes, resources and project priorities.


• A passion for innovation, continuous improvement and embracing new technologies.


• A commitment to sustainable engineering and delivering solutions that benefit customers, communities and the environment.

Why work for us

Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK's most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.

Why join us?

As if contributing to and supporting work that makes life better for millions wasn't rewarding enough, we offer a full range of benefits too. You'll have the freedom to shape the package that's right for you and your life. Here are some of our key benefits:

- Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.
- 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata)
- Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave
- Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more...

About us

Balfour Beatty's Highways business delivers major schemes including motorway upgrade programmes, complex national infrastructure projects and regional investment programme works for National Highways. We have a strong orderbook and a positive pipeline of opportunities, we put the road user, at the heart of everything we do. We work safely, reduce carbon emissions and added social value to the communities within which we work.

Diversity and inclusion

At Balfour Beatty, we want everyone to be able to thrive and achieve their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. We're making great progress through our Value Everyone DEI Action Plan, but we know we've got more to do. Find out more about our values and DEI initiatives.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this role will be offered an interview.

We are committed to our processes being barrier-free and will support adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Please let the recruiter for this role know if you require any adjustments.

We're looking to continually improve our recruitment process, so if you have any feedback, please share this with us via candidaterecruitmentenquiries@balfourbeatty.com