Senior Design Manager

Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom

5/12/2025

Job Description

Costain have won extensive work across the water sector this year to support the AMP 8 investment cycle. We have been appointed by Northumbrian Water to the Living Water Enterprise to help shape and deliver its strategic infrastructure upgrade programme. We are looking for an experienced Senior Design Manager to join the Framework team and drive quality design delivery.

Reporting to the Principal Design Manager you will be responsible for the design delivery of water projects on the Northumbrian Water (NWL) AMP8 Framework. Adopting a hybrid working model you will split your time between the Newcastle project office, NWL Durham offices, design partner offices, NWL sites and home as required.

You will have experience working within the water sector, in either Mechanical, Electrical ICA or Civils disciplines in maintenance, design, or capital delivery roles. You should be a motivated team player, with the ability to work collaboratively with multiple teams to deliver production thinking carbon efficient design solutions.

You should also demonstrate a thorough understanding of design delivery, design procurement, design management, design control, quality assurance, BIM to ISO 19650 and have a working knowledge of the NEC4 suite of contracts.

Responsibilities

• Identify design scope and deliverables
• Support the development and agreements of design scopes, programme and budgets
• Management of the allocated design partner and project teams to delivery against agreed design deliverables, programmes & budgets
• Management of the design contract and co-ordination of reporting aligned to the Framework requirements
• Ensure design compliance with NWL, industry and Costain standards; ensuring necessary derogations are secured as required. Challenge design solutions to ensure a safe, efficient and buildable design, considering DfMA and low carbon solutions which meet the Client’s affordability challenges
• Co-ordinate and manage design risk, buildability, carbon and DfMA workshops (amongst others)
• Coordination and management of design reviews, technical assurance reviews and CDM reviews
• Ensure design is implemented and managed aligned to the project BIM strategy
• Support the framework nominated principal design partner and their interface with the wider project and Enterprise teams
• Be conversant with current legislation, especially that which applies to health and safety, which is relevant to tasks being carried out
• Promote the business in a professional manner to both external and internal persons or organisations
• Maintain and grow professional working relationships with the design team, delivery team, commercial team, and employer team and communicate well with them
• Liaise closely with other members of the Framework team to support procurement decision making for each package of work, which will include the Costain Project Manager, Commercial Manager, the Lead Design Consultant, MEICA lead and any respective supply chain partners
• Adhere to the Costain governance in relation to design management and project delivery
  
  

Essential

QUALIFICATIONS

• Civil engineering qualification and practical delivery experience
• Good organisational skills
• Effective communication and strong stakeholder management skills
• Passionate about improving performance in the sector through best practice, process improvements and continuous improvement practices
• Able to work and learn quickly in a fast paced, fun and dynamic environment
• Care about doing a great job and exceeding expectations
• Previous experience of management on complex/sensitive programmes
• Practical experience working with NEC 4 contracts
• A positive and proactive attitude
• SMSTS
• CSCS
• Full UK driving licence
  
  

Desirable

• Experience of water industry working
• Chartered Engineer of a relevant institution
  
  

About Us

Costain helps to improve people’s lives with integrated, leading edge, smart infrastructure solutions across the UK’s energy, water, transportation and defence markets. We help our clients improve their business performance by increasing capacity, improving customer service, safeguarding security, enhancing resilience, decarbonising and delivering increased efficiency. Our vision is to be the UK’s leading smart infrastructure solutions company. We will achieve this by focusing on blue chip clients whose major spending plans are underpinned by strategic national needs, regulatory commitments, legislation or essential performance requirements. We offer our clients leading edge solutions that are digitally optimised through the following five services which cover the whole lifecycle of their assets: future-shaping strategic consultancy; consultancy and advisory; digital technology solutions; asset optimisation and complex programme delivery. Our culture and values underpin everything we do.

A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that disclose they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer.

It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people.

For more details please go to the Disability Confident website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/disability-confident-campaign