The Role

Do you want to work in one of London’s most exciting environments?

Do you have professional experience in design and design management?

Do you have passion and enthusiasm for the built environment?

If you answered yes, then we’d love to hear from you!

The London Boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Wandsworth present a unique opportunity to be part of a team within the Design Service, who are working together to create a ground-breaking shared staffing structure across both boroughs. 

The Design Service is an in-house, fee-earning multi-disciplinary consultancy service covering a full range of construction professional services.

The service delivers a wide range of projects across the public realm and the expanding Council’s housing self-build programme.

This service is rare, if not unique, in local government, and this role presents an opportunity for an experienced and customer focussed professional to make a difference in a forward-looking and commercially minded Council.

About the job

We are looking to recruit a full-time permanent qualified Design Manager.

The primary focus of the role will be leading on design coordination, providing support, guidance and advise to colleagues within the Design Service and external stakeholders.

As a Design Manager, you will act as a Lead Designer/ Design Coordinator for the Design Service Team. You will be reviewing designs with health and safety in mind, overseeing the design process using technical expertise and ensuring drawings and designs are produced on time, to a high quality, and are easy to decipher.

You will be avoiding errors and reducing financial risk during all design stages, ensuring designs are available to those who need them, at the appropriate time, maintaining thorough documentation of the design process as well as motivating and encouraging internal and external design teams.

About the person

The ideal candidate will have the following attributes:

• Strong awareness of Sustainability and Health and Safety within the construction industry, CDM regulations, JCT contracts.
• Fully Qualified Design Professional.
• Possession of an industry recognised professional body.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Strong problem solving, planning, leadership, monitoring and motivating skills.
• Political awareness.
• Good financial awareness.

If you want to know more about this post then please contact Hussein El Bahrawy, Head of Design Service on 020 8871 6551 for an informal discussion.

Application details:

To apply for this role please upload your CV and supporting statement outlining how you meet the requirements of the role. This will be used for shortlisting purposes. Please apply on-line at jobs.richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk

At Richmond and Wandsworth Councils, we care more about how you work and what you achieve, rather than where you work on any given day. The difference you can make to our local communities is what really matters most to us, service delivery must always come first. We have carefully considered agile ways of working to provide the best experience for residents, stakeholders and our staff. Our agile working strategy actively supports and encourages a dynamic work environment and daily working experience. Agile working helps put the needs of our staff at the centre of everything we do, so if specific flexible working arrangements helps you with this, feel free to let us know.

Your wellbeing and the flexible way in which you can work is and will remain a key priority for Richmond and Wandsworth Councils. We want you to thrive and feel empowered in your work!

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working including, working from home, compressed hours and other arrangements. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore. We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 39 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities.

In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline:

Closing Date: Sunday 19^th February 2023 – midnight

Shortlisting Date: w/c Monday 20^th February 2023

Interview Date: w/c Monday 27^th February 2023 - There may be a test or presentation as part of the interview process

Useful Information:

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please note that the advertised dates for interviews may change due to the current Covid-19 situation. If they do, we will let you know as soon as possible. Your health and wellbeing is our top priority. Should you become unwell due to Covid-19 during the recruitment process we would very much appreciate receiving an update from you as soon as possible.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.

The application process will be anonymised for this campaign.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Important Information:

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils