Water Design Manager (SuDS)

Description

The water team in England and Wales covers blue-green infrastructure, drainage and flood risk work in the UK and overseas, and is looking for a Design Manager to join its growing group.

The team works on projects across the full asset life, from feasibility and design through construction, operation, maintenance and asset management, alongside engineers, hydraulic modellers, environmental scientists and technical specialists.

Recent work includes acting as lead design consultant for Severn Trent's £76m Mansfield Strategic Flood Resilience Project, the largest SuDS retrofit project in the UK.

The team has also drafted Severn Trent's Retrofit SuDS Design Manuals and authored the draft National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems, published in England by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The water business has around 700 experts across the UK and Ireland. The local team ranges from apprentice to director level and sits within the wider global Water Team.

The company is a publicly traded Fortune 500 firm whose Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025.

Responsibilities

• Give technical direction at every design stage, from feasibility studies through outline and detailed design to reports and specifications, checking that designs meet applicable standards, regulations, safety and quality requirements.
• Lead the technical delivery of complex tasks and projects, owning programme and budget, reviewing others' work and making sure outputs are timely, accurate and high quality.
• Spot engineering, design and stakeholder problems early, then resolve them and keep projects moving forward.
• Coordinate daily work within the company's design teams and with external parties, clients and stakeholders, keeping communication clear throughout delivery.
• Work directly with clients and external stakeholders to shape scopes, prepare and price proposals, report progress and meet project objectives.
• Provide technical leadership and help colleagues grow by reviewing their work and mentoring and coaching junior team members.

Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Civil Engineering.
• Chartered or Incorporated status, or working towards it through a relevant institution such as ICE or CIWEM.
• Experience delivering and designing sustainable drainage or nature-based solutions in a management or technical leadership role.
• Experience in outline and/or detailed design of flood risk management, flood risk assessment or drainage schemes.
• Experience leading project teams or sub-teams and mentoring and training junior staff.

Conditions

Hybrid working, with the option to work from an office, from a remote location or at a client site.

Attendance at an in-person Day 1 onboarding at a company office is a condition of employment.

The company is an equal opportunity employer, values neurodiversity and is a Disability Confident Employer, offering an interview to disabled applicants or those with a long-term condition who meet the essential criteria.

Benefits

• Core and personalised benefits supporting your future and well-being, tailored to your lifestyle.
• Career development opportunities, technical practice networks and access to the company's university.
• Volunteering days.
• Flexible hybrid working to help you balance work and life.