Project Design Lead

Our Water company client are seeking a Project Design Lead to oversee, direct, and provide technical input for a variety of environmental and compliance-driven studies on a permanent basis out of Falmer, Otterbourne or Chatham.

In this role, you will lead multidisciplinary teams to ensure efficient, high-quality, and compliant project delivery while driving forward environmental improvements. As a Project Design Lead, you will make impactful decisions and provide recommendations that directly influence business planning and operational improvements.

Candidates with a water resource, groundwater or scientific/ environmental background would be well suited to this role.

Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with health, safety, and environmental standards, including CDM regulations. Develop risk assessments and implement mitigation strategies.
• Lead the design process from feasibility to detailed design, ensuring on-time, high-quality deliverables. Manage design costs and resources, and drive standardisation and innovation across projects.
• Challenge existing standards, promote continuous improvement, and adopt best practices from the industry to drive efficiency and innovation, including the use of digital design tools.
• Deliver cost-effective solutions while working closely with project managers to track budgets and design costs. Ensure the lowest whole-life cost solutions are delivered, outperforming project budgets.
• Ensure design programmes are achievable and designs are delivered on time. Provide early warnings of any potential delays.
• Ensure designs meet customer and regulatory expectations, and represent the company at industry conferences.

Skills/experience/qualifications

• Professional Membership: Member of an appropriate professional institute (Chartered or working towards).
• Technical Knowledge: Strong understanding of H&S standards, water/wastewater regulations, and project/contract management.
• MEng/BEng/BSc or HND/HNC in Engineering, Environmental, or a related science field.
• APM Project Professional Qualification
• Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) Practitioner Certification
• NEC for Project Managers Certification

Benefits

• This role will be full time Monday to Friday 37 hours a week.
• Our client operates a hybrid approach to working between office and home.
• Salary circa 56,900 with some flex depending on experience
• Company and performance-related bonus
• Generous pension up to 11% company contribution
• 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays)
• Life assurance equal to 4x salary
• Salary sacrifice electric car scheme (after 6 months service)
• Health Cash Plan - plus a host of other benefits