Job Title: Design Manager
Location: Bristol Office, based at 33 Colston Avenue, Bristol, BS1 4UA
Salary: Competitive
Job Type: This is a full-time, permanent role. 40 hours over 5 days per week.
About Bowmer + Kirkland:
Since being established in 1923, Bowmer + Kirkland has grown to become one of the most successful privately owned and family-run construction groups in the UK. Our Investors in People accreditation demonstrates our commitment to our staff, and we are Scheme Partners of the Considerate Constructors Scheme, which only a select number of high-performing contractors achieve.
We are now looking to strengthen our team with an experienced Design Manager to lead the coordination and delivery of design across pre-construction and live project phases.
The Role
As Design Manager, you will be responsible for managing the design intent through detailed interrogation, coordination, and leadership of the design process across the full project lifecycle. This includes ensuring compliance with the Building Safety Act, CDM Regulations, statutory approvals, and B+K's internal governance.
You will work collaboratively with clients, consultants, specialist subcontractors, and internal teams to ensure design excellence, programme certainty, and buildability, while embedding health and safety and digital innovation throughout. You will play a key part in ensuring information flows smoothly between B+K, subcontractors, consultants, and the client, contributing to the delivery of high-quality, well-coordinated projects.
Based at our Bristol office, this is a full-time, permanent role of 40 hours over 5 days per week.
Duties of the Role
The successful candidate will demonstrate exceptional leadership, a robust understanding of delivering in a main contracting environment, and the ability to work collaboratively with key project stakeholders. A relentless focus on safe delivery, programme certainty, stakeholder engagement, and quality assurance are essential.
Key Responsibilities
* Lead the management of the design process across one or more projects.
* Coordinate the full design team including consultants and design-and-build subcontractors.
* Manage the design programme, RFIs, change control, and document control processes.
* Ensure designs are compliant with Building Regulations, planning conditions, CDM, and other statutory requirements.
* Drive Safety in Design (SiD) and embed buildability and health and safety risk mitigation.
* Oversee BIM coordination, clash detection reviews, and digital model audits.
* Support tendering, value engineering, and pre-construction activities.
* Maintain a high level of technical and commercial awareness in all design decision-making.
* Engage in client meetings and lead proactive design-based communication.
* Participate in lessons learned and best practice forums to enhance our delivery model.
* Mentor junior design team members and actively support CPD development.
Key Skills and Experience Required
* Proven experience in a design management role, ideally within a main contracting environment.
* Strong technical design background with a degree (or equivalent) in a construction-related discipline.
* Solid understanding of current regulations (Building Safety Act, CDM, Building Regs, etc.).
* Experience in coordinating multidisciplinary teams and managing specialist subcontractors.
* Skilled in BIM processes and using platforms such as Viewpoint 4P.
* Proactive, organized, and a confident communicator.
* Capable of managing a range of project types, tight deadlines, and complex design scopes.
* Department for Education framework experience is essential.
In Return We Offer
* 25 days holiday per year, plus 8 bank holidays and Christmas Eve
* Entry into the Group Personal Pension Scheme
* Private Health Insurance (subject to a qualifying period)
* Eye care voucher scheme
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