Senior Design Manager (Building Services)

A little more about your role…

You will be central to the highly collaborative Services South team; based across the Heathrow office primarily.

Your role will be at the heart of our high performing team, using your skills and expertise to help us continue driving forward in terms of both technical quality and service efficiency; whilst leading the teams senior engineers in their day to day project management activities.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leadership: Leading and mentoring design team members, ensuring effective communication and coordination across multidisciplinary design teams. Driving collaboration between MEP, structural and architectural disciplines to deliver coordinated, compliant and technically robust design solutions aligned with programme, budget and quality expectations.
• Design Management: Developing and managing design delivery plans, including design programmes, deliverables, and review stages. Leading the setup and coordination of design scopes, managing design inputs within Task 99 structures, and ensuring appropriate allocation of time and resources across design activities and deliverables.
• Technical & Design Performance: Supporting the monitoring of design effort against programme and budget, working closely with project and commercial teams to track design progress, resource utilisation, and alignment with cost constraints. Contributing to monthly project reviews with a focus on design performance and risks.
• Business Development: Supporting tender bids from a technical and design management perspective, including development of design methodologies, programmes, and resourcing strategies. Collaborating with wider WSP teams to bring in specialist capability and support integrated design solutions across opportunities.
• Client Relations: Building and maintaining relationships with client technical teams, contractors, and stakeholders. Communicating design intent clearly, responding to technical queries, and aligning design outputs with client requirements to support effective and coordinated delivery.
• Compliance & Assurance: Supporting design governance processes, including design reviews, coordination checks, and stage gate requirements. Contributing to compliance with relevant standards, Heathrow requirements, and internal quality processes, while maintaining clear documentation of design decisions and changes.

Your Team

• Our team is comprised of approximately 60 engineers working across the Mechanical, Electrical and Public Health specialisms
• Our team is split across our Brighton, Southampton, Heathrow, Basingstoke and Guildford offices giving the flexibility or work in either location on any given day. Many of our team choose to alternate the office they work in to suit personal and client needs.
• As part of our team, you would be working on some of our major projects predominantly at Heathrow Airport. This will be as part of a multi-disciplinary offering and so experience in building services, structural and civil engineering disciplines will be an advantage.
• You will be reporting to our Director that manages the various Frameworks at London Heathrow.
• You will be able to utilise graduate, assistant, senior and principal engineers in supporting roles around you, as well as dedicated BIM and Sustainability specialists to contribute to the successful delivery of your projects.

What we will be looking for you to demonstrate…

• Extensive experience in design management within the Building Services sector, within aviation or similarly complex, regulated environments.
• Experience in leading and coordinating multidisciplinary design teams, including management of design programmes, deliverables, and interfaces across MEP, structural, and architectural disciplines.
• Demonstrable capability in managing design processes, tools, and systems (including BIM, digital design platforms, and coordination tools), ensuring alignment with project and programme requirements.
• Understanding of design risk, technical assurance, and compliance, including the ability to manage design reviews, approvals, and governance processes in line with client and regulatory standards.
• Proven ability to lead design teams both independently and collaboratively, providing clear direction while fostering a coordinated, high-performing environment.
• Experience in managing technically complex Building Services designs within property and buildings, ensuring integration with wider project constraints such as operational environments and phased delivery.
• Able to represent WSP in technical discussions with clients, contractors, and stakeholders, while translating client requirements into practical, coordinated engineering design solutions.
• Recent, demonstrable experience in delivering coordinated Building Services design across multiple stages of project delivery, including managing change, resolving technical challenges, and supporting successful project outcomes.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the planning, management, and coordination of Building Services design with other disciplines, across all project stages within Heathrow programmes
• Ensure that design deliverables are technically sound, fully coordinated, and aligned with project requirements and constraints
• Act as the central point of integration between MEP disciplines, architectural, structural, and specialist systems
• Drive a “right-first-time” approach, reducing rework and improving overall design efficiency

Design Programme & Deliverables

• Develop and manage detailed design programmes aligned with overall project milestones and delivery strategy
• Ensure design outputs are delivered in a timely manner, supporting procurement, construction, and commissioning activities
• Monitor progress against design deliverables and take early action where slippage or risk is identified
• Maintain clarity on design scope and deliverables, particularly where changes or additional requirements emerge

Technical Assurance & Compliance

• Lead design reviews and assurance processes, ensuring alignment with Heathrow standards, regulatory requirements, and industry best practice
• Provide oversight of technical compliance, including safety, performance, and sustainability requirements
• Ensure that design decisions are justified, recorded, and traceable through appropriate documentation
• Support the resolution of technical challenges through structured problem-solving and expert input

Stakeholder Engagement

• Interface with client technical authorities, contractors, and supply chain partners to communicate design intent and resolve issues
• Lead technical workshops and coordination meetings, ensuring productive outcomes and clear actions
• Translate complex technical information into clear, concise updates for non-technical stakeholders where required

Change & Risk Management

• Manage design change processes, ensuring impacts on cost, programme, and risk are understood and communicated
• Identify design-related risks early and coordinate mitigation strategies across disciplines
• Maintain visibility of key technical risks and ensure alignment with project risk management processes

Team Leadership & Capability

• Provide leadership and mentoring to design engineers and coordinators
• Promote collaboration across disciplines, encouraging integrated design solutions
• Support development of technical capability and knowledge sharing within the team