Design Manager

About the Role

Join Buro Happold as a Design Manager based in Riyadh, where you'll collaborate with top professionals on landmark projects. This role offers an opportunity to contribute to socially equitable, sustainable, and high-performance outcomes within a culture valuing continuous learning and entrepreneurship.

As a vital member of the Project Design Management team serving the Middle East, you will lead design and project management initiatives across significant building, infrastructure, and masterplanning assignments. Your leadership will encompass multidisciplinary teams and global resources to ensure projects meet safety, schedule, budget, and quality goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and organize multidisciplinary design teams across all project phases, setting clear roles, priorities, interfaces, and delivery goals.
• Manage the progression of design development and coordination to ensure smooth and timely information flow at every project stage.
• Conduct design coordination meetings and drive prompt resolution of action items.
• Supervise BIM coordination and collaborative digital workflows to support effective project delivery.
• Coordinate comprehensive multidisciplinary design submissions and aid in technical assurance and approval processes, guaranteeing compliance with scope, standards, and quality protocols.
• Oversee project program, budget management, resource allocation, risk mitigation, opportunity identification, and changes to facilitate successful delivery.
• Develop and maintain execution plans, management matrices, schedules, and delivery protocols specific to each project.
• Support value engineering, optimizing design solutions and validating costs.
• Prepare presentations, reports, and dashboards for internal teams and external stakeholders to convey design progress and status.
• Collaborate closely with Project Leaders and Directors to ensure favorable project outcomes.
• Serve as the primary design liaison for clients, stakeholders, consultants, and sub-consultants, managing expectations and resolving design challenges.
• Participate in procurement processes including drafting and reviewing RFPs, technical evaluations, scope definitions, and sub-consultant selection.
• Contribute to ongoing enhancements of Project and Design Management methodologies, tools, and best practices.

Required Skills and Experience

• Proven expertise in design management with comprehensive knowledge of multidisciplinary project delivery within an engineering consultancy context.
• Experience leading building, infrastructure, and/or masterplanning projects in multidisciplinary environments.
• Strong capability in managing stakeholder expectations and coordinating teams distributed over various locations.
• Proficiency working in BIM environments, including tools such as Revit, BIM 360/Autodesk Construction Cloud, and Navisworks.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, capable of presenting complex technical details clearly to varied audiences.
• Strong planning, organisational skills, sound decision-making abilities, and effective problem-solving talent.
• Experienced in managing project programming, risk, change control, and design coordination activities.
• Commercial acumen regarding scope management, fee monitoring, project controls, resource planning, contracts, and change management.
• Mentorship experience supporting junior colleagues’ development.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Architecture, Project Management, or a related field is required.
• Minimum of three years’ experience working on projects in the Middle East.
• Demonstrated leadership and client-facing skills with effective stakeholder management.
• Professional membership or chartership, or actively progressing towards chartership, is desirable.

What We Offer

• Hybrid work arrangements providing flexibility.
• Competitive salary combined with a comprehensive benefits package.
• Continuous professional development with access to tailored learning programs at all career stages.
• Memberships to two professional bodies or subscriptions included.
• An international and inclusive culture fostering innovation and diversity, ensuring your career journey is enriched and distinctive.

Diversity & Inclusion

We value diverse perspectives, identities, and experiences, striving to create an environment where everyone can fully be themselves and thrive. We welcome applicants seeking career flexibility and actively encourage candidates who are underrepresented in the industry to apply. We commit to adjusting the recruitment process to accommodate needs and ensure a supportive application experience.