Hays
Associate Director (Drainage Design)
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Associate Director - Drainage Design Engineer
UK Wide (Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow, London, Bristol) | Hybrid | Major Infrastructure and Development Projects
Up to £85,000 + Car Allowance (c. £5,500) + Discretionary Bonus + 10% Pension
About the Role
Ready to lead nationally significant drainage projects while helping shape the future of a growing technical team? A leading engineering consultancy is looking for an Associate Director Drainage Engineer to play a key role in delivering major highways, rail, water, and development schemes across the UK. You'll join a nationally recognised team working on some of the country's most complex infrastructure programmes, combining technical excellence with cutting-edge digital delivery.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead drainage design for highways, development, and SuDS projects
- Act as Technical Lead on major multidisciplinary schemes
- Oversee and assure drainage models, calculations, and design outputs
- Manage project delivery, programme performance, and budgets
- Champion digital engineering and BIM-integrated design
- Support and mentor engineers, graduates, and technicians
- Lead and review work delivered by international design teams
- Build strong client and stakeholder relationships
- Support bids, fee proposals, quality submissions, and risk reviews
- Drive the growth and development of the drainage discipline
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Requirements
You'll likely have:
- Extensive experience in drainage design, including highways and development projects
- Strong knowledge of SuDS, drainage approvals, and design standards
- Experience leading multidisciplinary project teams
- Technical assurance and design review expertise
- Client-facing, project management, and business development skills
- Experience mentoring and developing engineers
- Degree qualification and professional accreditation (or equivalent)
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Why Join?
✅ High-profile infrastructure projects
✅ Genuine technical leadership role
✅ Strong pipeline of long-term work
✅ Hybrid and flexible working
✅ Clear progression and influence within the business
✅ Opportunity to shape the future of a national drainage practice
What you need to do now
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.
If this job isn't quite right for you but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion on your career.
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