Octavius Infrastructure
E&P Design Manager (Development Manager)
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Development Manager (Design Manager)
We're recruiting a Development Manager (Design Manager) to join Octavius, a leading civil engineering organisation delivering safe, sustainable and efficient transport solutions across the UK. Through long‑term rail frameworks and our Southern Renewals Enterprise, we offer the opportunity to shape projects from the earliest stages, work collaboratively with design partners, and make a real impact on the performance of the railway.
At Octavius, we value quality, integrity and openness, empower our people to lead, and create an environment where expertise, innovation and continuous improvement are encouraged.
You'll be working on… (what your role and responsibility is)
Working closely with our Pre‑Construction Leads, customers (including Network Rail), design partners and delivery teams, you'll coordinate all pre‑construction and design development activity to ensure schemes are robust, compliant, affordable and deliverable. You'll balance technical excellence with commercial awareness, ensuring programmes are developed safely, sustainably and in line with agreed budgets and timescales.
Your role will see you:
- Leading the development of pre‑construction and design activities for rail renewal projects.
- Coordinating surveys, site investigations and design information to inform cost and programme certainty.
- Managing assurance, governance and compliance requirements throughout the development stage.
- Driving collaboration across multidisciplinary teams to develop high‑quality, buildable solutions.
- Supporting possession planning, estimating, risk management and option selection.
- Taking ownership of financial performance, change control and risk/opportunity management within your schemes.
- Championing safety, sustainability, innovation and continuous improvement within the development process.
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You'll receive… (because we value you)
We offer a competitive rewards package, including a Company Car scheme, Private Healthcare, Pension, Life Assurance cover, 25 days Annual Leave (and a day off for your birthday). You'll also have access to Hybrid working where possible, an enhanced Paternity & Maternity package and the opportunity to develop yourself personally and professionally.
About you… (what you are skilled at)
You're a confident and collaborative design or development professional with experience working in the rail environment, comfortable operating in complex, fast‑paced programmes.
You're skilled at:
- Managing multidisciplinary design and development processes from concept through to construction readiness.
- Working within Network Rail standards, assurance processes and governance frameworks.
- Engaging effectively with clients, stakeholders, designers and delivery teams.
- Balancing technical, commercial and programme considerations to deliver value‑led outcomes.
- Leading and contributing to risk workshops, design reviews and assurance meetings.
- Driving a strong safety culture and embedding environmental and sustainability considerations into decision‑making.
- You naturally build trust and credibility, lead by example, and are motivated by delivering quality infrastructure safely and efficiently.
You'll bring… (your wealth of experience & qualifications)
- Proven experience delivering projects across the full project lifecycle, from design development through to on‑site delivery.
- Strong knowledge of Network Rail processes, standards and assurance requirements.
- Broad engineering understanding, with experience in disciplines such as civils, M&E, geotechnical or core rail systems (P‑Way, Signalling, Telecoms, E&P).
- A good working knowledge of NEC3 contracts and contract administration.
- Experience managing cost, programme, change control and subcontractor inputs during development.
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Qualifications (or equivalent experience):
- Degree, diploma or vocational qualification in Construction, Civil Engineering or a related discipline (essential).
- SMSTS or equivalent CDM 2015 training (desirable).
- Chartered or working towards chartership (ICE, APM or similar) (desirable).
- PTS, Temporary Works Coordination or similar rail competencies (desirable).
Above all, you'll live our values of Quality, Integrity, Openness, Caring and Progressiveness, bringing energy, leadership and a continuous‑improvement mindset to everything you do.
Inclusion and diversity are important to us, we are an equal opportunities employer and value difference. We want and will continue to build an inclusive environment where our people thrive. We firmly believe constantly striving to build a truly diverse workforce is what makes us a strong business and will enable us to continue to solve important problems and deliver unrivalled value to both our customers and clients. If you need any specialist support throughout your application, we will work with you where we can to support your journey with us.
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