Domis Construction
Senior Design Manager
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Location: Wigan and Manchester
Salary: Upon Application
Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent
Reporting To: Technical Director
Department: Pre-Construction
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Domis Construction is a leading main contractor delivering complex, high-profile residential and commercial developments across the North West and beyond.
Working closely with our in-house businesses, consultants and specialist supply chain, we combine technical expertise, commercial awareness and practical delivery experience to develop coordinated, buildable and cost-effective solutions.
We are seeking a Senior Pre-Construction MEP Design Manager to lead all Mechanical, Electrical, Public Health and specialist systems design activities during the pre-construction phase of our projects.
The Role:
The Senior Pre-Construction MEP Design Manager will provide technical leadership from bid stage through to project award and the successful handover into construction.
Working directly with the Domis Pre-Construction team, the role will act as the key link between the Group’s MEP division, external MEP consultants, clients, specialist subcontractors and internal delivery teams.
You will ensure that building services designs are coordinated, compliant, commercially viable, buildable and aligned with project programme and cost requirements.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead the MEP design management process from tender stage through to contract award
- Review Employer’s Requirements, specifications, tender information and associated technical documentation
- Prepare and coordinate the MEP elements of the Contractor’s Proposals
- Develop and implement project-specific MEP design management strategies
- Manage consultant and specialist subcontractor design development
- Coordinate Mechanical, Electrical, Public Health and specialist building services systems
- Ensure effective multidisciplinary coordination across architectural, structural, civil and MEP disciplines
- Develop and manage design programmes to support tender submissions, procurement and construction requirements
- Identify technical risks and implement appropriate mitigation strategies
- Maintain design risk, assumption, responsibility and interface registers
- Ensure design information is issued in line with agreed programme requirements
- Monitor consultant performance and manage the timely completion of design deliverables
- Chair internal and external design coordination meetings
Specialist Systems Management
- Smoke control, smoke clearance and stair pressurisation systems
- Firefighting shaft ventilation
- Fire detection, alarm and cause-and-effect strategies
- Emergency Voice Communication and disabled refuge systems
- Emergency lighting and life safety electrical systems
- Sprinkler, water mist and gaseous fire suppression systems
- Fire and smoke dampers
- HV and LV electrical infrastructure
- Busbar and busduct systems
- Standby generators, UPS and central battery systems
- Building Management and Energy Management Systems
- Security, access control, CCTV and intruder alarm systems
- Structured cabling and ICT infrastructure
- Audio visual and public address systems
- Lift interfaces
- Photovoltaic and battery storage systems
- District heating and utility infrastructure
- Medical gases and pneumatic tube systems, where applicable
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Ensure that all specialist systems are coordinated, compliant with statutory requirements and fully integrated into the overall building design.
Technical Leadership
- Provide technical leadership throughout the bid and pre-construction process
- Review designs against Employer’s Requirements, British Standards, Building Regulations and project-specific requirements
- Ensure compliance with relevant legislation and guidance, including:
- Building Regulations
- Building Safety Act requirements
- BS 7671
- CIBSE guidance
- BSRIA guidance
- CDM Regulations
- Fire engineering strategies
- Sustainability and energy performance requirements
- Review energy strategies and building performance requirements
- Promote Modern Methods of Construction and off-site manufacture
- Drive design standardisation, technical improvement and innovation
- Provide practical and commercially informed technical guidance to the wider project team
Design Coordination
- Lead MEP BIM coordination alongside the BIM management team
- Review clash detection reports and coordinate the resolution of design conflicts
- Manage interfaces between MEP systems, specialist packages and the wider building design
- Review cause-and-effect matrices and integrated systems testing strategies
- Ensure commissioning requirements are considered throughout the design process
- Review designs for buildability, maintainability, accessibility and safe operation
- Ensure specialist subcontractor designs are coordinated before procurement and construction
- Support the Domis and Matic builders’ work coordination process
- Ensure plant spaces, risers, service zones, access requirements and builders’ work openings are adequately coordinated
Commercial Responsibilities
- Support estimating teams by providing technical reviews and design input
- Review specialist subcontractor tenders, qualifications and technical submissions
- Participate in value engineering and value creation workshops
- Identify cost-saving opportunities without compromising quality, compliance or performance
- Assess the technical and commercial implications of design changes
- Support the development of procurement strategies
- Assist commercial teams during tender clarification and negotiation processes
- Ensure designs take full account of agreed project cost parameters
Client and Stakeholder Management
- Act as the principal MEP design representative during pre-construction
- Build effective relationships with clients, consultants, specialist subcontractors and internal teams
- Present technical proposals during tender interviews and client meetings
- Lead technical design workshops and coordination reviews
- Resolve technical issues collaboratively and within agreed timescales
- Communicate complex technical matters clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Ensure client requirements are understood, managed and reflected within the design
Handover to Construction Teams
- Lead the MEP design handover from pre-construction into project delivery
- Prepare comprehensive design handover documentation
- Brief project, commercial and operational delivery teams
- Clearly communicate residual risks, design assumptions, exclusions and outstanding actions
- Ensure continuity of design responsibility between pre-construction and construction
- Support the early stages of project mobilisation where required
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Requirements:
- A minimum of 10 years’ experience within the building services industry
- Extensive experience working for a main contractor or Tier 1 MEP contractor
- Experience managing MEP design on complex projects with values exceeding £30 million
- Strong understanding of Design and Build procurement
- Proven experience managing external consultants and specialist subcontractor design
- Experience of tender, pre-construction and project mobilisation processes
- Strong working knowledge of BIM processes and ISO 19650
- Good understanding of commissioning, integrated systems testing and project handover requirements
- Experience coordinating complex life safety and specialist building services systems
- Strong commercial awareness and the ability to balance design quality, programme, risk and cost
Qualifications
- Degree, HNC or HND in Building Services Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or a related discipline
- Chartered status or actively working towards chartership is desirable
- SMSTS certification
- Relevant CSCS card
- Membership of an appropriate professional institution is desirable
Software Knowledge
An understanding of the following platforms would be beneficial, although direct experience with every system is not essential:
- Revit
- Navisworks
- AutoCAD
- BIM 360 or Autodesk Construction Cloud
- Solibri
- Bluebeam
- Microsoft Project
- Primavera P6
- Microsoft Office
Personal Attributes
- Excellent written and verbal communicator
- Strong and credible technical leader
- Commercially aware and solutions focused
- Collaborative and able to work across multiple disciplines
- Client focused with strong stakeholder management skills
- Highly organised with the ability to manage competing priorities
- Proactive, decisive and comfortable taking ownership
- Able to identify risks early and drive actions through to completion
- Committed to quality, innovation and continuous improvement
Key Performance Indicators
- Compliance with agreed design programmes
- Reduction in design-related technical and commercial risk
- Value engineering and value creation savings
- Quality and completeness of design coordination
- Consultant and specialist subcontractor performance
- Client and internal stakeholder satisfaction
- Successful transition from pre-construction into project delivery
- Reduction in post-contract design changes, delays and coordination issues
Why Join Us?
- Lead MEP design management on major, technically complex developments
- Influence projects from the earliest design and tender stages
- Work closely with Domis’ in-house MEP expertise and established specialist supply chain
- Join a collaborative, commercially focused and delivery-led pre-construction team
- Benefit from opportunities for continued professional development and career progression
- We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates.
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