Balfour Beatty plc
Senior Design Manager - Healthcare

How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Senior Design Manager
Location: Birmingham Company: Balfour Beatty Project: Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
About The Role
Shape the future of a major healthcare environment
Balfour Beatty is looking for an experienced and confident Senior Design Manager to join our team in Birmingham, based at Trinity Park and supporting works at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
You will join the team supporting the ongoing improvement and development of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham estate—one of the UK’s largest and most complex operational healthcare environments.
This is an excellent opportunity to take a leading role on a technically demanding healthcare project, working alongside customers, consultants, specialist designers and construction teams to develop coordinated, buildable and commercially effective design solutions.
You will manage the design process from briefing through to delivery, ensuring proposals meet the project’s technical, programme, quality and budget requirements
What you'll be doing
As Senior Design Manager, You Will
- Lead the development and implementation of the project design strategy.
- Manage the design process, including architectural, structural and M&E elements.
- Coordinate internal teams, consultants, specialist subcontractors and third-party design partners.
- Ensure design proposals meet customer requirements, specifications and budget constraints.
- Review designs for buildability, sequencing, value and construction risk.
- Provide clear technical guidance to the design and construction teams.
- Manage design information, approvals, changes and programme deliverables.
- Liaise with statutory authorities, planning teams, building control and utility providers.
- Support collaborative working across the project and resolve design challenges before they affect delivery.
- Encourage innovation, continuous improvement and effective use of BIM and digital design.
Who we're looking for
You will be an accomplished Design Manager with proven experience operating at a senior level within construction, ideally on complex building, healthcare or technically demanding projects.
You Will Bring
- Strong experience managing multidisciplinary design teams through pre-construction and project delivery.
- A detailed understanding of construction methods, buildability and design coordination.
- Experience managing M&E interfaces and third-party or novated design teams.
- Good working knowledge of BIM and digital design processes.
- Knowledge of current procurement routes, regulations, technical standards and codes of practice.
- Excellent leadership, communication and stakeholder-management skills.
- The confidence to challenge constructively, influence decisions and drive design progress.
- A valid CSCS card.
- Strong Microsoft Office and relevant design-management IT skills.
Reasons to use Rodeo
I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
Honest answer — it depends on where you want to end up. A lot of top grad schemes (Big 4, civil service, banking) don’t need a masters. Let’s look at the ones you’d be competitive for now, and we can decide if a masters actually adds anything.
Also worth knowing: most autumn 2026 applications are open now. Timing matters more than you think.
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme
Why you're a good match
StrongYour economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.
See breakdownIt searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Why you're a good match
You’ve got the grades and the economics background, and your bank internship is exactly the experience this scheme looks for. Apply soon — deadlines close within the month.
Experience fit
Your summer at the bank plus your econometrics coursework map directly to the day-one responsibilities on this scheme — client modelling, market briefings, and deal support.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Professional membership of an appropriate institution, such as RIBA, CIBSE or IET, would be advantageous.
Why join Balfour Beatty?
This role offers the opportunity to contribute to an important healthcare environment while working with an experienced project team and one of the UK’s leading infrastructure and construction businesses.
You will have the platform to lead, influence and develop innovative design solutions while supporting the successful delivery of works within a live, complex hospital estate.
Ready to lead the design process and make a meaningful impact? Apply today to join Balfour Beatty as our Senior Design Manager in Birmingham.
Professional and personal development
The size and scale of Balfour Beatty coupled with our strong pipeline of work provides incredible opportunities, regardless of what stage you are at in your career.
We encourage and empower our employees to take control of their career and explore which part of the business they want to work in and what role is right for them. We actively encourage our managers and employees to have open communication throughout the year about wellbeing, development and career opportunities.
We're proud of the Balfour Beatty Academy. Whether it’s sharpening your technical expertise, improving your personal skills or seeking support to become professionally qualified, our 70:20:10* approach to development means we have a learning approach that suits everyone.
70% learning on the job, 20% learning from those around you, and 10% formal training courses and learning events.
For further information about Balfour Beatty please go to www.balfourbeatty.com/careers - You can also check out further job opportunities in the careers section
Why work for us
Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.
Why join us?
Benefits
As if contributing to and supporting work that makes life better for millions wasn’t rewarding enough, we offer a full range of benefits too. You’ll have the freedom to shape the package that’s right for you and your life. Here are some of our key benefits:


Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
- Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.
- 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata)
- Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave
- Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more…
About Us
Operating across England and Wales, our buildings teams create places where people live, are cared for, work, learn, meet and have fun, with a focus on the aviation, health, defence, education and development sectors.
Diversity and inclusion
At Balfour Beatty we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone is able to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. To find out how we are making this a reality, visit www.balfourbeatty.com/diversityandinclusion
To help and support us with our desired commitment to create an inclusive culture we are members of WISE, enei, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also a Gold Award holder in the Ministry of Defence 'Employer Recognition Scheme' and actively encourage applications from Armed Forces personnel, veterans and reservists.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to working with people who have disabilities and long-term health conditions to remove barriers for them in obtaining employment. We are also committed to offering applicants with a disability an interview if they meet the minimum requirements for the role. For more info, visit: https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/
We are looking to continually improve our resourcing process and ensure that it is fair and inclusive for all. If you have any feedback on the process, please share this with us at: candidaterecruitmentqueries@balfourbeatty.com
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills