Senior Design Manager - Infrastructure and Land Development

Job Description Overview We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Senior Design Manager to lead the design delivery of complex multidisciplinary infrastructure and land development projects across the Middle East region. The successful candidate will be responsible for managing the full design lifecycle from pre concept planning through detailed design and construction support. The role requires strong technical leadership, project management capability, commercial awareness, and the ability to coordinate large multidisciplinary teams delivering integrated infrastructure solutions. The Senior Design Manager will act as the focal point between clients, project managers, discipline leads, technical specialists, contractors, and stakeholders to ensure projects are delivered safely, efficiently, on schedule, and within budget while maintaining the highest standards of quality and innovation. The role also requires active participation in business development, strategic growth initiatives, technical excellence programs, and the continuous improvement of design delivery processes across the business. Your role Design Leadership - Lead and oversee the design delivery of major infrastructure, land development, utilities, and urban development projects. - Establish and implement project design management plans and delivery strategies. - Direct multidisciplinary design teams to ensure coordinated and integrated project solutions. - Drive technical excellence and consistency of design outputs across all project stages. - Ensure design solutions meet client requirements, project objectives, authority regulations, and industry best practices. - Lead technical reviews and design assurance activities throughout project delivery. - Resolve complex design issues and facilitate timely technical decision-making. - Promote innovative and sustainable design approaches that enhance project value. Strategic Infrastructure Advisory - Contribute to the development of city-wide and regional infrastructure strategies aligned with growth, economic development, sustainability, and resilience objectives. - Advise clients on infrastructure prioritization frameworks and phasing strategies. - Develop strategic infrastructure plans covering transportation, wet utilities, dry utilities, district energy, digital infrastructure, and integrated urban systems. - Provide strategic advice to government entities, developers, municipalities, and infrastructure authorities. - Support clients in establishing governance structures, operating models, policies, and performance management frameworks for infrastructure delivery. Project Delivery and Coordination - Manage the design process from project inception through planning, concept, preliminary design, detailed design, tender support, and construction stages. - Coordinate interfaces between infrastructure disciplines including transportation, highways, structures, wet utilities, dry utilities, landscape, environmental, and digital engineering teams. - Develop and maintain integrated design schedules and resource plans. - Monitor design progress against project milestones and implement recovery measures where required. - Ensure project deliverables are produced on time, within budget, and to required quality standards. - Support project managers in managing project risks, opportunities, and stakeholder expectations. - Lead internal and external design coordination workshops. Client and Stakeholder Management - Act as the primary design interface for clients and key stakeholders. - Build and maintain strong client relationships through proactive engagement and technical leadership. Provide strategic technical advice to clients during project planning and delivery. - Present design solutions and recommendations to senior client representatives and regulatory authorities. - Lead coordination with government agencies, utility providers, and approval authorities. - Ensure stakeholder requirements are effectively incorporated into project solutions. Design Governance and Quality - Establish and maintain effective design governance procedures across projects. - Ensure compliance with company quality management systems and design assurance processes. - Lead independent technical reviews, value engineering exercises, and design verification activities. - Monitor compliance with relevant local, regional, and international standards. - Champion continuous improvement initiatives and lessons-learned programs. - Support implementation of digital design and BIM best practices. Commercial and Risk Management - Support preparation of design budgets, work plans, and resource forecasts. - Monitor design performance against commercial objectives and agreed budgets. - Identify and manage technical, commercial, and delivery risks. - Contribute to contract management and change control processes. - Support project managers in maintaining project profitability and effective resource util

Minimum qualifications are not explicitly listed as a separate section in the posting. The role describes senior design leadership experience and ability to manage multidisciplinary teams, with strong technical leadership, project management capability, and commercial awareness. Specific hard requirements (years of experience, degrees, or certifications) are not stated as explicit bullet points.

Lead and oversee the design delivery of major infrastructure, land development, utilities, and urban development projects; establish and implement project design management plans and delivery strategies; direct multidisciplinary design teams for integrated solutions; drive technical excellence and consistency of design outputs; ensure designs meet client requirements and regulations; lead design reviews and assurance activities; resolve complex design issues and enable timely decisions; promote innovative and sustainable design approaches; advise on infrastructure strategies; develop strategic infrastructure plans; manage design process from inception through planning, concept, preliminary, detailed design, tender support, and construction; coordinate interfaces between disciplines; develop schedules and resource plans; monitor progress against milestones; ensure on-time, on-budget, quality deliverables; support risk management and stakeholder expectations; facilitate design coordination workshops; act as primary design interface for clients and stakeholders; present solutions to clients and authorities; lead governance, quality and continuous improvement initiatives; support digital design and BIM practices; assist in budgets, work plans, and resource forecasts; monitor performance against budgets; identify and manage risks; contribute to contract management and change control.