Design Manager

If you’re a Design Manager who likes being at the centre of the action - influencing projects before they hit site, shaping buildability, driving value, and solving problems before they become expensive ones - this is a role worth knowing about.

I’m working with a highly regarded main contractor with a strong footprint across Scotland, looking to appoint a Design Manager into their Highlands team, based around Elgin or Inverness. This is a business with genuine scale, a healthy project pipeline, and the sort of reputation that comes from doing things properly rather than cutting corners.

The role sits at the heart of project delivery. You’ll be responsible for managing the design process from early pre-construction and tender stages right through to delivery on site, coordinating internal teams, external consultants, specialist subcontract designers and wider supply chain partners to make sure projects are commercially robust, technically sound and buildable in the real world. This is not simply a drawing management role. It’s strategic, commercial and operational all at once.

A big part of the position is about bringing clarity and leadership to complexity. You’ll be reviewing design information critically, identifying gaps, spotting risks early, challenging solutions where needed, and helping steer projects toward the best commercial and technical outcome. That means balancing programme, compliance, quality and cost without losing sight of the client’s objectives. You’ll also play a key role in value engineering, risk management and authority approvals, making sure every moving part is aligned before delivery teams pick up the baton.

What makes this role particularly interesting is the level of influence attached to it. You’ll be a visible voice in bids, in project planning, in consultant coordination and on live schemes, helping shape decisions that materially affect project success. For this reason they are looking for someone who is commercially minded.

They’re looking for someone who understands contractor side design management, ideally from a major build environment, but there may also be a route in for someone from architecture, engineering or technical delivery who understands construction risk, coordination and buildability at a high level. What matters most is mindset. You need to be proactive, commercially switched on, comfortable taking ownership, and the sort of person who sees solutions where others see problems.

Culturally, this is a business that values professionalism, collaboration and accountability. There’s a grown up approach to work, strong internal support, and real opportunity to build a long term career rather than simply filling a seat. For the right person, this could be a genuine step forward - more influence, more responsibility, and the chance to work on significant projects that leave a mark on the built environment.

Design Manager roles in the Highlands with this level of opportunity don’t come along every day.

If you’d be open to a confidential conversation, I’d be keen to speak.