Design Manager

Location/s: Belfast, UK
Recruiter contact: Alice Roostan

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices. 

We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual. 

Whether you want to grow as a subject matter expert or broaden your experience with roles across our international community, you’re surrounded by global specialists who want to combine their expertise and champion you to be your best. As a proudly employee-owned business, we benefit our clients, our communities, and each other, investing in creating the right space for everyone to feel empowered, included, and valued. Whatever your ambition, Mott MacDonald is where people come to be brilliant.

About the business unit
We help conceive, drive, and implement transport solutions for cities, regions, and asset owners/operators around the globe. From preparing the business case and advising on related issues - such as revenue, procurement, and environmental legislation - to delivering the completed infrastructure and helping maintain it. Our planning, engineering, environmental and management skills cover the whole project cycle. We play a major role in developing and delivering the Global Transport Sector Strategy.

Overview of the role

We are looking to recruit a Design Manager to join our growing rail team in Ireland to lead the technical delivery of a range of projects in Ireland and the UK, delivering major rail improvement projects to smaller local community rail enhancement and renewal projects and supporting cross sector Projects more broadly. You will have the opportunity to help shape and grow the local rail civil engineering team within our wider rail civils team, focusing on embedding technical excellence at the core of everything we do.

Our existing team currently has a well-established work bank and long-standing relationship with both Translink (Northern Ireland Railways) and Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) and we are looking to expand our team’s capability locally in response to significant investment in rail travel in the region.

Successful candidates will provide Engineering Leadership to our projects, developing stronger relationships with our clients by working closely with them to understand their challenges and provide high quality, efficient design solutions. Candidates will be involved in a range of small to large scale railway projects which will be high profile within local communities and the wider rail industry. The role will be varied and offer a fantastic opportunity for personal/career development. You will be required to work autonomously and support the wider team.

Key responsibilities and duties include:

• Lead rail projects, focussing on providing integrated design solutions across multi-discipline designs
• Proactively manage the input from multiple design disciplines from across our business with focus on rail
• Be a focal point for the technical delivery of our projects
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders, including clients and our various other discipline leads for engineering support
• Prepare and review project documentation, including reports, plans, and specifications
• Identify and mitigate project risks, implementing effective solutions to address challenges
• Mentor and support junior engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and professional development
• Collaborate with business development teams to identify and pursue new project opportunities
• Manage the preparation of tenders and proposals for potential projects
• Manage project budgets, schedules, and resources to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery

Candidate specification
Essential:

• Excellent coordination and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with multicultural and multidisciplinary teams
• Ability and enthusiasm for supervising the work of others, including check and approval of key deliverables
• Track record of co-ordinating project delivery from client relationship and bid development phase, through to planning, design, and delivery phases
• Have strong project management skills, and excellent communication abilities and demonstrable collaborative capabilities
• Degree qualified in a relevant Engineering or related field
• Chartered Professional (or working towards) with a relevant Institution/Organisation

Desirable:

• Demonstrate a relevant level of engineering experience in general civil/structural engineering
• Experience within the Irish Rail, Translink or UK Rail environment is desirable
• A detailed understanding of standards and local client requirements for the design of railway infrastructure is desirable
• Engaged local industry connections

UK Immigration

Mott MacDonald Ltd. are not currently offering sponsorship to candidates under the Skilled Worker visa route in the UK. This decision is as a consequence of the changes made to the Skilled Worker route by the UK Government in April 2024. We continue to welcome applications from candidates who are eligible for alternative immigration routes in the UK, that do not require sponsorship as a Skilled Worker now or in future.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion 

We put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can contribute.

Accessibility

We want you to perform your best at every stage in the recruitment process. If you are disabled or need any support to enable you to apply or attend an interview, please contact us at reasonable.adjustments@mottmac.com and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

Agile working  

We are happy to talk openly about flexible working and how we can support your responsibilities beyond the workplace. 

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

Health and wellbeing

• Private medical insurance for all UK colleagues.
• Health cash plan to support you with every day health costs and treatments.
• Access to Peppy, providing free support from menopause experts for all UK colleagues.
• A variety of wellbeing support is available through our comprehensive wellbeing program, including access for you and your family.
• Ability to flex your salary to opt into a wide range of health benefits, many of which can be extended to your family too.

Financial wellbeing

• We match employee pension contributions between 4.5% and 7%.
• Life assurance equal up to 4 x your basic salary, with an option to increase the level of cover to 6 x your salary.
• Our income protection scheme provides a financial benefit, as well as absence and return to work support due to long-term illness or injury.
• Flexible benefits, including increased life assurance cover, critical illness insurance, payroll saving and will writing.
• As an independently owned business we share the financial success of the business with all our colleagues in various ways including annual bonus schemes.

Lifestyle

• A minimum of 33-35 days holiday each year, inclusive of public holidays and dependent on level, with the ability to buy or sell leave through our flexible benefits programme.
• Holiday entitlement increased to a minimum of 35 days after 5 years’ service.
• Variety of employee saving schemes and discounts from high-street retailers.

 Enhanced family and carers leave

• Enhanced family leave policies, including 26 weeks paid maternity and adoption leave, and two weeks paid paternity/partner leave.
• Our shared parental leave matches maternity leave meaning we pay up to 24 weeks at full pay.
• Up to five additional days leave are provided for those with significant caring responsibilities, two of which are paid.

Learning and development

• Primary annual professional institution subscription.
• A broad range of opportunities to enhance both technical and soft skills through mentoring, formal training, and self-development options.

Networks, communities, and social outcomes

• Join a wide range of groups including our Advanced Employee Networks which support our LGBTQ+, gender, race and ethnicity, disability, and parents/carers communities.
• Make a difference within our communities through our social outcomes.

Apply now, or for more information about our application process, click here.