Lead Principal Designer
Meet the recruiter

Manpreet Atwal
Benefits
Life assurance
Private medical insurance
Additional holiday purchase opportunities
Matched pension scheme up to 7.5%
Enhanced family leave & policies
Share plan schemes
Free health & wellbeing services
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Green car scheme
Lead Principal Designer
We're looking for a Lead Principal Designer to join our Principal Design team based in Southeast within the construction sector. Kier Design are a highly regarded Tier 1 Contractor, with a 750 plus strong design consultancy team, recognised as a Top 30 employer on Glassdoor.
Location: Southeast England
Hours: 40 hours per week - some flexibility on hours available if desired, just let us know when you speak to us.
We are unable to offer certificates of sponsorship to any candidates in this role
Are you…
- Holding a relevant degree or equivalent professional experience in design, engineering, construction or a related discipline
- Demonstrating proven experience delivering Principal Designer duties under CDM 2015 across complex projects
- Experienced in leading multiple projects and providing professional oversight to Principal Designers or design safety professionals
- Possessing strong knowledge of design risk management, statutory duty holder requirements and proportionate assurance
- A member of an appropriate professional institution with the ability to travel regularly to Kier offices, client locations, design offices and project sites throughout the UK
What will you be responsible for?
As a Lead Principal Designer, you'll be working within the Principal Design team, supporting them in coordinating and assuring the delivery of Principal Designer services. Taking on a key leadership position within our Principal Design capability, supporting the delivery of Principal Designer services across a varied portfolio of projects. You'll provide essential technical guidance and professional support to Principal Designers, ensuring we consistently meet our duties under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Working collaboratively with project teams, design leaders and clients, you'll help promote safety by design and drive continuous improvement across the portfolio. Regular UK travel will be part of the role, allowing you to engage directly with clients, project teams and site-based colleagues.
Your day to day will include:
- Coordinating and supporting Principal Designers delivering services across multiple allocated projects, applying quality, compliance, programme and client service expectations
- Acting as a senior technical adviser on the application of CDM 2015 and Building Regulations Principal Designer requirements
- Monitoring performance across the allocated project portfolio through proportionate reviews, audits and assurance activities
- Providing day-to-day direction and support to Principal Designers, addressing delivery issues and escalating significant concerns
- Supporting the preparation and review of fee proposals, programmes and resource plans for Principal Designer services
Rewards and benefits
We're proud to be able to offer our brilliant people a wide variety of benefits that you can tailor to your needs. You can see more information of benefits here.
Diversity and inclusion
Making Kier a diverse and inclusive place to work is a huge priority for us. We're proud of the steps we've taken so far, but we know we must always do more. Our employees are key in shaping Kier's diversity and inclusion initiatives and our people have made a huge impact on how we work, by using their experiences to shape our policies. You can see our D&I action plan here. As a Disability Confident employer, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this role will be offered an interview.
We look forward to seeing your application to #joinkier
#LI-MA1
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Location: Falmer. Salford
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Vacancy ID: 12871
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Background check: None
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Closing date: 17 Nov 2026
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Contract type: Permanent
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Working hours: Full Time
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Flexible working: Yes
Flexible working could include part time, job share, condensed hours, or flexible start/end times.
