Title: Design Service Manager

Rate: £500 per day

Location: Fridays working from office, New Shire Hall Alconbury. Remainder of week flexible but a requirement for site visits and ad hoc attendance in office.

Type: Temporary for 12 months, possible extension

Opus People Solutions are working with Cambridgeshire County Council to recruit for an interim Design Service Manager will be in charge of overseeing and leading the County Councils in house design team across a varied portfolio of projects. The role is responsible for effective and efficient, design and delivery of schemes across a wide range of transport projects.

You will collaborate with teams across the organisation to design infrastructure projects providing technical input and expertise throughout the pre-construction phase. You will lead a team of designers at different career stages and be responsible for their development and projects.

In this role you will lead a team who will design customer focussed solutions, set delivery outcomes for projects, and define service outcomes working across teams with a range of needs - e.g., innovative safe designs, maximising contract savings and achieving value for money, whilst helping us work towards the aim of being net zero by 2035.

Main Responsibilities:

• Provide leadership support within the Project Delivery team to ensure the effective / efficient design of projects that improve the transport infrastructure network.
• Provide advice to those within Place & Sustainability on highway design and related activities.
• Provide and prepare detailed designs / technical reports in a timely and efficient manner always ensuring, clear requirements of project details, timings, and delivery requirements.
• Actively collaborate with colleagues across the directorate, the Council, and our partners to ensure projects are delivered in the most efficient, effective, and co-ordinated manner and represent value for money.
• Provide the Group Manager with robust forward and integrated work programmes embedded with clarity in decision making, timelines, and control processes.
• Take responsibility in ensuring projects are designed to maximum effect, achieve value for money targets through the stages of scheme development either through the Highway Services Contract, Eastern Highways Alliance or NEC 3/4 contract environment and tendering process.
• Take active responsibility for the control and monitoring of the capital projects within your portfolio including commitment of funding under contract.
• Commitment and management of contracts carry financial responsibility of award and management between c.£0.5m and £30m+
• Ensure monthly progress reports on actual and forecast expenditure are prepared and submitted in a timely way. Report any variances to the Group Manager.
• Maintain and improve the transport infrastructure network whilst ensuring expenditure is within agreed tolerances of approved budgets.