Assistant / Design Manager
Bristol | £40,000–£50,000 depending on experience
Do you have an architectural or technical design background and enjoy finding practical solutions to construction challenges?
Kingston Barnes is recruiting an Assistant / Design Manager for a leading Bristol-based main contractor. This is a hands-on opportunity to support projects from pre-construction through to delivery, helping turn design information into buildings that can be constructed efficiently and successfully.
We’re particularly interested in people with a background in architecture, architectural technology or technical design, ideally combined with experience working within a main contracting environment.
The opportunity
Working closely with external design teams and internal pre-construction, commercial and site teams, you’ll help coordinate the design process before and after contract award.
You’ll get into the detail: reviewing drawings, challenging proposals, identifying gaps and resolving issues early. Your input will help improve buildability, reduce design risk and anticipate problems before they affect work on site.
What you’ll be doing
- Supporting design coordination throughout tender, pre-construction and construction stages.
- Reviewing drawings, specifications and technical information for completeness, coordination and buildability.
- Working directly with architects, engineers, consultants and specialist subcontractors to resolve design queries.
- Identifying design risks, clashes and missing information before they affect cost, programme or quality.
- Helping ensure design information is available when required for procurement and construction.
- Supporting design meetings and following actions through to resolution.
- Working with delivery teams to assess design changes and develop practical solutions.
- Considering how design decisions affect construction, future maintenance and the building’s use.
About you
You could be an Architectural Technician, Architectural Technologist, someone from architectural practice, a Design Coordinator or an Assistant Design Manager looking for your next step.
You’ll bring:
- A strong technical understanding of building design and construction.
- Ideally, experience within a main contractor or closely supporting contractor-led projects.
- The ability to read, review and question drawings and specifications.
- A practical approach to problem-solving and an eye for detail.
- Confidence working with design consultants and site teams.
- Good organisation and the ability to keep information and actions moving.
Above all, you’ll enjoy being involved in how a project is built and spotting what needs resolving before it becomes a problem on site.
Interested?
Contact James Kingston at Kingston Barnes on 0117 325 2233 for a confidential conversation, or apply with your CV.
Kingston Barnes is acting as an employment agency in relation to this vacancy.