Design Manager | Kirkwood Timber Frame

Kirkwood Timber Frame is a leading timber frame supplier to the UK, renowned for our innovative designs and sustainable practices.

Due to recent growth and significant investment in our factory at Sauchen, Aberdeenshire, we have a new opportunity for a Design Manager to join our technical department.

Reporting to the Technical Director, our ideal candidate will have significant technical and/or design experience within the timber frame environment.

• To provide technical expertise and knowledge on timber frame design.
• Oversee a design department that produces effective and efficient fabrication and construction drawings of timber frame builds.
• To represent the company in all technical matters, both internally for functional obligations but also externally for any customer interactions or representation at relevant trade and industry forums.

Role objectives:

• Successfully manage a small technical / design team and provide technical leadership.
• Develop and maintain delivery of the company closed panel system.
• Allocate workload to design team.
• Agree design timelines with internal and external design teams.
• Monitor and report on department non-conformances and defects and implement improvement measures accordingly to stop re-occurrences.
• Liaise with department heads to ensure the smooth running of the business.
• Stay up to date with Building Regs, STA and NHBC updates.
• HR Policies are followed and implemented and ensure team follow / use all relevant paperwork etc.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead and develop the design team, implementing training plans for junior members of the design team and support and encourage senior members' progression.
• Be at the forefront of Consultec maintenance, development and updates, reporting bugs and liaise fixes back to design team.
• Ensure design information is clear and concise and available to production and site teams in a timely manner to suit site delivery dates.
• Manage and monitor external design resources and report back good and negative feedback and ensure processes are reviewed.
• Ensuring the team are following QA processes and procedures and implement changes to QA that may be required.
• Develop strong relationships with suppliers and feedback performance to senior management team.
• Engaging and reporting to senior management team.
• Engage with consulting engineers to ensure project appraisals are satisfactory and to develop further timber frame panel systems.
• Provide project handovers to design team staff.
• Develop and manage KPIs to monitor design team performance.
• Consulting with existing and potential new customers as and when required.
• Dynamic thinking with individual and team management, prioritising workloads and implement action plans where necessary.
• Follow H&S procedures and implement guidance to the design department.
• Technician training plans, STA workbook refreshers where applicable.
• Support the sales and estimating teams as and when required.

Required:

• Significant technical and / or design experience within the timber frame environment.
• Well‑organised, dependable and self‑motivated.
• Solutions driven individual, good problem solver who will see solutions through to resolution.
• Strong reporting and analysis skills.
• Accurate with a strong attention to detail.
• An excellent communicator both verbal and written; comfortable in a design or customer environment.
• Over 10 years’ experience with Consultec or alternative timber frame design related software.

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