Associate Director (Design Lead)

Job Summary

Be First are seeking to appoint an Associate Director (Design Lead) to lead our fast-paced Design Consultancy team. You will need to be able to demonstrate a keen interest in design, outstanding organisation and be solutions led.

Background

Be First is a pioneering urban regeneration company wholly owned by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD). Its mission is to accelerate growth and capitalise on the borough’s position as London’s hottest investment and development opportunity.

We are a developer and property consultancy, as well as providing planning and other statutory functions for LBBD.  We also work with commercial partners who share our core values of delivering high quality development which benefits local people. The financial return that we generate is reinvested back into providing key council services and more homes for local people.

We pride ourselves on delivering a socially responsible model of urban regeneration which delivers new homes and jobs for current and future communities. Our reputation for delivering at pace, attracts private capital into Barking & Dagenham, with developers and investors able to rely on the groundwork that the company has put in place to ensure certainty when working in the Borough. We are also establishing public-public and public-private partnerships alongside utilising the Council’s assets to facilitate growth.

The Consultancy team is actively growing. We provide design services for the Council’s portfolio of development sites, for developers and investors working in the borough, and have ambitions to work on projects outside the borough too. We work across a wide variety of sectors, including housing, commercial, industrial, film and education.

Job description

We are looking for an Associate Director (Design Lead) to support our growing Consultancy team.
The individual will:

• Lead a consistent approach to all Design Team work areas, including design management and technical assurance, urban design studio, planning and strategy
• Influence and ensure quality and sustainability ambitions through partnership delivery
• Liaise with internal colleagues, public and private partners, external stakeholders, consultants and contractors to take decisions, providing a single point of contact for relevant design clarifications, technical reviews and recommendations
• Lead on design management processes through partnership working and align technical reviews to project programmes and internal QA measures
• Ensure design changes are captured and assist in project costing and value management
• Manage the design review offer for Statutory Planning Service
• Proactively respond to policy and regulatory changes that cross disciplines and ensure representation at internal working groups, e.g. Building Safety Act and Sustainability
• Collaborate on pitches for new business, ultimately winning new and/ or repeat work
• Contribute to thought leadership including representing Be First at events which contribute to business development
• Manage and report on Design Team Finance and Resourcing to the Head of Consultancy to meet financial targets and;
• Contribute to the development of the Consultancy Team Vision and Objectives.

We are looking for an individual with the following skills:

• Engaging and driven personality wanting to join a highly successful and ambitious team.
• Results-orientated and devises strategies that are simple and effective
• Ability to cut through the noise and get to the nub of an issue with commercial acumen, to ensure problems are resolved, competing objectives balanced, and projects delivered efficiently
• Confident and professional, with excellent communication skills that adapt to different audiences
• Proactive self-starter who takes the initiative and can prioritise and show great dexterity adapting to changing requirements
• Strong ability to get the best out of people with the ability to inspire and motivate
• Demonstrable experience of:
  • Leadership and management
  • Public and private sector working at a senior level (Joint Ventures)
  • Relevant design expertise
  • Ensuring quality through public-public and public-private partnership delivery
• Understands:
  • RIBA scheme of works design process and the outputs required
  • BIM
  • CDM and Building Safety Act regulations
  • UK construction best practice
  • Relevant policy, legislation and guidance
  • Supply chain opportunities and limitations including cost and viability
• IT literate.

Application

In order to apply, please submit to lauren.tipple@befirst.london by Monday 17th March 2025 a CV, portfolio and a covering letter outlining your motivation for applying and highlighting how your skills, knowledge and experience meet the requirements of the role.