Job Description:

Senior Architectural Technologist Salary: £60,000–£65,000 About the Opportunity Our client is a Northwest-based building contractor with a dynamic, quality-focused and hardworking business ethic. The business is selective about its clients and projects, targeting those that fit its objectives and expertise. Strong, honest relationships with the supply chain, clients and industry professionals support a sustainable and resilient business. The team is diverse, supportive and collaborative, with a positive working environment where work-life balance is achievable and people can develop and thrive. They welcome proactive colleagues with a practical, can-do attitude. Role Our client delivers fit-out and refurbishment projects across healthcare, mental healthcare, education and commercial office environments, frequently within occupied buildings. Projects typically range from £5,000 to £2.5 million and involve differing procurement routes and levels of contractor design responsibility. As Senior Architectural Technologist, you will produce, develop and coordinate technical design information from feasibility and tender through construction and handover. You will take responsibility for the quality and compliance of allocated design packages, assessing them against Building Regulations, applicable healthcare and education design requirements, and project-specific client standards. Working within the pre-construction team and supporting project delivery, you will coordinate with consultants, specialist subcontractors, clients and site teams to resolve technical issues and develop practical, buildable solutions. You will exercise independent technical judgement within your competence, obtain specialist input where necessary and mentor colleagues involved in design production. You will support the wider team’s objectives: delivering a better construction journey; creating positive experiences and outcomes; continually improving; and working collaboratively. Key Responsibilities l CAD and technical design Produce and review layouts, plans, elevations, sections, construction details, specifications and schedules for feasibility, tender, statutory submissions and construction. l Building Regulations compliance Develop and check allocated designs against applicable Building Regulations and relevant Approved Documents. Record compliance evidence, coordinate specialist input and resolve identified issues. l Healthcare design compliance Review designs against applicable Health Building Notes, Health Technical Memoranda, NHS Trust standards and clinical briefs, including space requirements, infection prevention, accessibility, finishes and building services interfaces. l Mental healthcare design Coordinate requirements for ligature risk reduction, observation, security, robustness and patient wellbeing with clinical teams and specialist advisers. l Education design compliance Review designs against applicable DfE requirements, Building Bulletins and client briefs, including accommodation, SEND needs, accessibility, safeguarding, acoustics, fire safety, ventilation and thermal comfort. l Office fit-out design Develop space plans, partition and ceiling layouts, finishes, joinery details and schedules. Coordinate occupancy, accessibility, escape routes, acoustics, building services and landlord requirements. Senior Architectural Technologist | 1 l Planning applications Identify planning requirements with the project team and planning advisers. Prepare and coordinate drawings, supporting information and specialist reports; manage agreed application submissions, respond to authority queries and monitor progress through determination. l Discharging planning conditions Review planning decisions and maintain a conditions tracker recording requirements, responsible parties and deadlines. Coordinate evidence and applications to discharge conditions, obtain written confirmation and highlight restrictions affecting commencement, construction or occupation. l Building control applications Prepare and coordinate applications and supporting technical information through the appropriate building control route. Manage responses to review comments, track approvals and coordinate inspection and completion requirements with the delivery team and relevant designers. l Design management Lead coordination of allocated design packages across internal teams, consultants and specialist subcontractors. Establish design responsibilities, review deliverables for completeness and buildability, chair design meetings and track decisions and actions through to resolution. l Design scheduling Prepare and maintain design programmes and information release schedules aligned with tender, procurement, construction and statutory approval milestones. Define deliverables, dependencies and review periods; monitor progress and escalate delays or missing information affecting delivery. l Compliance tracking Maintain a design compliance matrix covering statutory, sector and client requirements, including applicable editions, supporting evidence, outstanding actions and agreed departures from guidance or specifications. l Surveys and existing conditions Undertake measured surveys and site reviews within competence, record constraints and information gaps, and coordinate further investigations where required. l Buildability and change control Develop practical solutions with commercial and operational teams. Assess design changes and product substitutions against regulatory, sector and client requirements, recording cost and programme implications and coordinating review before implementation. l Design safety and information control Identify foreseeable design risks and communicate significant residual risks. Maintain drawing registers, revisions and issue status, ensuring information follows agreed checking and authorisation procedures before release. l Construction and handover Attend site and design reviews, resolve technical queries within competence, and coordinate verified record drawings, relevant approval records and technical handover information. l Leadership and improvement Mentor colleagues, strengthen design checking and coordination procedures, and develop standard details, templates and lessons learned. Key Skills & Knowledge l Degree, HNC/HND or equivalent qualification in Architectural Technology or a relevant discipline, supported by substantial relevant experience. l Proven experience independently delivering technical design packages for construction, refurbishment or fit-out projects. l Strong CAD capability and construction detailing skills; Revit/BIM experience advantageous. Senior Architectural Technologist | 2 l Demonstrable knowledge and practical application of Building Regulations in England and relevant Approved Documents. l Practical knowledge of healthcare design requirements, including relevant HBNs, HTMs and client standards, with experience reviewing designs against them. l Practical knowledge of education design requirements, including applicable DfE standards and Building Bulletins, with experience reviewing designs against them. l Sound understanding of office fit-out, existing building constraints and multidisciplinary design coordination. l Knowledge of CDM designer duties, Building Regulations dutyholder responsibilities and the limits of personal competence. l Understanding of design responsibilities under traditional and design-and-build procurement, including JCT/NEC arrangements. l Strong communication, organisation, record keeping and technical problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify missing information and challenge unsuitable proposals. l Ability to mentor colleagues, manage competing deadlines and maintain constructive relationships with clients, consultants and site teams. l CIAT membership or progress towards chartership desirable. l Eligibility to work in the UK and ability to travel to project sites across the Northwest. Personal Attributes A confident, approachable and technically capable team player who values respect, trust and collaboration. Organised and self-driven, with pride in producing accurate, practical designs and a commitment to continuous improvement. Comfortable questioning assumptions, identifying compliance concerns and following issues through to resolution. Willing to share knowledge, develop colleagues and seek specialist advice when required. Benefits Competitive salary of £60,000–£65,000. 33 days’ holiday (including bank holidays). Pension scheme. Medicash scheme. Senior Architectural Technologist | 3