We're looking for a Design Manager student to join our Construction team based in Witham for an Industrial placement.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a leading construction and infrastructure services company on our placement programme. These programmes have been designed to provide you with the experiences and tools needed for progression within your chosen career.

Location: Witham, Essex 

Contract: 12 months - 40 hours per week

Salary: £24,960

Start date: September 2025 

What will you be responsible for?

Kier Group is a leading UK construction and infrastructure services company, made up of different business divisions including Construction, Transportation, Natural Resources, Nuclear & Networks, and Property. With a diverse range of opportunities across the country, we offer a dynamic and inclusive environment where you can launch a rewarding career. To learn more about our business and divisions, visit here.

As an Industrial Placement candidate, you will experience practical, hands-on experience.  You will work on real projects, gain valuable industry insights, and develop essential skills to prepare for a successful career. This placement is ideal for you as a graduate to apply your academic knowledge in a dynamic, real-world setting.

Your day to day will include:

• Assist the Design Manager/Senior Design Manager in obtain a detailed understanding of the brief and clarify the detail of the client brief, key drivers, required outcomes and capacity to deliver.
• Support the Design Manager/Senior Design Manger with the project substantiality requirements, such as calculation of carbon for the tender design, environmental toolkits.
• Support the Design Manager/Senior Design Manager, ensuring that the performance of the design supply chain and the design team is reviewed, any issues addressed during the project, and any lessons learned are collected for central use after the project is completed.
• Participating in team/ design meetings and contribute to problem-solving and decision-making processes.

How does a placement work?

Kier is committed to encouraging talent and providing opportunities for growth and development.

When you join, you will be enrolled onto our industrial placement scheme. The programme will take 12-months to complete and has been designed to immerse yourself in the world of construction, you'll get to see your learnings in real world situations and gain practical experiences to support the rest of your degree.

Benefits for you

• Practical experience: gain valuable hands-on experience in your field.
• Skill improvement: develop technical and professional skills.
• Networking: build professional relationships and expand your network.
• Career insight: gain insights into your chosen industry and potential career paths.
• Employment opportunities: increase your chances of securing a further placement, or graduate opportunity, at Kier or elsewhere.

What are we looking for?

We're on the lookout for students undertaking a degree in design/construction management, who have the option or requirement to complete a placement year from 2025 - 2026. After your placement, you'll be returning to university with a graduation year of 2027.

The role of Industrial Placement Design Manager is great for you if:

• Have excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work well both independently and as part of a team.

• Must hold Full UK Drivers Licence with access to own vehicle

Please note that for certain positions, a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check may be required as part of the recruitment process.

Rewards and benefits

We are proud to be able to offer our brilliant people a variety of flexible benefits that you can tailor to your needs. You can see more information of benefits here.

Diversity and inclusion

Making Kier a diverse and inclusive place to work is a high priority for us. We're proud of the steps we've taken so far, but we know we must always do more. Our employees are key in shaping Kier's diversity and inclusion initiatives, and our people have made a huge impact on how we work, by using their experiences to shape our policies. You can see our D&I action plan here.

We look forward to seeing your application to join the #constructionrevolution #joinkier

Recruitment timeline

October 2024: Initial applications

November 2024: Application reviews

January 2025 onwards: Virtual/in-person assessment centres