Client:
The client is a human-centric and planet-conscious engineering consultancy, delivering intelligent and sustainable solutions to complex design challenges across the built environment in the UK and internationally.
They provide a comprehensive range of engineering and consultancy services, including acoustics, air quality, building services (MEP), fire, lighting, security, and sustainability. Their multidisciplinary teams combine technical excellence and creative problem-solving to deliver outstanding building design and operational performance that meets the needs of the communities they serve.
The client is committed to creating an inclusive, supportive environment where individuals can thrive. Employees benefit from a 9-day fortnight scheme, wellbeing initiatives, community networks, social and networking events, structured professional development programmes, and a comprehensive benefits package including private medical cover, electric vehicle salary sacrifice, stock options, and up to 30 days of annual leave.
Their ambition is to enable everyone to develop their knowledge, perform at their best, and enjoy meaningful and rewarding careers.
Role:
The client is seeking a Senior Associate / Associate Engineer to join their Operational Assets team in Oxford, taking on the role of Office Workstream Lead.
This senior leadership position involves responsibility for managing and developing the office workstream, driving business development across both existing and new clients, and overseeing the professional, commercial, financial, and administrative delivery of Operational Asset services within the Oxford office and wider regional area.
This opportunity is ideally suited to a technically strong and commercially aware engineer with a passion for existing buildings, who thrives on solving complex operational challenges and is motivated by delivering pragmatic, data-driven solutions that support the transition to net zero.
The Operational Assets team integrates the expertise of property consultants, design engineers, and building performance specialists to provide a fully joined-up service across the building lifecycle. The team embeds itself within client organisations, developing sustainable roadmaps and delivering improvements from early concept through implementation and long-term operation.
With a strong track record across the residential, commercial, and healthcare sectors, the team continues to expand to meet increasing client demand, offering a unique opportunity to shape and grow a high-performing regional workstream.
Responsibilities:
The successful candidate will take a senior leadership role, responsible for:
- Leading and developing the Oxford Operational Assets workstream, including planning, financial oversight, and team management.
- Securing new projects while strengthening existing client relationships and supporting regional growth strategies.
- Supporting the regional lead in delivery planning, workload management, and service development.
- Providing strong technical leadership, mentorship, and supervision to engineers and consultants.
- Working collaboratively with other discipline teams to deliver a diverse portfolio of projects.
- Recruiting, training, and developing team members, supporting long-term succession planning.
- Undertaking detailed design, technical specification, and site monitoring activities.
- Managing commissioning processes and delivering post-occupancy engineering services.
- Producing technical reports including feasibility studies, investigations, and condition surveys.
- Liaising directly with clients, contractors, consultants, and stakeholders with strong commercial and project management awareness.
The role involves leading projects valued up to several million pounds, delivering technical support to asset owners, landlords, managing agents, and project teams. The portfolio is predominantly UK-based, with some international opportunities.
Operational Assets – Core Service Areas
The team delivers expertise across three key service streams:
- Decarbonisation & Energy Performance - Developing pragmatic strategies to reduce energy consumption, enhance occupant comfort, and deliver net-zero outcomes using emerging technologies and data-led solutions.
- Design & Engineering - Delivering creative, technically robust building services design solutions for complex existing buildings across all RIBA stages.
- Property Consultancy - Providing technical advisory services to support property management, asset operation, and transactional processes, including:
- Technical due diligence (vendor and pre-acquisition)
- Dilapidations surveys
- Planned preventative maintenance reporting
- Licences to Alter Maintenance inspections
- Validation management
- Asset registers
- Troubleshooting
- Energy optimisation surveys
- EPC assessments
Projects span multiple sectors including commercial offices, retail, residential, education, healthcare, justice, defence, heritage, industrial, and technology.
Requirements:
The ideal candidate will demonstrate:
- Chartered status as a qualified design engineer.
- Strong technical expertise in a primary engineering discipline, ideally with experience in the science and research sector.
- A solid understanding of secondary engineering disciplines and multidisciplinary coordination.
- Good contractual, commercial, and project risk management capability.
- Proven experience in performance specification, detailed design, contract administration, and site supervision.
- Broad building services engineering knowledge with a strong technical foundation.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong knowledge of UK and relevant EU regulations, standards, and design guidance.
- Excellent organisational, leadership, and interpersonal skills.
- A proven track record in work winning, team leadership, and client relationship management.
- Security clearance, or willingness to undergo vetting, is advantageous for involvement in certain sectors.
