Senior Manager Landscape Design

About the Role

As Senior Manager Landscape Design you will provide strategic leadership and specialist landscape design expertise to hybrid Bill and Delivery Teams, ensuring an integrated and holistic landscape design that meets the Design Vision, environmental requirements, strategic goals and cost constraints. You will lead the integration of public realm and landscape information from complex sources, delivering qualitative assurance to senior management across a defined geographic area. You will act as the Lead Subject Matter Expert for Landscape Design and Public Realm across main civil, stations, systems and infrastructure contracts, setting strategic objectives, assuring outcomes and driving design‑vision‑compliant solutions. You will lead design discussions across multiple contract teams, promote an integrated approach, and collaborate with senior stakeholders such as Natural England, the Forestry Commission, the Canal & River Trust, local highways and planning authorities. You will coach, up‑skill and influence colleagues, lead a small team of landscape architects and consultants, and provide day‑to‑day strategic design leadership, technical standards and guidance. Responsibility also includes technical support for Schedule 17 planning applications, risk reduction through engagement with local planning authorities, budget ownership as delegated, and regular progress updates to the Head of Natural Environment Design. • Developing implementation mechanisms for complex landscape and design‑related projects. • Working as part of a multidisciplinary management team within a large, complex project. • Providing risk‑based advice to senior stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• ▸design implementation
• ▸landscape integration
• ▸risk advice
• ▸design governance
• ▸planning support
• ▸team coaching

What You Bring

The successful candidate will hold a degree in Landscape Architecture (or equivalent) and be a Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute. You must possess strong leadership, presentation, risk‑management, analytical, influencing, assurance, project management and mentoring skills, together with a deep understanding of landscape standards, cost delivery, schedule targets and multidisciplinary integration. Proven experience in leading complex landscape and public realm schemes, managing multidisciplinary projects, delivering risk‑based advice, and working on regeneration and master‑planning projects is required. HS2 does not hold a sponsorship licence; applicants must already have the right to work in the UK. • Leadership skills including effective problem solving, ability to delegate, giving and receiving feedback and managing conflicting requirements. • Presentation skills to deliver complex written and oral communications and presentations suitable for a broad audience and a diverse group of stakeholders. • Risk management skills, including the ability to assess, analyse and escalate risk. • Analytical skills, including the ability to compare, assure and provide analysis on information from varied sources. • Influencing and negotiating skills, including the ability to influence senior decision makers and management on Landscape Design matters. • Review and assurance skills, including the ability to compare, assure and provide analysis on information from varied sources. • Project management skills – ability to coordinate and manage multiple workstreams. • Mentoring and coaching skills to guide junior colleagues in design and engineering within an infrastructure environment. • Degree in Landscape Architecture or equivalent. • Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute. • Conversant with relevant Landscape Architecture standards and able to interpret them in a railway/transportation environment. • Understanding of cost delivery, schedule targets and the need to deliver an integrated, compliant solution meeting design and functional requirements. • Understanding of how Landscape Architecture and related disciplines fit within the overall multidisciplinary context and dependencies. • Understanding of working in complex organisations and project workplaces. • Leadership in delivery of complex Landscape and Public Realm schemes in a multidisciplinary design and delivery environment. • Experience of complex programmes or projects and how Landscape Design fits within the multidisciplinary context and interdependencies. • Experience working on regeneration and master‑planning projects. • Experience undertaking design reviews, critiquing and mentoring project teams to achieve high‑quality design proposals. • Experience developing pragmatic analysis, strategies and assurance processes.

Requirements

• ▸landscape architecture
• ▸chartered
• ▸project management
• ▸risk management
• ▸leadership
• ▸regeneration

Benefits

The role is based in Birmingham or London with a base salary ranging from £54,878 to approximately £64,562 depending on skills and experience. In addition, a fully pensionable flexible benefits fund of 20% of salary is offered, together with a competitive benefits package. HS2 Ltd is committed to ensuring everyone feels included, thrives and reaches their full potential. The company provides flexible working, supports staff networks, and offers personal and professional development opportunities, while making adjustments where needed.

Work Environment

Hybrid