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Principal Designer - Construction Safety (CDM)
Arcadis
Source: Headcount Labs · original listing ↗
Job data: Headcount Labs, ODbL 1.0. Job descriptions belong to their employers.
Source date: 11/1/2026
About this role
Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets. We are more than 34,000 people, in over 30 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world’s most complex challenges and deliver more impact together. Role description: Arcadis provides Design and Consultancy services in combination with deep expertise in built assets. Our Design and Construction Safety Team are involved in some of the UK’s most complex and stimulating projects that are both diverse and technically demanding. We also provide global opportunities as we embrace cross-region collaboration. We are looking for an experienced health & safety professional to support design & engineering projects within a wide range of industry sectors, working with teams of multi-disciplinary architects, engineers and technicians. This role will focus on delivering an exemplar Principal Designer service under CDM 2015 regulations and a background experience in building design is essential. In the role you will be carrying out tasks which include the implementation of principles of prevention, design reviews, development of designers' risk assessments, collating pre-construction information and undertaking assessment of contractor safe working arrangements. You will be a key partner to project and design teams, bridging the gap between regulatory frameworks and practical site execution. You will support handover interfaces, including developing health and safety files. With an increasing focus on flexible working and working locations, this role is offered to potential candidates from across the southern regions of the UK, with the understanding that attendance will be required at key meetings, client & design meetings and site visits. Role accountabilities: Build & maintaining relationships with colleagues and client contacts to identify and realise opportunities to promote our team capability. Liaison with clients to understand specific project requirements and to report on technical and commercial progress. Provide advice on how to meet CDM regulatory requirements and relevant engineering safety standards, including Client, Designer and Contractors. Undertake site inspections and design audits covering a wide range of health and safety matters; assessing performance and identifying actions to ensure compliance with legislation and best practice. Conduct audits of client supply chain to establish mechanisms in place to discharge Designer, Principal Designer and/or Principal Contractor duties. Deliver CDM knowledge share session to project and client teams. Involvement with third-party liaison and consents, i.e. Environment Agency, planning authorities, Health & Safety Executive, Network Rail and others. Provide professional leadership in aspects of safety discipline, establishing and consolidating relationships with clients, and taking ownership of the delivery of the technical strategy of projects. Provide professional leadership in the Water Sector to develop H&S CDM opportunities with Arcadis and Water Sector Clients. Qualifications & Experience: Design or engineering related degree, diploma or certificate. Membership of a recognised design body such as ICE, IMechE, CIOB, RIBA or suitable alternative recognised design body Qualification in Construction Safety (NEBOSH Construction Certificate/Diploma) Member of a safety-related institution, such as APS or IOSH. 3 - 7 years of practical experience in delivering CDM on building design and\or engineering projects, along with current or previous design activities/ function/ involvement. Construction site safety expertise: risk assessments, safety inspections, permit-to-work systems, toolbox talks, and emergency response planning. Track record/involvement in the delivery of projects with knowledge of building regulation-approved document is an advantage. Ability to challenge designers on CDM design compliance. Acting as a CDM and H&S technical advisor to internal and external clients. Able to appreciate the team's financial, quality and programme targets. Ability to clearly communicate design philosophy and requirements with other team members. Why Arcadis? We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. We believe everyone's contribution matters. It’s why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together. You’ll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you’ll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet. Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you. Together, we can create a lasting legacy. Join Arcadis. Create a Legacy. Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We believe that by working together diverse people with different experiences develop the most innovative ideas. Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of how we improve quality of life and we work closely with our people across six ED&I Workstreams: Age, Disability, Faith, Gender, LGBT+ and Race. A diverse and skilled workforce is essential to our success.