Workplace Designer

Job summary

The Government Property Agency is the largest property holder in government, with more than £2.1 billion in property assets and over 55% of the government’s office estate.

We are transforming the way the Civil Service works by creating great places to work, leading the largest commercial office programme in the UK, working towards halving carbon emissions from government offices, and achieving greater value for taxpayers. And we are looking for innovative, solutions-focused people to join our team.

Representing the best covenant in the UK – His Majesty’s Government – we are leading significant transformational programmes such as the Government Hubs Programme, Whitehall Campus Programme and Net Zero Programme. We are also delivering cost-effective property services such as asset management, lifecycle replacement and workplace services.

Innovation and progress underpin our behaviours. We foster a culture of lifelong learning, where curiosity and self-improvement are encouraged. Our four core values are at the heart of everything we do. They shape our culture and guide how we work, lead and grow together:

• Striving for excellence- We always aim to deliver great results
• Empowering through respect- We insist on fair treatment for all, always
• Acting with integrity- We consistently do the right thing
• Succeeding together- We rely on each other to achieve success

We are committed to representing the communities we serve by making Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) part of everything we do. Our strong emphasis on EDI is not just about driving inclusion across our organisation, it is also about ensuring our services meet the needs of government departments and the civil servants who use our spaces. To ensure that we are always recruiting and retaining a diverse mix of talent, we are particularly inviting applications from candidates who are disabled, ethnically or gender diverse, and people who identify as being part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Join our dynamic and diverse team that leads with purpose, improving sustainability, nurturing social value, driving inclusivity and flexibility, and kickstarting economic growth.

We are driven by purpose, and you can be part of it too: where you make a meaningful impact; where you influence; where your voice really matters; where you help to shape our future direction.

Job description

The Workplace Designer (WD) is responsible for ensuring the Government Workplace Design Guide and supporting technical handbooks are applied consistently across specific projects. They also provide day to day advice and guidance to the project team on design matters.

Supporting the Workplace Design Manager, and acting as the tactical Intelligent Client on specific projects, the WD interprets the Government Workplace Design Guide, GPA’s Employer Requirements and any client specialist requirements, informing design briefs for developers and GPA’s consulting design partners to produce designs for each RIBA stage.

The WD provides assurance that all designs support the GPA’s commitment to create workplaces that are safe, inclusive and accessible and as flexible as possible to support smarter and hybrid working practices.

Working as part of a wider team, the WD provides ad-hoc support on other projects as required, including the development and maintenance of our guides and standards to ensure our projects are at the forefront of sustainable and inclusive workplace design.

Key Responsibilities

Reporting to a Workplace Design Manager, the Workplace Designer is responsible for:

• Advising the Workplace Design Manager on the status of the project’s design, ensuring they are aligned to the Government Workplace Design Guide and supporting technical handbooks.
• Providing professional advice and guidance to the project team, escalating design related risks and issues as appropriate to the Workplace Design Manager.
• Technically assuring the designs produced by the GPA’s consulting design partners and developer’s architects, to ensure compliance with GPA’s requirements.
• Supporting client engagement on all design matters.
• Implementing the Government Workplace Design Guide in full, as far as is reasonably practicable, and managing exceptions (client specialist requirements) into appropriate briefing material for designers to use during Cat A and Cat B RIBA stages, minimising the need for bespoke spaces.
• Work with the Project Manager to review client specialist requirements to minimise costs and unnecessary derogation from the Government Workplace Design Guide and technical annexes.
• Providing information to inform detailed briefings, options analysis and information on design for senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Monitoring and reporting on the project specific design progress.
• Supporting the GPA Customer Experience team to advocate smarter ways of working.
• Supporting the GPA’s Chief Technology Office team to deliver interoperable AV/IT solutions.
• Supporting the GPA Business Readiness team to design customer focussed products and services.
• Working with subject matter experts in design-related areas across government, and private sector professionals including the property industry.
• Acting as a client design point of contact for designers, contractors, consultant partners and their supply chains on specific projects.

The Workplace Designer is directly accountable to the Workplace Design Manager for the status of their allocated project’s design

Person specification

We are looking for an experienced design professional who can demonstrate practical experience of design management and delivery on large scale projects or programmes in ‘multi-disciplinary’ project teams.

Experience & Technical Skills

Essential criteria:
Knowledge and understanding of construction, technical specifications, workspace design and procurement.
Successful end-to-end delivery of large change projects through forming effective relationships with senior stakeholders, customer groups, policy makers, and creating engaged teams.
Experience of effective client engagement and relationship management with senior leaders and stakeholders.
Ability to make value based decisions and drive continuous improvement.
Excellent IT skills including Adobe Creative Suite, MS Office and PDF mark-up software (e.g. Bluebeam Revu).
Experience of effective team working.
Experience of communicating and influencing at a senior level.
Understanding of project management methodologies.
Experience gained in an architectural, design or construction based role.

Desirable criteria:
Managing effective governance controls in a complex business environment.
Experience developing, maintaining and applying design guidance and standards.
Understanding of Government or BSRIA Soft Landings process.
Understanding of projects using BIM level 2.
Experience using Common Data Environments (CDE) for document management.
Experience of working in or with the Government Property Profession.

Qualifications and Accreditations

Desirable criteria:

• An associate or bachelor's degree in architecture, interior design and/or another relevant subject.
• Membership of a relevant professional body (e.g. ARB, Chartered Society of Designers etc.)
• Relevant project management qualification (eg APM, MSP etc).

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Inf