Senior Architect - Education

Senior Architect - Education

Manchester

Full time, permanent contract

About the role

We have an opportunity for a talented Senior Architect to join our award‑winning education team in BDP’s Manchester studio. We are currently working on the design and delivery of several exciting and innovative higher education projects and are looking for an experienced education architect to take a senior role in the team, leading design development, liaising directly with clients, and making a significant contribution to our extensive education sector portfolio.

About us

BDP is a leading, global, multidisciplinary design practice united by a shared purpose: to design a world that’s built for good. For more than 60 years, we’ve been solving problems, creating innovative spaces, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. From the start, we’ve been pioneers in the world of design, and our legacy is built on the meaningful, people‑centred places we’ve brought to life.

We are a diverse, international practice of architects, engineers, designers, and urbanists. We work closely with our clients, users, and communities to craft spaces for living, working, learning, and enjoying life across the globe. With studios spanning the UK, Ireland, Europe, Asia, and North America, our reach is as broad as our expertise. And since joining forces with Japan’s Nippon Koei in 2016, our ability to deliver integrated, impactful design has only grown stronger.

Our work is rooted in creativity, quality, and collaboration. We believe that great design removes barriers and opens new possibilities, all while meeting the demands of a constantly evolving world. Whether we’re designing homes, workplaces, or public spaces, we always put people at the heart of our thinking, ensuring that the environments we create are not just functional, but also inclusive, beautiful, and socially and environmentally responsible.

We’re proud of the places we’ve shaped and the lives we’ve touched, and we are committed to continuing our mission of designing a better, more connected world – one that leaves every place better than we found it.

About you

Reporting directly to the Architect Director leading the Manchester education team, you will work in a highly collaborative and creative team, developing exciting new designs for education projects and working closely with our clients to communicate and test these proposals.

Qualifications

• Highly motivated education architect with experience in the design of inspirational education buildings, including universities, further-education, or schools.
• Global experience and knowledge of university estate strategies and masterplans would be welcome but is not essential.
• Passionate about the education sector and its potential to transform society.
• Portfolio demonstrating excellent concept design skills, including estates masterplans, the design of innovative education spaces, and demonstrating design leadership through all stages of a project.
• Strong visual and verbal presentation skills, particular for strategic studies and early-stage concept designs.
• Experience contributing to multi-stakeholder consultation with exposure to education clients.
• Skilled at working collaboratively with people at all levels and from all backgrounds to lead clients through the design process, particularly during briefing and early design stages.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and a proven ability to coordinate designs and collaborate with design teams, including mentoring and guiding junior staff.
• Ability to organise and prioritise tasks, with an ability to deliver to an agreed programme.
• Good knowledge of current trends and legislation in the education sector, particularly higher education in the UK; experience working globally in higher education would be beneficial.
• Critical friend and clear communicator.
• Capability to produce high-quality deliverables and build personal relationships with clients and other designers on projects.
• Confident when using BIM tools (Revit), 3D visualisation, and curious about advanced workflows and innovation.
• Ability to produce clear reports, presentations, diagrams, and drawings.

BDP offers

In return, BDP offers you a wide range of learning opportunities to encourage personal and professional career development. From sponsorship to profession‐led CPD events, we also provide annual appraisals and a mentoring scheme supported by our internal online learning platform.

Benefits

We offer a competitive remuneration and benefits package that includes an employee profit share scheme, tax‑efficient smart benefits, private medical insurance, life insurance, long‑term sickness insurance, interest‑free season ticket loans, health screening, the opportunity to buy or swap holidays, enhanced maternity and paternity provision, and many more.

We offer regular international, and studio based social, sporting and charitable events. Some recent events include month‑end socials, a hiking club, wellbeing webinars and toolbox talks. Our variety of employee forums gives everyone a platform to have a voice and be heard, which drives cultural changes and helps to create an engaged, inclusive organisation.

Additional information

To find out more about what BDP can offer you, please visit: https://www.bdp.com/en/careers-at-bdp/why-join-bdp/

EEO Statement

BDP is actively fostering an inclusive organisation where people can be themselves and everyone has a sense of belonging. We want our teams to be diverse at every level, reflecting the communities we design for. As designers, we will create spaces for all that promote equity, wellbeing and participation within the built environment. We actively encourage people from a variety of backgrounds with different skills, professional and life experiences, to join us and help us to achieve our aspirations. We also welcome applications from candidates who wish to work flexibly. BDP also operates a hybrid working policy, usually three days in the office and two days working from home.

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