Head of Design – Infrastructure

The Role

The Head of Design – Infrastructure is responsible for leading and managing the full infrastructure design function across all phases of the project lifecycle, including pre-contract, tendering, post-contract execution, construction support, and handover. The role acts as the single po...

The Role
The Head of Design – Infrastructure is responsible for leading and managing the full infrastructure design function across all phases of the project lifecycle, including pre-contract, tendering, post-contract execution, construction support, and handover. The role acts as the single point of accountability for infrastructure design, ensuring that all technical solutions are aligned with the client’s vision, project objectives, delivery program, budget requirements, authority regulations, and construction strategy. This position requires strong leadership across multidisciplinary infrastructure teams, including roads, utilities, drainage, wet services, dry services, civil works, structures, traffic, mobility, and specialist technical disciplines. The Head of Design ensures that all infrastructure design outputs are coordinated, compliant, constructible, cost-effective, and delivered to the required quality standards. Key Responsibilities Strategic Design Leadership Lead the overall infrastructure design strategy throughout the full program lifecycle, ensuring alignment with the client’s objectives, project brief, delivery timelines, procurement strategy, and construction requirements. Provide senior technical direction to consultants, contractors, internal design teams, and project stakeholders to ensure that infrastructure solutions are practical, integrated, sustainable, and commercially viable. Act as the accountable design lead for all infrastructure-related matters, reporting directly to the Program Director and providing regular updates on design progress, risks, technical challenges, approvals, and key decisions. Infrastructure Design Management Manage the preparation and review of infrastructure design briefs, scopes of service, technical specifications, design deliverables, tender documentation, and construction-stage design information. Oversee the design development of roads, utilities, stormwater drainage, sewerage, potable water, irrigation, power, telecom, street lighting, district cooling interfaces, civil works, earthworks, grading, and related infrastructure systems. Review design submissions to ensure compliance with the approved brief, authority requirements, engineering standards, constructability expectations, budget constraints, and project delivery objectives. Lead technical reviews, design coordination meetings, redline mark-ups, design gap analyses, value engineering workshops, and scope validation exercises. Ensure that design documentation is complete, coordinated, accurate, and suitable for approvals, procurement, construction, and handover. Multidisciplinary Team Leadership Lead and coordinate a team of infrastructure engineers, civil engineers, utility specialists, road designers, drainage engineers, traffic and mobility consultants, structural engineers, MEP interface teams, planners, and specialist consultants. Drive integration between infrastructure design and other project disciplines, including master planning, architecture, landscape, sustainability, transportation, construction, procurement, cost management, and asset management. Ensure that interfaces between utilities, roads, public realm, plots, buildings, external networks, and authority assets are properly coordinated and resolved. Promote a collaborative design culture focused on technical quality, timely delivery, practical solutions, and proactive issue resolution. Stakeholder and Authority Coordination Represent the project in discussions with government entities, municipalities, utility providers, transport authorities, environmental agencies, civil defense bodies, and other regulatory stakeholders. Lead the coordination of authority submissions, technical approvals, permits, NOCs, design responses, and compliance documentation. Resolve authority comments, technical conflicts, interface issues, and approval challenges in coordination with consultants, contractors, and internal stakeholders. Ensure that all infrastructure design solutions comply with local codes, authority standards, utility provider requirements, safety regulations, environmental requirements, and project-specific guidelines. Technical Assurance and Risk Management Establish and lead technical assurance processes to ensure that all infrastructure design outputs meet required standards for safety, quality, performance, durability, sustainability, maintainability, and constructability. Identify design risks early and develop mitigation strategies to avoid delays, rework, cost escalation, authority rejection, construction disruption, or operational issues. Review RFIs, design clarifications, technical queries, material submissions, shop drawings, alternative proposals, and design changes from an infrastructure design perspective. Assess the impact of design decisions and changes on cost, schedule, technical compliance, approvals, construction sequencing, and long-term asset performance. Support value engineering initiatives to improve efficiency, reduce cost, enhance constructability, and optimize infrastructure performance without compromising quality or compliance. Procurement, Construction, and Reporting Support Provide technical input during procurement and tendering, including review of tender packages, employer’s requirements, consultant scopes, contractor proposals, technical bids, and specialist infrastructure packages. Support construction teams with timely design clarifications, technical guidance, site issue resolution, and coordination with consultants and contractors. Monitor infrastructure design progress against the approved program and escalate critical issues, risks, and decisions to the Program Director. Prepare and present design status reports, risk updates, authority approval trackers, decision logs, and technical summaries for senior management review. Key Interfaces The Head of Design – Infrastructure will work closely with: • Director • Country Manager • Client representatives • Project management team • Infrastructure consultants • Civil, roads, utilities, and drainage engineers • Traffic and mobility consultants • Contractors and specialist subcontractors • Authority and utility provider representatives • Procurement, commercial, planning, and construction teams • Sustainability and asset management teams

Requirements
Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Infrastructure Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Construction Management, or a related discipline. A master’s degree or professional certification such as PMP, Chartered Engineer, PE, or equivalent is preferred. Minimum of 15 years of relevant experience in infrastructure design, design management, engineering management, or major program delivery. Strong experience in large-scale infrastructure, mixed-use developments, master-planned communities, transportation networks, utilities, public realm infrastructure, or government-led infrastructure programs. Proven experience managing multidisciplinary infrastructure consultants and coordinating with authorities, municipalities, utility providers, contractors, and senior project stakeholders. Strong knowledge of infrastructure design standards, local authority approval processes, utility coordination, road design, drainage systems, civil works, procurement, construction support, and handover requirements. Required Skills and Competencies Strong leadership and design management capability. Excellent technical understanding of infrastructure systems, including roads, utilities, drainage, civil works, earthworks, grading, and external networks. Ability to manage complex technical interfaces across multiple disciplines and stakeholders. Strong knowledge of authority approvals, NOCs, technical compliance, design governance, risk management, and quality assurance. Excellent communication, negotiation, reporting, and stakeholder management skills. Strong commercial and construction awareness, with the ability to balance design quality, cost, schedule, constructability, and long-term asset performance. Ability to lead under pressure, resolve complex technical issues, and make sound decisions in a fast-paced project environment.

About the company
VIA INTERNATIONAL LLC was established in 2013 as a subsidiary of VIA Ingegneria S.r.l. Italy established in 1988, which has always operated in the fields of planning and management of main infrastructural works in Italy and Abroad. In October 2019 VIA acquired the Hydraulic & Transports Branch Division of LOTTI Ingegneria S.P.A., that is one of the oldest Italian Engineering Company with deep expertise on the Hydraulic & Transport Fieds in Italy and Abroad.