Head of BIM & Digital Construction

Head of BIM & Digital Construction

Designer Group · Dublin, Ireland (Hybrid) · — · Posted 2026-11-13

Workplace: hybrid

Description

About Designer Group

Designer Group is a leading mechanical and electrical (MEP) contractor, designing and building MEP systems for clients across our key industries: Data Centres, Advanced Technology, Energy and Building Services. As the group grows, it is investing in digital, data and AI capability so that technology becomes a genuine source of advantage in how we win and deliver work, and this role is central to that ambition.

The role

You will lead Designer Group's BIM function, accountable for the quality, consistency and efficiency of digital delivery across our EPC and MEP projects. Your remit covers five connected areas: leading and growing the BIM team; planning the people and technology capability we need; owning BIM standards, governance and delivery; championing digital, AI and data across the project lifecycle; and managing the BIM software estate, including licensing and vendor negotiations. Across all of these, you will bring strong commercial awareness, set out clear options and scenarios to support decisions, and work closely with other disciplines so that BIM is fully integrated with how our projects are designed, built and handed over.

Reporting to the CTO, you will combine senior leadership with hands-on delivery of digital change. You will identify where digital tools, data and AI can remove effort and risk from design, construction and QA/QC, and work with project teams to put those opportunities into practice. As a digital evangelist, you will build understanding, confidence and adoption - not simply promote new technology.

Key responsibilities

1. BIM leadership and team management

• Lead, motivate and develop the BIM team, including staff, contractors and offshore delivery partners.
• Set clear roles, career paths and succession plans, and make sure the team has the depth to cover our key industries: Data Centres, Advanced Technology, Energy and Building Services.
• Allocate BIM resources across the project portfolio, balancing priorities, quality and cost, and work closely with design, engineering, construction, commercial, quality and health and safety teams so that BIM is integrated with other disciplines.
• Build bench strength, developing a commercially aware team that understands how BIM decisions affect cost, programme, margin and risk.
• Ensure BIM support is visible and accessible to project teams and develop the team's practical understanding of construction, installation, commissioning and handover so that BIM outputs meet the needs of those delivering the work.

2. Resource and capability planning

• Work with Operations, Pre-construction and HR to forecast BIM demand from the project pipeline and bids.
• Maintain a Group-wide BIM delivery and resource tracker across live and upcoming projects, providing visibility of workload, project stage, resource requirements and key BIM milestones.
• Define the people capabilities needed (BIM management, information management, coordination, modelling, scanning, fabrication detailing) and close gaps.
• Define the technology capabilities needed (authoring, coordination, CDE, reality capture, fabrication and model-to-machine) and set the BIM technology roadmap with the CTO.
• Develop and compare resourcing options across in-house, contractor and offshore mixes, assessing cost, capacity, quality and risk; recommend the preferred option, and manage those partners to agreed standards.

3. BIM standards, governance and delivery

• Own BIM standards, templates, content libraries and workflows, aligned to ISO 19650.
• Maintain ISO 19650 certification and our Lead Appointed Party capability on GC and EPC projects.
• Set up project BIM audits and assurance with the Quality function so standards are applied consistently.
• Make sure BIM processes support health and safety and design risk management, including capturing and sharing safety-critical information in models and at handover.
• Provide central governance over BIM tool and contractor selection on projects.
• Support bids and client engagement with BIM Execution Plans, EIR responses and digital delivery proposals, working with Commercial and Estimating teams to price BIM scope accurately and show clients the commercial value of digital delivery.
• At tender and project mobilisation, establish the BIM delivery approach, responsibilities, deliverables, resource requirements and interfaces across BIM, engineering, construction and project teams.
• Establish consistent project controls covering coordination checklists, model and drawing reviews, redlines, as-built information and handover requirements, ensuring these are defined from project commencement and applied consistently through delivery.
• Track BIM deliverables and milestones against the project programme and provide regular reporting, escalating emerging gaps early.

4. Digital, AI and data: championing adoption

Identify and prioritise where digital, AI and data can deliver efficiency across the project lifecycle:

o  Design: automated design checks, clash management, model-based quantities and faster design iteration.

o  Construction: improve planning through 4D/5D; connect models to off-site manufacture, fabrication and model-to-machine workflows; support site delivery through digital site tools and laser scanning for progress and as-built verification; and enable model-based safety planning, including logistics, temporary works and safe access reviews.

o  Lead the BIM and digital construction approach for Designer Group's modular and off-site manufacturing capability developing fabrication-ready modelling, standardised content, model-to-machine workflows and effective information flows between design, project, site and manufacturing teams.

o  QA/QC: digital ITPs, model-linked inspections, commissioning data, snagging and digital handover/asset information.

• Develop practical applications of 7D to 10D BIM that meet client requirements and demonstrate value, agreeing scope, information requirements and outcomes with clients and project teams.
• Build the case for digital investments by setting out options and scenarios, including costs, benefits, risks and the do-nothing position; then run controlled pilots and proof-of-value trials, measure the benefit, and scale what works.
• Ensure digital initiatives and innovation deliver measurable improvements in productivity, quality and programme certainty.
• Make BIM data available to the wider business through the data platform and integration architecture.
• Champion adoption: communicate the value of digital clearly to project teams, leadership and clients, and build a community of digital champions.
• Track industry and technology developments and bring relevant ideas into Designer Group.

5. BIM licence management and vendor negotiation

• Own the BIM software estate, including licence inventory, allocation, usage monitoring and compliance.
• Lead commercial negotiations and renewals with BIM software vendors and resellers to get value for money.
• Rationalise tools to reduce duplication and cost, and manage the BIM software budget, assessing licensing and product options against total cost of ownership, usage and project need.
• Work with IT on deployment, security, access and supplier risk for BIM applications and CDEs.

About you

You should be able to use examples to show how you have led BIM delivery and built teams, introduced digital change that project teams adopted, managed resources or software suppliers, and weighed up options and scenarios to reach commercially sound decisions. Explain your own contribution and the outcomes achieved.

Experience delivering BIM on EPC or large GC projects, including information management at a lead appointed party level.

Significant experience in BIM on MEP projects, including a substantial and demonstrable track record of leading BIM teams at a senior level.

• Experience in one or more of our key industries: Data Centres, Advanced Technology, Energy or Building Services.
• Strong working knowledge of ISO 19650 and BIM standards in Ireland, EU and the UK.
• Hands-on knowledge of leading BIM authoring, coordination and CDE platforms (for example Autodesk Revit, Navisworks, ACC, and related MEP, fabrication and process design tools such as Plant 3D).
• Proven experience in resource planning, managing contractors or offshore partners, and building capable, commercially aware teams that understand the cost, programme and margin impact of their work.
• Strong commercial awareness, including experience managing software licences and budgets, negotiating with vendors and building business cases for investment.
• A track record of introducing digital change on projects and getting people to adopt it, by helping leaders and project teams understand the costs, benefits and risks of each approach before committing.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, able to engage site teams, engineers, executives and clients, and to work effectively across disciplines including design, engineering, construction, commercial, quality and health and safety.
• A strong commitment to health and safety, and an understanding of how digital tools can reduce risk in design, construction and maintenance.
• Active participation in vendor and industry groups, such as software user and advisory groups, BIM and digital construction forums, or professional bodies, and the ability to use these networks to influence product direction and bring good practice into Designer Group.
• Exposure to off-site manufacture, fabrication and model-to-machine workflows.
• Experience with reality capture, 4D/5D, digital QA/QC or digital handover, plus a sound understanding of 7D to 10D BIM and the judgement to apply them where they offer practical value.
• Understanding of data platforms, automation and AI tools, and how they apply in construction.
• Relevant degree in engineering, construction or a related field; professional membership or BIM certification.

What success looks like (first 12 months)

• A clear BIM operating model, organisation structure and resource plan linked to the project pipeline, supported by costed scenarios for different pipeline outcomes and resourcing mixes.
• Consistent ISO 19650 governance and project audits operating across projects, with findings recorded, corrective actions tracked and evidence that recurring gaps are being addressed.
• A completed review of the BIM software estate, showing licence allocation, usage, cost and renewal commitments, with an agreed, prioritised plan to improve licence utilisation and commercial terms and rationalise tools where it makes sense.
• A prioritised digital, AI and data roadmap for design, construction and QA/QC, with controlled pilots demonstrating measurable efficiency against an agreed starting baseline and clear recommendations on which solutions to scale.
• A growing BIM team that builds on its existing strengths, with clear career paths, development opportunities and succession plans in place, and that is seen by design, construction, commercial and quality colleagues as a collaborative, commercially aware partner.

Apply

Apply at Designer Group

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