Design Manager

Synopsis Lead, mentor and develop a dynamic multidisciplinary team. Contract until 30 June 2026 (possible extension). $140,947 – $158,633 (dependent on experience) + 12% Superannuation. About The Role Are you ready to step into a senior leadership role and make an impact? This 6‑month opportunity offers the chance to lead, mentor, and inspire a multidisciplinary team at a pivotal time for City Design. As a Design Manager, you’ll join the City Design leadership group, sharing responsibility for oversight of the works program, people leadership, and strategic advisory support. You’ll play a key role in fostering a collaborative, high-performance culture while guiding complex, high-profile projects from concept to completion, delivering innovative design solutions and shaping the future of our city. This role combines hands‑on project leadership with strategic influence. You’ll provide advice on policy and design matters, support succession planning and professional development, and champion design excellence. Projects span the full lifecycle, from feasibility and concept through to documentation, stakeholder engagement, construction, and handover, requiring creativity, technical rigor, and strong collaboration. If you’re passionate about design leadership and want to help shape impactful urban spaces, this is your opportunity to step into a pivotal role and define the next chapter for City Design. About You You’re a seasoned design professional with a strong background in landscape architecture and a proven ability to lead complex, high‑profile projects. You thrive in multidisciplinary environments, bringing strategic insight and creative vision to every stage of the project lifecycle, from feasibility and concept through to delivery and handover. Your leadership style fosters collaboration and high performance, and you are confident in guiding teams while influencing policy and design decisions. You have excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills, enabling you to advocate for design excellence and build strong relationships. Combining creativity with technical precision, you deliver innovative solutions that shape impactful urban spaces and contribute to the future of our city. What Your Experience Might Look Like Proven ability to lead, develop, motivate and mentor a team to achieve high performance outcomes, including managing conflict and underperformance effectively. Demonstrated experience in conceiving, developing and delivering high-quality, innovative and technically advanced urban design and landscape strategies, master plans and design proposals. Extensive experience in the design and delivery of complex, high-value urban realm projects within a multidisciplinary environment and involving multiple stakeholders. Excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship-building skills, with the ability to negotiate and influence outcomes in a highly political and complex environment. Highly developed analytical, lateral thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to take initiative, drive change and implement innovations. Benefits Of Working With Us Attractive remuneration & benefits: Excellent pay package with a range of exciting benefits. Flexible working, study assistance & other great corporate discounts. Excellent leave entitlements: Enjoy up to 20 weeks of fully paid parental leave for primary carers, in addition to the government-funded parental leave, with no waiting period to access. Part-time equivalents are also available for added flexibility. Career progression: Career development support and opportunities to learn new skills within a creative and exciting environment. Work‑life balance and hybrid working: We support flexible hours, alternative work arrangements (like ADOs), and hybrid work-from-home options. How To Apply We’d love to hear how you can make an impact in this role As part of your application, you will be required to: Attach your updated resume. Include a cover letter (max one page) outlining your relevant experience and why you’re a great fit for this role. Submit your application no later than 11:45 pm on Monday 01 December 2025. A Few Important Things to Note – Don’t Miss Out Applications must be submitted online. We can’t accept applications via email, so please apply through the official job link provided. Apply early This role may close sooner than the listed closing date if we find the right candidate — so don’t wait to get your application in. We are a child‑safe organisation. The City of Melbourne has a zero tolerance for child abuse. All employees undergo thorough safety screening, including a Police Check and, for most roles, a Working with Children Check. Need More Info? Refer to the position description below or contact Tiffany Crawford – (Acting) Director City Design at . Inclusion Matters We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from all cultural and linguistic backgrounds, people with disabilities, LGBTIQA+ individuals, and people of all ages and faith backgrounds. We provide reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process to support all applicants. If you require any adjustments, please let us know via the application prompts or inform our Careers team if you’re contacted for an interview. Seniority Level Director Employment Type Part-time Job Function Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology Industries Government Administration #J-18808-Ljbffr