Design

Help us to shape a better future by influencing, guiding, and managing the design process from start to finish. As part of our Design team, we’ll make sure your career thrives.

People thrive at Wates

It’s all about you…

You could have design experience, be looking for a career change, or be returning to work after a break. Above all, you need the right attributes to succeed in our Design team.

We’re looking for inquisitive people, who are great problem solvers, and able to think laterally. Someone who is good at interacting with and managing people, both internally and externally. Perhaps the key thing to remember is that we don’t author design, we shape it. That means our ability to influence what someone else does with a pen is vital.

In terms of transferrable skills, the most important are to be analytical and creative. If you have a creative background, you’ll fit in very well.

No better place to develop your career

Join the best in the business…

We’re innovative, agile, and entrepreneurial. We also know what we’re good at. As part of our Design team, you’ll play a key role in helping to create the thriving places of tomorrow. You’ll get to work on a huge range of projects too, in terms of building typology, complexity, geography, and scale. The variety we can offer you is unrivalled.

There are a range of roles in terms of a career path and a job family within Design. If you come in as a trainee, or assistant, you’ll join a team contributing and learning with others on a smaller project. As you progress, the opportunities and challenges increase. You’ll be expected to focus more on leadership strategy and contribute to the direction of the business you work in too.

At Wates, you’ll get every opportunity to develop your career in a timely fashion. We like to make the most of our in-house talent and promote from within. If we believe that someone is 80% ready for the next step, we’ll progress them.

Careers in design

Want to be a part of our team?

IT Project Manager – FTC

Location: Leeds

Job Type: IT Support

Application Deadline: 19-12-2025

The VacancyIT Project Manager – Construction – 12 month FTCAre you a dynamic and experienced Project Manager looking to make an impact in IT within the construction industry? We are seeking a skilled professional to join our IT Construction Team, where you’ll play a pivotal role in delivering innovative IT projects that drive business transformation.As an IT Project Manager, you’ll oversee the planning, execution, and delivery of projects across the Construction Group. You will establish project structures, lead diverse teams, manage risks, and ensure project outputs meet agreed-upon timelines, budgets, and quality standards.This is a fantastic opportunity to combine your project management expertise, IT knowledge, and business acumen to drive successful project outcomes while working with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.Job Role Project Planning & Delivery: Define and agree on project scope, deliverables, timelines, and cost criteria to ensure alignment with business goals. Develop project structures, roles, and teams for efficient delivery. Monitoring & Reporting: Plan, manage, and track project progress, ensuring outputs are delivered on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards. Produce regular reports to keep stakeholders informed and ensure governance compliance. Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain strong relationships with internal teams and external stakeholders to achieve project objectives. Clarify business needs and ensure teams are prepared and resourced for change implementation. Risk & Issue Management: Identify, assess, and manage risks and issues effectively, taking a proactive approach to problem resolution. Team Leadership: Lead, guide, and coach project teams to deliver high-quality work that aligns with the project plan and business requirements. Experience Project Management Expertise: Proven experience managing projects using both Waterfall and Agile methodologies. Deep understanding of project management principles and best practices. A track record of delivering diverse technical and business solutions across varying scales. Organisational Skills: Exceptional ability to manage conflicting demands, maintain attention to detail, and juggle multiple priorities effectively. Technical & Analytical Skills: Knowledge of Microsoft Project to an intermediate level. Experience in Business Analysis as part of a broader PM role. Leadership & Communication: Strong stakeholder management skills, able to work across multiple projects and teams. A self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced environment and takes ownership of their projects. Qualifications Essential: Experience as a Project Manager. Certifications such as Prince2 Practitioner, PMI, or MSP. Preferred: Experience in the construction industry is advantageous. Familiarity with managing the full lifecycle of business application projects. .WHAT WE OFFER Competitive salary & bonus Flexible working – this role will be based in the Leeds office two days a week. Travel covered to any of our sites (subject to HMRC advisory rates) Extensive corporate benefits including, Private Medical, Pension 8% employers’ contribution, Health and Wellness programme, 26 days holidays + bank holidays and much more… Excellent range of learning and development activity to support your career progression. Industry leading family leave benefits to included 26 weeks fully paid maternity, 8 weeks fully paid paternity. Given the nature of this position, you will need to undergo a Basic Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) at offer stage. Applicants with criminal convictions will be assessed individually, and we assure you that we do not discriminate based on an applicant's criminal record or the details of any disclosed offenses. Additionally, certain roles may be subject to additional pre-employment checks.To learn more about the checks included in this process, please click on the following link: National Security Vetting

Planner

Location: Walton-On-Thames

Job Type: Clerical & Administration

Application Deadline: 05-01-2026

🌟 We're Hiring: Planner – WPS – Walton-on-Thames 🌟📍 Location: Walton-on-Thames🕒 Type: Full-time 💼 About the Role:Are you a master of organisation and love keeping things running smoothly? 🧩We’re looking for a Planner to join our buzzing WPS team in Walton-on-Thames! You’ll be the go-to person for planning and coordinating our multi-skilled engineers and supply chain, helping us deliver top-notch service every day. 🚀🔑 What You’ll Be Doing: 📅 Planning diaries to keep our workforce productive and efficient 📊 Creating performance reports to track progress and success 📉 Keeping work-in-progress low and on target 📞 Communicating with clients and teams to keep everything flowing 🛠️ Supporting supervisors and site teams with smart scheduling 💡 Spotting areas for improvement and suggesting solutions 📧 Handling customer queries with professionalism and care ⚠️ Ensuring all plans meet health & safety standards🧠 What You’ll Bring: ✅ Strong Excel & IT skills ✅ Great communication – written & verbal ✅ Ability to prioritise and manage your own workload ✅ Commercial awareness & a customer-first mindset ✅ Experience in producing reports and managing diaries ✅ A clean driving licence is a bonus!🌈 Why Join Us? Be part of a supportive, friendly team 🤝 Make a real impact every day 💥 Opportunities to grow and develop 📈 Work in a fast-paced, rewarding environment 🏃‍♀️💨Given the nature of this position, you will need to undergo a Standard Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) at offer stage. Applicants with criminal convictions will be assessed individually, and we assure you that we do not discriminate based on an applicant's criminal record or the details of any disclosed offenses. Additionally, certain roles may be subject to additional pre-employment checks. To learn more about the checks included in this process, please click on the following link: National Security Vetting

Temporary Works Advisor

Location: Nationwide

Job Type: Operational

Application Deadline: 05-01-2026

Are you passionate about making construction safer, smarter and more compliant? We’re on the lookout for a proactive and knowledgeable Temporary Works Advisor to join our team and support sites across the Northern region.This is a brilliant opportunity to play a key role in ensuring our temporary works processes are not only followed, but continuously improved. You’ll be the go-to person for site teams, helping them navigate procedures, audits, and best practice with confidence.ABOUT THE ROLEOur Temporary Works Advisors are a vital part of our delivery teams. You’ll bring foresight and best practice to every site you support, helping teams navigate complex procedures while maintaining high standards of safety and buildability. Alongside this, you’ll play a key role in developing and mentoring others, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and collaborative working across our projects.As our Temporary Works Advisor you will be: Carrying out weekly site inspections and compliance audits, using our standardised reporting templates. Supporting preconstruction planning by ensuring TW toolkits and registers are in place and appointments made before work begins. Providing on-site guidance and training to PCTWCs and TWSs to help them meet compliance standards. Championing health & safety and collaborating with our SHE team to share knowledge and drive improvements. Helping us digitally integrate our TW procedures into new systems for smarter working. Feeding back insights and lessons learned to improve our TW processes across the board.WHAT WE OFFER Competitive salary & profit share scheme Flexible working Car Allowance / Company Car (subject to Role/Grade) Travel covered to any of our sites (subject to HMRC advisory rates) Extensive corporate benefits including, Private Medical, Pension 8% employers’ contribution, Health and Wellness programme, 26 days holidays + bank holidays and much more… Excellent range of learning and development activity to support your career progression. Industry leading family leave benefits to included 26 weeks fully paid maternity, 12 weeks fully paid paternity. To find out more about LIFE AT WATES please click on the following link https://www.wates.co.uk/careers/   We are always looking for a variety of new talent to join our teams, to help us grow and innovate as a business. Although you may not have all of the skills listed, many of them may be transferable to other roles within the WATES Group.   If you would like clarity on any of our vacancies, discuss career opportunities in strict confidence or need anything to make our recruitment process easier, please contact our In-House Recruitment Team directly or via recruitment@wates.co.uk and one of us will get in touch as soon as possible.   As a responsible and inclusive employer, we are committed to equality and are proud to have been recognised for this through a range of accolades including gold accreditation with Investors in People, we are also a Disability Confident employer. Being a family owned, business means we understand and value long term relationships.  Given the nature of this position, you will need to undergo a Basic Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) at offer stage. Applicants with criminal convictions will be assessed individually, and we assure you that we do not discriminate based on an applicant's criminal record or the details of any disclosed offenses. Additionally, certain roles may be subject to additional pre-employment checks. To learn more about the checks included in this process, please click on the following link: National Security Vetting

Senior Site Manager

Location: Sutton

Job Type: Operational

Application Deadline: 04-01-2026

Wates are looking for a Senior Site Manager to join our Construction team in our South Region focussing on a high profile, technically complex project.If you are passionate about the construction industry with proven skills and looking for an opportunity to challenge the norm, bring fresh new ideas and elevate yourself within the industry then join us and help to create tomorrow together.This is a great opportunity to progress your career as part of a talented, diverse, and supportive team.ABOUT THE ROLEOur Senior Site Managers are a valuable part of our business, overseeing project sites to ensure developments are completed on time. Creating budgets, liaising with clients, and supervising teams whilst maintaining quality control procedures and mitigating risks.As our Senior Site Manager you will: Ensuring compliance with all safety requirements on site Undertaking the resource management and tracking of works on site to achieve the contract programme. Reporting on progress and developing corrective plans to stay on course Maintaining accurate records of works on site, incorporating any delas to progress or changes to scope and ensuring these are elevated to the Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager expediently. Manage the training and competency of operatives on site, both internal and external.WHAT WE OFFER Competitive salary & profit share scheme Flexible working Car Allowance / Company Car (subject to Role/Grade) Travel covered to any of our sites (subject to HMRC advisory rates) Extensive corporate benefits including, Private Medical, Pension 8% employers’ contribution, Health and Wellness programme, 26 days holidays + bank holidays and much more… Excellent range of learning and development activity to support your career progression. Industry leading family leave benefits to included 26 weeks fully paid maternity, 12 weeks fully paid paternity.To find out more about LIFE AT WATES please click on the following link https://www.wates.co.uk/careers/