Job Description

The Team Lead: Design and Engineering Services is responsible for leading a multi-disciplinary technical team to deliver high-quality, compliant, and sustainable infrastructure designs and building information models. The role coordinates civil, electrical, mechanical, structural, architectural, SHEQ, quantity surveying, and development planning disciplines to optimise building and maintenance planning. This is achieved through the application of technical expertise, integrated planning, and advanced digital design tools, including Building Information Modelling.
Key Responsibilities
1. Lead the Delivery of Integrated Infrastructure Design

• Coordinate multidisciplinary inputs to produce integrated design solutions for infrastructure projects.
• Oversee the preparation and review of consultants engineering drawings, models, and technical specifications in line with project requirements.
• Develop in-house designs.
• Apply Building Information Modelling processes to enhance collaboration and data accuracy and ensure the development of prototypes as per clients requirements.
• Ensure that all designs comply with national building regulations, engineering codes, and safety standards and specifications.

2. Infrastructure Delivery Management

• Develop and maintain lifecycle maintenance for new and existing infrastructure assets.
• Incorporate preventative and predictive maintenance strategies into infrastructure planning.
• Evaluate design options for lifecycle cost optimisation and operational efficiency.
• Provide technical guidance to improve the maintainability and durability of infrastructure assets.
• Lead the multidisciplinary engineering and design team, ensuring clarity of scope, roles, deliverables, and timelines across all workstreams.
• Review, integrate, and approve design inputs from all Architectural, Engineering & Building (AEC) discipline to ensure alignment with project and client requirements, standards, specifications and safety requirements.
• Facilitate interdisciplinary design coordination meetings to resolve technical conflicts, manage design interfaces, and ensure cohesive solutions.
• Ensure all design outputs comply with statutory requirements, applicable codes, industry standards, and internal design governance.
• Drive quality assurance and SHEQ integration throughout the design lifecycle, ensuring safety-by-design principles are embedded.
• Provide guidance, mentorship, and technical oversight to professional staff, interns, and consultants to support capability development.
• Oversee quantity surveying to ensure cost estimates, bills of quantities, and designs are aligned with budget and value-for-money outcomes.
• Support project planning, procurement, and contractor/consultant evaluations by providing technical input where required.
• Monitor project risks, design deviations, and scope changes, recommending mitigation and corrective actions.

3. Embed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Principles into Design and Engineering Activities

• Integrate sustainability principles into infrastructure planning and design processes.
• Assess the environment and social impacts of proposed designs and recommend mitigation measures.
• Ensure designs align with organisational ESG targets and regulatory requirements.
• Promote resource efficiency, energy optimisation, and sustainable materials use in all projects.

4. Manage Technical Standards, Processes, and Continuous Improvement

• Establish and maintain technical design standards, procedures, and quality control frameworks.
• Conduct technical reviews, audits, and constructability assessments to identify areas for improvement.
• Introduce innovative design solutions and tools to improve service delivery.
• Facilitate lessons-learned sessions to capture and apply best practices across projects.
• Leverage advanced technical knowledge and skills to provide expert insights and solutions within the area of specialisation.
• Stay abreast of the latest industry developments, technologies, and best practices to maintain a high level of competency and innovation. Apply expertise to analyse complex problems, design effective solutions, and support the implementation of projects or initiatives.
• Share knowledge with colleagues and stakeholders, facilitating training sessions, presentations, or consultations as needed.
• Maintain a deep understanding of the field and contribute to continuous improvement. The specialist plays a crucial role in advancing the organisation's objectives and reinforcing its position as a leader in the industry.

5. Reporting and Analytics

• Generate detailed and insightful reports and analyses that support strategic decision-making and drive organisational improvement.
• Collect, process, and interpret complex data using advanced analytical techniques and tools.
• Ensure that reports are accurate, relevant, and tailored to meet the specific needs of stakeholders, presenting data in a clear, concise, and actionable manner using visualisations and other aids as necessary.
• Identify trends, anomalies, and key insights that influence strategic planning and operational adjustments.
• Provide comprehensive analytics and high-quality reporting, the specialist enables informed decision-making and contributes to the organisation's ability to achieve its objectives and adapt to changing conditions.

6. Stakeholder Management

• Engage and collaborate with key stakeholders to align expectations, gather insights, and ensure successful outcomes.
• Build strong relationships, communicating clearly and consistently, and addressing stakeholder needs and concerns with responsiveness and professionalism.
• Facilitate cooperation and support for initiatives within the area of expertise, contributing to overall project and organisational success.

7. People Management

• Lead, supervise, mentor, and develop a high-performing team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning to maximize individual and collective potential.
• Drive talent development initiatives, including coaching, performance management, and career pathing, to build and retain a skilled and motivated team.
• Drive a culture of innovation and continuous improvement across the agency to support strategic agility.
• Contribute to building synergies & cooperation across functions in the DBSA.
• Ensure the development of DBSA candidates to be professionally registered in the respective councils i.e ECSA, SACAP, SACPLAN, SACLAP and SACQSP.

Key Measurements of Outputs

• Percentage of technical designs and Building Information Modelling Models approved as compliant with national regulations, engineering codes, and DBSA standards.
• Percentage of design deliverables completed within agreed timelines and budget allocations.
• Percentage of projects incorporating ESG criteria into planning and design documentation.
• Instances of non-conformance are identified in internal or external technical audits annually.
• Number of documented continuous improvement initiatives implemented per year to enhance design processes, tools, or outputs.
• Management of team performance, talent development, and succession planning using the performance management system.

Expertise & Technical Competencies
a) Multi-Disciplinary Infrastructure Design Management

• The ability to plan, coordinate, and oversee integrated engineering, architectural, and quantity surveying inputs to produce compliant and efficient infrastructure design solutions.

b) Building Information Modelling Application

• The skill to apply BIM tools and processes to enhance design accuracy, collaboration, data integration, and project visualisation across all technical disciplines.

c) Lifecycle Building and Maintenance Planning

• The capability to develop and integrate preventative, predictive, and lifecycle maintenance strategies into infrastructure asset planning to optimise cost, safety, and operational performance.

d) Continuous Improvement in Technical Processes

• The capability to identify, implement, and monitor process and technology enhancements that improve design quality, efficiency, and value for money in

infrastructure delivery.
e) Risk Identification and Assessments

• Participates in risk assessment and identification efforts.
• Identifies and assesses the impact and likelihood of risks to achieving business objectives, and monitors changes in the risk environment.

Qualifications
Minimum Requirements

• A Bachelor's Degree in Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, or Structural Engineering or Architecture (accredited by the Engineering Council of South Africa or the South African Council for the Architectural Profession).
• Professional registration with the ECSA.

Desirable Requirements

• Postgraduate qualification in Engineering Management, Project Management.
• Certification in Building Information Modelling.

Experience
Minimum Experience

• Minimum 8 years of experience in infrastructure design and engineering, including multi-disciplinary project delivery.
• Experience leading a team.
• Proven experience in applying Building Information Modelling tools in infrastructure projects.
• Experience in public sector infrastructure planning and compliance with PFMA and Treasury Regulations.

Desirable Experience

• Involvement in projects integrating ESG or sustainability objectives.
• Exposure to innovative engineering technologies and continuous improvement initiatives.

Required Personal Attributes
a) Strategic and Innovative Thinking

• Experiments with new approaches, tests scenarios, questions assumptions, and challenges conventional thinking.
• Creates new concepts that are not obvious to others, leveraging internal and external sources of information, to build incremental revenue and growth opportunities.

b) Analytical Thinking

• Analyses and interprets multiple complex causal links: several potential causes of events, several consequences of actions, or multiple-part chains of events to prioritise and develop a plan of action.

c) Driving Delivery of Results

• Sets challenging goals that will have a significant impact on the business or support the organisational strategy.
• Commits significant resources and/or time to ensure challenging goals are achieved, while also taking action to mitigate risk.

d) Decisiveness

• Considers the impact of one's own decisions on the business as a whole.
• Knows when they have enough information to make a decision - and makes it.
• Considers the consequences of a decision and assesses the options before reaching a conclusion.

e) Leading and Empowering Others

• Supports the team publicly by demonstrating confidence in the team to others; recognises and regards superior individual effort and does not take personal credit for the team's success.
• Celebrates team efforts and accomplishments with the team and publicly credits others for superior performance.
• Admits when things go wrong and learns from past experiences and mistakes.
• Provides feedback to team members on demonstrated skills and behaviours, allowing team members to learn from mistakes.
• Delegates challenging work that will motivate team members.

The KPA's, competencies, and relationships listed in this document are not exhaustive, and the incumbent will be expected to undertake
additional duties within their capacity to meet the needs of business and/or the business unit.

Skills Required