We're hiring! Retrofit Designer and Assistant Coordinator

Role: Retrofit Designer and Assistant Coordinator

Salary: £26,000- £34,000 (dependent on experience)

Closing date: (Closed)

Hours: 0.6 - 0.8 FTE

Office based/hybrid

Apply: Send your CV and covering letter to imogen@retrofit.coop

People Powered Retrofit is a growing social enterprise based in Manchester that operates an end-to-end retrofit service for householders across the North West of England. We assist clients in developing domestic retrofit projects, offering a staged service taking people from a project brief through assessment, design, procurement, on site, handover and monitoring and evaluation. Our project work includes significant amounts of architectural and building services design work as well as associated investigations and interaction with building control and the planning system.

The purpose of this role is to assist in providing a design service to householder clients wishing to install retrofit measures.

Depending on the client's needs, the service will cover RIBA Stages 3-7, i.e. planning, technical design and coordination and monitoring work on site plus handover and evaluation. In addition, there are administrative and reporting tasks necessary for running an integrated service (which includes RIBA Stages 1-2, provided by PPR Retrofit Advisors and Assessors) and a potential to contribute to service design, at an appropriate level.

You will be doing this under the supervision of the current Retrofit Design Coordinator, with a view to gaining and exercising independence with time.The Technical Director will also be available for advice and to review work packages where appropriate.

This role is suitable for a graduate architect, architectural technologist or building surveyor with relevant experience and demonstrated ability in construction detailing and generation of production information. We offer flexible working and are open to the role being part time ( 0.6FTE as a minimum).

• You will have produced construction details for domestic residential buildings of different types

• You will have had contact with builders and specialist subcontractors in relation to drawings and specifications

• You will have demonstrated an interest in best practice retrofit by attending some relevant study course/s - and you will be keen to learn more

• You will share the key values and aims of PPR and understand that in order to achieve our mission some of the traditional ways of working need to be supplemented with a level of people skills and "admin" to make the service work

• You are likely to have a recognised qualification in Architectural Technology or Architecture, or sustainable building

PPR has very high demand from clients, and a growing relationship with builders and tradespeople who want to carry out high quality integrated ("whole house" / planned) retrofit work.

This is an opportunity to learn valuable skills, to contribute to a growing sector, and to the wider mission of PPR to promote and replicate quality retrofit across the country.

• Producing clear construction stage general arrangement and detail drawings, based on communications from the Retrofit Design Coordinator. These communications may be verbal, involving draft technical design work, or in the form of sketches.

• Assisting on the coordination of the design process as client projects progress through RIBA design stages 3-7, following assessment and options evaluation carried out using our Home Retrofit Planner tool (RIBA Stages 1-2).

• Assisting in managing and prioritising the design team resources.

• Liaising with the People Powered Retrofit service team including Retrofit Advisors and Retrofit Assessors or Surveyors.

• Liaising with external designers and engineers to support the preparation of suitable design information. Providing information and support to designers to ensure project energy performance targets are achieved.

• Liaising with manufacturers, suppliers, contractors and installers to understand the suitability of their products and their requirements to inform design specifications and drawings.

• Attending client and design team meetings as required.

• Assisting with the management of planning, building regulation, or any other third party approvals requiring consent and liaising with clients, planning authorities and building inspectors to support project progress.

• Participating in drawing and specification reviews and ensuring all appropriate comments/observations are taken into account in the design and fully coordinated.

• Assisting in compiling relevant tender documentation to support procurement, based on established templates and processes.

• Collating handover information for projects to ensure the client has relevant information for operation and maintenance of their retrofitted home, based on agreed templates and processes.

• Liaison with Technical Lead and design team on the development and use of internal retrofit design library resources.

• Assisting with review of written specification information, highlighting where new material required or new needs identified so this can be provided by tech lead or others.

• Identification and where necessary production of detailed drawings to add to PPR’s library and support delivery, coordinated with written specification.

• Carrying out site visits and responding to contractor queries to support successful delivery of construction phase, under supervision of the Retrofit Design Coordinator.

• Liaising with site teams to ensure successful delivery of the overall project construction/design requirements during the construction phase and reporting on progress to the PPR team and the client.

• Providing clear and concise written notes to record observations and support quality assurance, reporting to the PPR team and the client.

• Providing feedback on implementation of design elements to Tech Lead and rest of team to support continuous improvement of design library and specifications.

• Preparing drawings, plans, and documents for statutory approvals e.g. Planning and Building Control.

• Helping to ensure that the design process takes account of current building regulations and relevant standards and best practice, and minimises potential liability for future stages/delivery.

• Assisting where PPR acts as Principal Designer under CDM, with support from other members of the team and using agreed templates and processes.

• Helping to identify health and safety design risks and to create and maintain simple design risk assessments

• Energy modelling, where appropriate, following any required training.

• Miscellaneous minor administrative tasks.

We work a 7.5 hour day with a degree of flexibility (core time 10-4pm) and would consider applications from candidates wishing to work part time, with 3 days a week as a reasonable minimum to fulfil the role.

Due to the collaborative nature of the role and the service we would expect at least 2 days a week to be working in our office at Bridge 5 Mill. This is a charming canalside building 15-20 mins walk from Piccadilly station and close to Holt Town tram stop. We have a garden, cooking facilities and a small shop on site, and share the building with other groups including other environmentally progressive cooperatives.

Working from home is possible by agreement,with the degree of flexibility will be related to the tasks in hand.

If you would like to discuss the role specifically please contact:

Retrofit Design Coordinator Wolfgang Kűchler on 07851 313 697 or at wolfgang@retrofit.coop

or email Technical Director Marianne Heaslip at marianne@retrofit.coop

If you have any questions about conditions of employment or the service as a whole please contact

PPR Operations Manager Immy Sykes imogen@retrofit.coop