London, UK
Urban designer
at We Made That
We Made That is looking for an urban designer to join the team in its London or Manchester office.
Are you driven by delivering equitable place shaping and a desire to develop progressive masterplans?
We Made That is looking for an Urban Designer to join our team in our London or Manchester office. We are seeking a candidate capable of working on high profile spatial strategies and regeneration schemes across the UK in a client-facing role. We have a number of town centre strategies, place plans and masterplans delivering meaningful change for the communities that need it most, focused on spatial justice and addressing the climate crisis.
We are looking for a new team member to develop ambitious, innovative designs in collaboration with the public sector, charities and local communities. You will have experience in managing projects and have an ability to develop and nurture strong working relationships with clients and collaborators. You will be comfortable in managing your time across projects, strategy development and wider practice initiatives.
Responsibilities and tasks
The ideal candidate will be an experienced Urban Designer, responsible for delivering complex place plans and area strategies at a range of scales across the capital and the UK. You will have an informed understanding of town centre strategies with a working knowledge of policy guidelines and wider political, economic and societal issues.
Project focused:
- contribute design and strategy development across multiple projects
- develop robust urban design, public realm and masterplanning solutions
- prepare strategy proposals through graphically strong content
- plan and leads production of 2D and 3D drawings and diagrams
- use appraisals and baseline data to drive compelling and innovative project proposals
- develop town centre action plans, regeneration strategies and demonstrate an up-to-date knowledge of industry trends and thinking
- clearly construct and communicate complex reports and documents
- lead on shaping and progressing our design strategies and approaches, through knowledge sharing
- assist the team in developing and implementing industry-leading engagement processes
- successfully manage project management issues, identifying and implementing solutions
- act as the main point of contact for teams, collaborators, clients and external stakeholders
- actively manage project resources, budgets and outcomes
- commit to developing our EDI strategies and embed meaningful and sustainable social and environmental value in our projects
- help mentor and support junior staff members in their development, share expertise through resources, project references and CPD
Competencies, skills and experience
You must be an experienced Urban Designer with a keen working knowledge of town centres and/ or mixed-use masterplans and city regeneration landscapes. With strong analytical skills and an informed, contemporary understanding of the challenges faced in towns and cities today, you will have the ability to situate strategies within wider political, economical and societal contexts.
Essential:
- have a Masters qualification in urban design or similar related subject
- have demonstrable strategic or masterplanning experience in the UK
- have a genuine interest and motivation to develop your career within an urban design specialism
- specific knowledge and experience in relation to place shaping strategies, policies and regeneration approaches
- visual skills with a keen eye for presentation
- have fluency in client-facing roles
- have experience independently leading on project development
- experience of overseeing project resource allocation and monitoring project programmes
- be familiar with London, other major UK towns and cities regeneration contexts and improving best practice
- excellent verbal communication and presentation skills
- technical knowledge of delivering mixed-use masterplans and area strategies and the ability to articulate ideas and objectives clearly
- good project management skills, with the ability to drive project development forwards with meaningful impact
- sensitively and pragmatically navigate working with a wide range of audiences and stakeholders
- demonstrate a working knowledge of environmental and social performance impacts and how we can deliver these within projects
- have fluency with Adobe CS, Vectorworks and GIS (essential)
Desired:
- have 3 to 5 years relevant professional experience post Masters-level qualification in urban design/ planning discipline
- be experienced in delivering high quality projects for public sector clients
- expertise in delivering environmental sustainability in projects
- experience using CMAP or similar project management software
Benefits
On top of a competitive salary, we offer staff a wide range of benefits: hybrid working options, flexible working hours policy, pension and enhanced parental leave provision, profit share, paid professional memberships, training opportunities, cycle-to-work scheme, and an interest-free TfL season ticket loan. Our internal wellbeing and activities programme includes social events and field trips, as well as wider support.
Equal opportunities
Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK and would ideally be available to start in October/ November 2025.
We Made That is an equal opportunities employer, accredited as both London Living Wage and the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employer. We are keen that our practice reflects the diversity of communities we design for, and welcome and encourage applications from individuals from groups historically under-represented in the sector.
How to apply
Please send a digital copy of your portfolio and CV (max 10MB) via the apply for job button below, along with a covering letter outlining how you meet the criteria. Mark the subject line with ‘Urban Designer’.
Pay will be commensurate with experience and we would request that you set out your pay expectations in the covering letter.
Deadline
Deadline for applications is 10 October 2025.
About We Made That
We create equitable places through incisive research and impactful projects. We work exclusively for the public sector and charities and are committed to delivering public good.
Our multi-disciplinary team delivers urban research, strategies and masterplans and public spaces and buildings. Together, we provide considered and thorough intelligence, shape healthy, fair and well-designed places and bring life and value to the built environment. We are driven by making better places for all. We were awarded the Architect Employer of the Year at Architect of the Year Awards 2024.
We Made That was established in 2006, and became a Certified B Corporation in 2021 with a new legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. We deliver projects across the UK from offices in London and Manchester.