Driver Group Plc is a global, multidisciplinary consultancy firm which has operated in Europe for 40 years.
Driver Group operates globally from offices across Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. This global footprint offers our team members both local and international opportunities to work on some of the world’s most prestigious projects.
Diales is the Group’s global Expert Witness support services provider, which specialises in providing Expert Witness Services to the global engineering and construction industry.
We are seeking a Senior Architectural Consultant to join our Diales Technical team of experts.
Key responsibilities:
- Undertake on-the-job training in the role, responsibilities and techniques of being an architectural expert witness (no previous experience required).
- Undertake building and/or document analysis and write an in-depth report (without technical jargon) on your findings within the timescales set.
- Attend meetings and generally communicate professionally with our appointing client, its legal and project teams.
- Meet representatives of other parties involved in the dispute.
- Occasionally, give expert evidence in hearings (adjudication, arbitration, mediation and in court)
- Allocate, organise, and manage other internal and external resources for the Project, including those required for opening-up works when disruptive investigations are required.
- Represent and market Diales at relevant CPD and social events, and the like.
- Develop network of client contacts with a view to receiving direct expert appointments in the future.
- Attend Client interviews and presentations, etc.
- Provide ideas for improvement in the delivery of the expert witness service.
- Deliver presentations (individually or as part of a group) to client organisations on topics where you have considerable experience/knowledge to impart.
Key technical skills and experience required:
Essential:
- Architect with minimum 15 years’ experience
- An interest in being trained as an architectural expert witness and in respect of 5-10% of projects, to be prepared to stand up in the witness box and give expert evidence.
- Excellent technical competence, site inspection and problem-solving skills, including the ability to interrogate technical information from a construction buildability and contractual compliance point of view.
- Experience of successful face to face client liaison/negotiation and conflict resolution.
- Strong and confident presentation skills, report writing skills & use of English.
- MS Office proficiency, with excellent Word, Excel and PowerPoint skills.
- An acceptance that you’ll undertake very little architectural design.
Desirable:
- Experience of designing, managing the design and/or inspection the construction across a diverse range of building sector projects.
- Contract Administration experience.
- Acting as Lead Consultant on projects.
- International experience.
- Negotiating the scope of consultants’ appointments and the co-ordinating the content and delivery of project design information.
- CSCS card and other H&S training/certification.