How to choose a development manager

01

When to appoint

There is no single right moment. Earlier involvement generally gives more room to shape the outcome; later appointments are often about restoring clarity. Match the appointment to the decision in front of you.

1. Early appraisal

   Before an offer, option or land commitment

   Before major commitments, a development manager can test the commercial case against site constraints, coordinate early technical due diligence and identify what needs answering before money is committed.

   What to look for

   • A viability view you can interrogate, with assumptions stated
   • A list of unknowns and who should resolve them
   • A sense of which consultants are needed now and which can wait

2. Planning and funding

   Design development, statutory approvals, capital raising

   Planning and funding decisions shape each other. The role here is keeping the consultant team aligned with the brief and viability while preparing the information a funder will expect to see.

   What to look for

   • A programme linking design stages, submissions and funding milestones
   • Clear ownership of planning obligations and conditions
   • Reporting a funder or investment committee can rely on

3. Procurement and construction

   Tender, contract award, build

   The procurement route and contract form set how risk is shared for the rest of the scheme. During construction, the development manager typically represents the client's commercial interests alongside the contract administrator and cost consultant rather than replacing them.

   What to look for

   • A procurement strategy explained in plain terms, including trade-offs
   • Defined interfaces with the contract administrator, cost consultant and employer's agent
   • Regular cost, programme and risk reporting against the approved budget

4. Handover

   Completion, close-out, operation

   Handover is where gaps in earlier scope tend to surface. Agree early who manages completion information, defects, funder sign-off and the transition to operations or sale.

   What to look for

   • A handover plan agreed well before practical completion
   • Clear responsibility for close-out documents and defects
   • A view of what is still open after completion

5. Mid-project appointment

   Taking over or strengthening a live scheme

   Appointments part-way through are common: a scheme has stalled, a team has changed or a funder wants stronger client-side oversight. The first task is usually an honest baseline of where the scheme stands, before changing anything.

   What to look for

   • A defined initial review period with a written baseline
   • Clarity on which existing decisions and appointments stand
   • A handover of information from the outgoing lead, if there was one

02

Agreeing scope and deliverables

A scope that describes activity without naming outputs can leave expectations unclear. Write it down before work starts, and revisit it at each stage gate.

Stages covered

Which stages, and whether later stages are optional extensions.

Deliverables

Appraisal updates, reports, programmes, procurement documents. Name them rather than describing activity.

Reporting

Frequency, format and audience: client, board, funder or investment committee.

Time commitment

Expected days or attendance, and how meetings and site visits are covered.

Authority limits

What the development manager can instruct, and what needs client approval.

Exclusions

What is not included, so nobody assumes a gap is covered.

Change

How additional scope is agreed and recorded if the scheme changes.

03

What the client keeps

A development manager acts for you, but does not become you. Decide in writing which decisions stay with the client and where any delegated authority begins and ends. Typically the client retains:

• 01Final investment, acquisition and disposal decisions
• 02Approval of budgets, contingencies and changes to them
• 03Signing contracts, appointments and funding agreements, unless authority is formally delegated
• 04Any statutory client duties that apply to the client by law
• 05Legal, tax, valuation and other regulated advice from appropriately qualified advisers

Specialist appointments, such as architects, engineers, planning and cost consultants, are usually made directly by the client. The development manager can recommend, run selection and coordinate, but the contractual relationship and the professional responsibility normally sit between the client and that consultant.

04

Development management, project management and specialists

05

Questions to ask

Use these in a first conversation. The quality of the answers often matters more than the answers themselves.

1. 01

   Who will actually do the work?

   Confirm the named person leading day to day, and whether anyone else is involved.

2. 02

   What is your availability over the stages we need?

   Ask about current commitments, typical response times and cover for holidays or absence.

3. 03

   Do you have any conflicts of interest?

   Relationships with contractors, consultants, agents, funders or neighbouring land should be declared, and you should agree how any that arise later are handled.

4. 04

   How and how often will you report?

   Ask to see an anonymised example. Good reporting makes decisions and risks clear, not just activity.

5. 05

   What is the basis of your fee?

   Fixed, time-based, stage-based or a combination. Ask what is included, how expenses and extra scope are charged, and how the basis changes if the programme does.

6. 06

   What will you need from us?

   A good answer names the decisions, information and access the client must provide, and when.

7. 07

   What would you not take on?

   Honest limits are a useful signal. It shows where specialist advice is required.

8. 08

   Which past schemes are comparable, and what was your role?

   Distinguish personal role from the organisation's role, and ask what was learned.

This guide does not suggest fee levels. Fees depend on scope, stage, duration and complexity; compare proposals on what is included, not on headline numbers alone.

06

Evidence worth asking for

• Professional membership and any regulation that applies, which you can check independently
• Comparable schemes, with the individual's specific role stated accurately
• Example reports or programmes, anonymised where necessary
• References from clients, funders or consultants who worked alongside them
• Professional indemnity insurance details appropriate to the appointment

07

Information to provide

A good development manager will ask for this early. Having it ready makes any proposal more specific and easier to compare. Gaps are fine; say where they are.

1. 01Site address, red line plan and ownership or option position
2. 02Your objectives: hold, sell, forward fund, operate, and any time constraints
3. 03Existing appraisals, surveys, reports and planning history
4. 04Current consultant appointments and the status of each
5. 05Funding position and any funder or investor requirements
6. 06Budget expectations and approval processes
7. 07Who will make decisions on the client side, and how quickly
8. 08Known risks, disputes or third-party issues