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About the Role
IA is seeking a Design Director to lead design across workplace projects, strengthen client partnerships, and support growth across the UK, EMEA, and MENA. This role involves shaping design vision, elevating studio quality, and guiding teams from strategy through delivery, while connecting design ambition with client goals, budgets, and schedules.
Responsibilities
- Build strong, trusted client relationships by understanding business objectives, culture, performance goals, budgets, and schedules, and translating these insights into a clear design vision.
- Lead and elevate design quality across the studio, bringing consistency, rigor, and fresh thinking to workplace projects and pursuits.
- Direct and present design concepts for key projects and accounts through clear storytelling, data-informed narratives, and compelling visual communication.
- Oversee space plans, design concepts, documentation, and furniture packages for priority projects and pursuits, ensuring a coherent response to the brief.
- Collaborate closely with Project Managers and technical leaders to coordinate design intent, documentation, and furniture deliverables with client goals and delivery requirements.
- Lead design reviews at key milestones, provide clear feedback, and guide teams in resolving design challenges from concept through construction and handover.
- Help clients evaluate options and make timely decisions, explaining the implications for experience, performance, cost, and program.
- Champion design choices that support human health, adaptability, responsible material use, and long-term value.
- Build long-term account relationships, maintain senior client engagement, and identify opportunities for repeat work and broader support across client portfolios.
- Research and pursue new relationships with corporate occupiers, internal real estate teams, project managers, property advisors, and key decision-makers.
- Identify workplace opportunities arising from lease expiries, lease breaks, relocations, and market expansion; qualify leads and develop them into RFP opportunities.
- Re-engage past IA clients and dormant relationships to uncover new work, working with existing relationship owners.
- Use IA’s global and US client database and maintain close engagement with US client services teams to connect established relationships with EMEA opportunities.
- Partner with studio leadership on pursuit strategy, proposals, and interviews, directing the design response and explaining how IA’s approach addresses each client’s business goals.
- Identify, prioritize, and attend high-value networking events and industry forums, introducing IA to new contacts and decision-makers.
- Arrange introductions and prospect meetings for IA leadership and coordinate business development calendars around clear priorities and timely follow-up.
- Own pipeline tracking and weekly reviews with leadership, maintaining accurate records, clear next actions, and consistent engagement.
- Apply structured lead qualification to focus on viable opportunities, considering client needs, timing, budget, decision-makers, procurement, and IA’s fit.
- Represent IA’s brand, services, and global business model confidently, connecting design expertise with the outcomes clients want to achieve.
- Partner with design and marketing teams on project photography, storytelling, award submissions, and thought leadership that reflect IA’s brand and design excellence.
- Mentor designers at all levels through regular feedback and coaching, building a culture of accountability, curiosity, and continuous improvement.
- Partner with studio leadership on training, design reviews, and team-building initiatives that strengthen IA’s design standards and best practices.
- Encourage collaboration across studios and disciplines, sharing expertise and aligning with IA’s firmwide standards, processes, and strategic objectives.
- Champion the thoughtful integration of emerging technologies, including AI-enabled design and visualization tools, to improve creativity, efficiency, and design insight.
- Guide teams in using AI for research, precedent analysis, test fits, visualization, and iterative exploration while maintaining design integrity and authorship.
- Collaborate with firm leadership to evaluate, test, and implement digital tools and workflows that improve design quality, coordination, and the client experience.
- Build a culture of learning and adaptability around technology, automation, and design practices informed by data.
Requirements
- Extensive experience leading workplace design, with a portfolio demonstrating strong architectural thinking, design quality, and delivery from concept through completion.
- Experience directing space planning, design development, documentation, and furniture packages in collaboration with Project Managers and technical teams.
- A record of building trusted client relationships, presenting to senior decision-makers, and translating business priorities into compelling design responses.
- Proven success contributing to business development, leading design pursuits, and securing new or repeat commissions.
- Strong London real estate and workplace market knowledge, with an established network or demonstrated ability to build one.
- Experience mentoring designers, leading constructive design reviews, and collaborating across studios, disciplines, and leadership teams.
- Commercial curiosity, excellent organizational skills, and the initiative to work independently while maintaining clear pipeline reporting and leadership alignment.
- Confidence discussing IA’s services, initiating conversations, and building relationships through events, introductions, and ongoing engagement.
- Experience applying digital design and visualization tools, with sound judgment about the use of AI to support design exploration and decision-making.
Skills
- Architectural thinking
- Design quality
- Client relationship management
- Business development
- Design leadership
- Space planning
- Design development
- Documentation
- Furniture packages
- Presentation skills
- Business priority translation
- London real estate market knowledge
- Workplace market knowledge
- Networking
- Mentoring
- Design reviews
- Collaboration
- Commercial curiosity
- Organizational skills
- Independent work
- Pipeline reporting
- Leadership alignment
- AI-enabled design tools
- Visualization tools
- Digital design tools
Location
- London
Work Type
- Full-time
Experience Level
- Director level
Education Level
- Qualification in architecture, interior design, or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant professional experience
About the Company
- IA is an integrated architecture and design firm that creates environments that move people, organisations and business forward.
- We bring architectural thinking, strategy and design together to help clients translate their business goals into places that support people and strengthen performance.