Job Opportunity! OFFICEUNTITLED (OUx) Regional Design Strategy Manager (EMEA – London or Bangalore, India)
OFFICEUNTITLED (OUx) Regional Design Strategy Manager
Job type: Full Time
Location: London, UK or Bangalore, India
About OFFICEUNTITLED:
OFFICEUNTITLED (OU) is a young, energetic architecture and design firm focused on creative solutions across multiple scales and typologies, including commercial, hospitality, residential, and mixed-use. Established in 2013 as R&A and rebranded in 2019 as OFFICEUNTITLED, the practice leverages the award-winning design and project leadership of its four principals and a broad portfolio of experience in transformative architecture and interiors projects. OFFICEUNTITLED sees the value of every project as an opportunity for transformation and impact.
“We discover the unseen, the unexpected, and the fantastic through relentless curiosity, research, and fearless exploration to reimagine new typologies for a better future.”
About OUx Design Strategy:
OUx Design Strategy blends creativity and consulting to enable our clients to tackle the challenges of this ever-changing world. We are a collection of design strategy thinkers and creatives at OFFICEUNTITLED (OU). This specialized group brings innovative and resilient thinking to define and solve complex problems. The team includes strategists, architects, urban planners, interior designers, and digital artists that work with our clients to clearly define challenges, foster collaborative ideation, articulate resilient visions, and adopt actionable solutions.
“We help translate and articulate our client’s vision, brand, and culture to ensure their physical environment enhances the end-user experience – positively impacting the future of cities, neighborhoods, and businesses.”
Job Description:
We are seeking a Regional Design Strategy Manager to serve the EMEA/India region and partner with our client’s talented global real estate design and development organization. The role focuses on the strategic planning and design management of our client’s workplace and amenity programs. Working as contributor to the client’s real estate organization, the Regional Design Strategy Manager is responsible for the holistic execution and implementation of the strategic vision for the company’s amenity programs at specific sites. In close partnership with the real estate and amenity programs teams (Food, Events, Fitness, Transportation, etc.), the Regional Design Strategy Manager will act as a local steward for the cross-functional approach, process, and delivery of strategic guidance for an integrated amenity experience.
This role is based in London or Bangalore, India with the expectation to be on-site in the client’s office three days per week. We already have Design Strategists working in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco Bay Area, and Singapore and you will join this global team. You will interface with our current team, and report directly to the key regional client lead. While based at our client’s world-class offices, you will be a key part of the OUx team and will benefit from the design support and training offered by our team.
The ideal individual for this role is a multi-faceted and innovative problem solver with broad knowledge of design, architecture, and urban planning with experience in hospitality and workplace amenity programming. Additionally, you must be a clear communicator, action-oriented, self-motivated, and comfortable with ambiguity. This position is best suited for a person who thrives in a fast-paced, multi-tasking environment, values creativity, and collaboration, and is passionate about project delivery at the highest quality.
General Responsibilities
• Facilitate a consistent approach for project initiation
• Support initiation of real estate team engagement process
• Contribute to early-stage project visioning and strategic definition
• Act as day-to-day contact for regional design partner and work with real estate development leads and project executive teams during planning and schematic design
• Managing the execution of the local amenity experience strategy to align with the global frameworks
• Coordinate the holistic interface with program design, program, and operations partners.
• Working closely with the organization’s leadership team to support initiatives and enhance global/local alignment and communications
Typical Duties
• Represent our client at meetings and help to set project goals, visioning, and strategic programming in collaboration with a larger team
• Steward client, project stakeholder, and other consultant communications
• Lead collaborative workshops focused on gathering design, visioning, and programming feedback with other designers, operators, managers, and project stakeholders
• Work with extended internal team to strategize and collaborate, bringing thought leadership and perspective
• Independently generate refined graphics to communicate ideas, including urban design strategies, written narratives, concept diagrams, planning/programming concepts, and design and project process/timelines,
• Create urban planning strategies in collaboration with the client, mapping analysis and creative diagrams to communicate questions and ideas within the project team
• Ideate in collaboration with the client and graphically communicate strategic planning alternatives for a range of project scales, from building planning to large scale urban districts
• Understand and lead a data-driven approach to planning and strategic development at scale
Qualifications and Key Skills
Essential
We are open to receiving applications from candidates with a varied range of experience and education. If you meet most of the qualifications below, we encourage you to apply:
• Minimum 8 years of relevant design or design management work experience and/or formal qualification/degree in workplace strategy, architecture, urban design, urban planning, or master planning.
• Professional experience in workplace strategy, programming, design, and operation of hospitality projects, including urban master planning, entitlements, workplace, and mixed-use project experience
• Ability to create and present storytelling visuals, programming approaches, and urban design strategies with charisma and passion to large stakeholder groups and executive-level leadership
• Both core & shell and tenant improvement experience
• An interest in innovation, global trends, new design concepts and user experiences, technology and hybrid virtual-physical worlds is highly desired
• Openness, tolerance, and flexibility to work on projects with a wide variety of local languages, cultures, code requirements, and management styles
Key Skills
• Skilled in visual, written, and verbal communication of design issues with capability to think outside the box and bring creative, non-standard, and innovative solutions to the table.
• A practical understanding of the RIBA design stages and the typical level of information required at each stage.
• Competence in the presentation of imagery and drawings to convey ideas
• Experience in hospitality, workplace, and amenity-rich projects through direct experience or professional design or planning experience
• Proven vision, leadership, and strategic skills to prioritize evolving project needs; ability to turn ideas and capabilities into effective strategies to engage project team
• Experience in master planning, urban development, entitlements, and permitting process, construction terminology and building systems, and overall project sequence/timing
• Ability and proven record of helping to steer decision making and process
• An imaginative approach to problem-solving will be a significant advantage
• A collaborative and personal approach is essential
• Ability to process and graphically represent planning metrics, maps, drawings, and strategies is critical to being successful in this position
Interpersonal Skills
• Ability to work in a collaborative and fast-paced environment with a high degree of self-motivation and initiative
• Ability to easily manage multiple projects or workstreams simultaneously
• Detail oriented with the ability to think, plan, and execute multiple projects in different phases simultaneously with little direct supervision
• Able to work calmly and effectively under pressure
• Flexibility and adaptability to changing business needs
• Ability to build relationships with colleagues, clients, vendors, stakeholders, and management
Location
We are currently working in a distributed hybrid model, meaning you will work from your home or other place of your choosing, in combination with the client’s office in London or Bangalore, India, subject to local and federal health and safety guidelines. You will be expected to be on site about three days per week. Travel within the EMEA and/or India and occasional travel internationally for projects and/or team building as required, with notice.
Email your resume, sample portfolio (under 6mb), and cover letter to dave@OFFICEUNTITLED.com