Associate Architect Creative Design

Construction careers don't get better than this exciting new opportunity for Architects. Our client, a boutique multi award winning progressive architectural practice is looking to appoint a top calibre Associate Architect - Creative Design to join their team and take on a leadership role across multiple projects. 

Key Objectives of the role

• To lead multiple projects
• To own projects technically and financially
• To provide best client relation
• To control pressure - project and team performance
• To coordinate architectural efforts between engineering groups, the client, vendors, contractors and others as required.
• To oversee projects timely delivery and in best quality
• To perform work with general guidance and supervision or provide support to more experienced personnel.
• To apply people management skill with collaboration of sr. management
• To ensure that local and international codes are being followed.
• To produce high quality architectural/ interior design and strongly participate in producing still images and animations

Project Details

You will be office based with occasional travel both domestic and overseas. 

The Associate Architect - Creative Design will take on a leadership role in the practice across multiple projects. Your role involves using and improving your management skill both managing up and leadership of your teams.  You will ensure timely delivery of the project and meeting client expectation whilst following all international and local codes and standards. You will be responsible for the performance of your projects.  

You could be involved with the following business units:

Concept, Cultural, Commercial, Civic, Design Support, Villa Design

• Concept Unit
  • Has strong experience on with working on concepts or the concept parts of the project 
  • Strong in presentation software
  • Good graphic skills
  • Proven presentation skills
  • Candidates that have won awards, or worked on award winning projects will be highly regarded
  • Candidates with experience in well-known /creative design studios or practices preferred
• Other units – Cultural, Commercial, Civic – experience in that sector or a complimentary sector preferred
• Design Support Unit – the candidate may be required to demonstrate special skills or proven experience in for example rendering, visualization, specifications, BIM management
• Villa Design
  • Proven villa experience – design, build, deliver
  • Evidence of design of unique buildings
  • Understands and experienced in all stages
  • Amenable to working on concept and/or production

Responsibilities and Duties

DESIGN

• You will understand and adopt the practice's design philosophy and how its applied to the design process and induct new staff accordingly.
• You will actively participate in updating and creating marketing materials in line with practices' design philosophy
• Personal research to stay abreast of design areas of interest and share the strategic areas of design with the practice.  
• You will take the project brief from the client and oversee the writing or writes the project brief, striving for design excellence, creative solutions, innovative and practical design ideas.
• You will lead the design management of the project, managing the team’s design input to be coherent throughout, thorough and to practice standards.
• You will ensure that their projects have a dedicated design management plan setting out the BIM execution strategy, deliverables list, programmed, resource profile, team tasks and sub consultant management and coordination.
• You will take the lead and prepare presentations of design to clients displaying visual and verbal clarity of communication.
• You will have a lot of quick turnaround work such as that for proposals or competitions and most of these projects will not necessarily get built.
• You will help the client conceive the overall vision.
• You will determine solutions, methods, and procedures on assignments to deliver products and services
• You will manage coordination of design using Navisworks and other coordination software
• You will understand and implement project management principles and be able to work within project budgets which includes fees and designing to construction budget.

TECHNICAL 

• You will assign and deliver within project deadlines without supervision, reviewing the work of the project team to ensure accuracy and completeness.  
• You will review and challenge information received from sub-consultants and third parties to ensure quality compliance.  
• You will ensure the team performs QA/QC checks of project or package before presenting for review or release
• You will estimate resources required and match personnel effectively with the task requirements.  

• You will proactively demonstrate knowledge and skills acquired in the workplace and seek professional development including leadership training internally and externally
• You will organise internal training sessions for others to share knowledge, help develop skill levels and enhance understanding of construction
• You will be open to contribution from others, encouraging team members to speak up and contribute
• You will interview juniors, interns and technical personnel providing timely feedback on candidate suitability
• You will attend and conduct performance reviews for team members along with management

• You will be an effective and efficient team leader, someone that the team can trust, with a flexible working attitude; co-operative and agile and work well within the team environment
• You will accept personal responsibility for maintaining the studios' culture and guide others. 
• You will have a problem solving approach to team issues with transparent and effective communication with project team, seniors and support staff. 
• You will provide professional, timely and positive communication with external parties including sub-consultants and client via various mediums.
• You will participate in team activities and staff events and motivate their team to join in
• You will champion the importance of minimizing the environmental impact while working and be interested in own and team health and well-being, contributing to office initiatives. 

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 

• You will contribute to the studios' posts to be put on social media and encourages others in the practice to do so, reading updates and sharing publicly available posts and events
• You will regularly engage with and work to build strong relationships with clients, whilst managing their expectations and demands and articulating project design.
• You will listen for, and pass on client feedback to the team and senior management, following up the team to ensure client feedback is taken into consideration in the design.

BUSINESS

• You will manage the commercial aspects of projects and be fully conversant with the contract terms and conditions, scope and deliverables.
• You will maintain close commercial control of the project and notify and update finance of when invoices can be raised
• You will compile and take responsibility for the management of risk for projects, ensure that all major risks are identified, a management plan is in place and the directors are notified.

• You will be aware of client and sub-consultant invoices and when payments are made and received.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Minimum 14 years post graduate experience
• Previous experience in an office environment leading teams as well as working closely with management
• Leading multiple projects independently
• Commercial management experience
• Risk Management and Mitigation
• Proven experience managing stakeholders including client relations
• Proven experience in project management and reporting project performance
• Strong understanding of building construction, codes and regulations, and obligations of architect of record.  Provides guidance to the team.
• Excellent design skills
• Solid software skills - 3D design, Sketchup, InDesign, Microsoft Office 
• Hand sketching skills
• Excellent command of written and spoken English
• Project Management training 
• Experience in innovative practices locally or internationally or reputable local practices
• An enthusiasm for design and the built environment, innovative concepts and sustainability
• An ambitious personality, capable of achieving
• Agility – flexible, addresses obstacles and is pro-active in finding rapid solutions
• Resilience
• Able to lead teams
• multi-task
• Able to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• Communicates with clarity, purpose and accuracy.
• Able to manage up as well as manage the team
• Effectively delegates tasks, responsibility and authority, and helps others to solve problems themselves
• Has empathy
• Leads by example
• Integrity – creates trust though honest and consistent behaviour, keeps commitments
• Respectful of gender and cultural differences
• Encourages open and straightforward communication
• Open to other points of view
• Plans and conducts effective meetings
• Hands-on and proactive
• Clear communicator

Qualifications/Educational Requirements

• Degree educated – Bachelor degree in Architecture – Masters desirable
• Member of UAE Society Engineers.  Registration with home country professional body highly regarded.

Employing Company Overview and Profile

Architectural recruitment continues apace in the UAE! Our client is a multi-award-winning progressive boutique architectural practice which operates a critical design approach producing projects that are culturally robust, environmentally friendly and place sensitive.

Additional Benefits Package and Incentives

A competitive all inclusive salary package is available for the best available talent in the market place with a very attractive bonus scheme for high achievers!