Executive Director - Design Management
aldar · Abu Dhabi ·
- Work mode
- Onsite
- Category
- Design
- Experience
- 6+ years
- Company size
- 1000+
Leads design governance and strategy for Aldar’s residential, commercial, hospitality, and civic projects, translating commercial briefs into high-quality design outcomes while managing cross-functional teams and executive stakeholders.
About the Role
Aldar is seeking an Executive Director – Design Management to lead and govern the Design Management function across three product verticals: Upper & Luxury Residential; Commercial, Retail & Hospitality; and National Housing, Education & Civic. You will own the translation of commercial development briefs into high-quality, market-differentiated design outcomes, balancing design ambition with commercial and programme constraints, and build a world-class in-house design management capability serving D-Sell, D-Hold and Government clients.
Key Responsibilities
Design Leadership & Strategy
- Establish the design vision, standards and governance frameworks across all three Design Management verticals and Aldar's full asset portfolio.
- Direct the design response to commercial briefs, ensuring proposals meet target customer, price point, unit mix, key features, timeline and budget requirements.
- Define design standards, material palettes and innovation opportunities for each product typology.
- Chair design quality reviews at every stage gate, with authority to approve or escalate to the GDS Committee.
Client & Stakeholder Engagement
- Act as the primary executive interface between GDS Design Management and the three client groups, maintaining strong relationships with CDOs and Development Management Directors.
- Present design recommendations and stage-gate outcomes to the GDS Committee, GCEO and BU CEO.
- Manage escalations where Design Management and Development Management cannot agree on brief alignment.
Design Consistency & Innovation
- Drive design consistency within each typology while fostering innovation with Design Innovation and Interior Design teams.
- Establish shared design knowledge frameworks and cross-vertical synergies.
- Oversee integration of AI-assisted design tools and modular design thinking across teams.
People & Capability
- Lead, develop and retain a high-performing multi-disciplinary design management team across all verticals.
- Define performance goals, succession plans and capability roadmaps aligned to GDS strategy.
- Identify capability gaps and drive attraction of top-tier design talent.
Required Qualifications and Experience
- Minimum 16 years' experience in architectural design management or urban development, including at least 6 years in a senior executive leadership role.
- Minimum 6 years managing large, multi-disciplinary design teams at senior manager level or above.
- Proven experience leading design across multiple asset classes (residential, commercial, hospitality, civic) in the GCC or comparable markets.
- Master's degree in architecture, Urban Design or a related discipline.
Preferred Qualifications
- Professional registration (RIBA, AIA or equivalent).
- LEED AP or equivalent sustainability credential.
Skills
- Design management across residential, commercial, hospitality and civic typologies.
- Ability to read and respond to commercial development briefs with financially grounded design proposals.
- Executive communication and presentation skills at C-suite and board level.
- Proficiency in BIM, design management platforms and AI-assisted design and review tools.
- Stakeholder management and conflict resolution across multiple client groups.