Senior Design Manager

Position: Senior Design Manager, MDev
Level: Senior / Director
Reporting to: Development Director

Mobility: Georgia market; CIS region exposure advantageous

Role Summary / Purpose

Lead and own the design management of the development programme — directing the Lead Design Consultant (LDC) and specialist commissions from concept through scheme, detailed design and construction documentation. The role drives interdisciplinary coordination across all design disciplines and trades, challenges and tests design outputs for quality, compliance, cost and value, sets up and administers the Common Data Environment (CDE) and BIM / ACC standards, and interfaces with the hotel operator’s technical and brand teams to secure compliant, on-brand, buildable design — owning the design programme, its pace and follow-through.

Key Responsibilities & Deliverables

Generic Accountabilities

• Strategy Implementation & Contribution: Translate the development and design strategy into delivered design outputs, ensuring alignment to the divisional strategy and the organisation’s vision, mission and corporate objectives. Cascade design discipline and standards across the programme so day-to-day coordination stays true to agreed goals.

• People Management: Establish the roles and responsibilities of the design coordination team members drawn from the specialist designers’ resource pool as well as internal skillsets. Lead, guide and develop the team — providing direction, training and growth opportunities — to maximise performance and prepare members for higher-level roles.

• Cost & Value Management: Own the design’s contribution to cost certainty and value creation, working with the commercial function so that design decisions, options and value-engineering opportunities are tested against budget and brand standards, and acted upon.

• Policies, Systems, Processes & Procedures: Oversee and guide the implementation of relevant design-management policies, standards, BIM protocols, sets out and oversees the BEP, systems, processes, procedures and controls across the programme, ensuring governance and the authority matrix are observed throughout.

• Reporting: Compile periodic design reports — design programme status, deliverables, coordination issues, approvals and operator sign-offs — and submit them, accurately and on time, to the relevant parties, including the Development Director, Risk Management and the project / JV board as delegated.

Job-Specific Accountabilities

• Design Brief & Consultant Commissions: Develop and own the design brief for each project in conjunction with the Development Director and operator brand standards, and define the scope and deliverables for the Lead Design Consultant (LDC) and all specialist disciplines. Lead and participate in the preparation of design scopes for all RFPs, ensuring discipline coverage, deliverables, BIM requirements and interfaces are correctly framed. Lead LDC and specialist commissions across all design disciplines relevant to the hotel and residences asset classes — architecture, interior design, structural, MEP, landscape, lighting, façade, vertical transportation, acoustics, kitchen and laundry, and specialist trades all form part of the role’s oversight.

• Design Development & Coordination: Drive the design through each RIBA-equivalent stage — concept, scheme, detailed design and construction documentation — leading interdisciplinary design meetings and workshops to resolve interfaces, coordinate trades and close out issues. Challenge and test design outputs for quality, completeness, compliance, buildability, cost and value, and present design proposals for review and approval through to EXCOM and board level. Drive pace and rigorous follow-up so the design programme is delivered to time.

• Design Management & Delivery: Own the design programme end-to-end, integrating discipline deliverables, design freezes and decision points against the master programme. Direct and manage the Lead Design Consultant and specialist consultants, holding them to scope, deliverables, quality and programme. Set up and administer the Common Data Environment (CDE), and test and enforce BIM / ACC (Autodesk Construction Cloud) standards, model coordination and clash resolution. Test design outputs for code, regulatory and brand-standard compliance, and direct corrective action where required. Coordinate FF&E, hotel supplies, OS&E and specialist trade design with the operator and procurement, ensuring integration into the design and the schedules. Lead and follow up interdisciplinary design meetings, design workshops and reviews, tracking actions to closure with pace and discipline. Liaise with the appointed Project Management and Cost Management consultant, drawing on technical and commercial support as needed. Establish design milestone dates, key decision points and the design approach in consultation with the Development Director and function leads, and secure approval. Oversee the design’s transition into construction, supporting the site team with design queries, instructions and as-built / handover information.

• Operator & Brand Interface: Interface with the hotel operator’s technical services, design and brand teams, securing design reviews, approvals and brand-standard sign-offs. Manage the resolution of operator comments and brand-standard requirements through the design, balancing brand, cost and buildability. Coordinate with Legal and the commercial function on operator technical obligations under the management and licensing agreements.

• Cross-Functional Coordination: Work with the Development Director and project-management consultant to align design deliverables with programme and procurement. Coordinate with the commercial function on design cost, value engineering and design’s input to budgets. Work with Legal to ensure design, regulatory and intellectual-property risks are identified and covered. Support the development team with design input to feasibility, GFA optimisation and business plans. Participate in all key project and design meetings and escalate issues as they arise.

• Continuous Improvement: Research and apply up-to-date practices in design management, BIM and digital delivery, keeping the function aligned with industry best practice and continuously improving design reporting and outcomes. Remain versed in evolving technologies such as AI applications across the design and coordination functions, specific to design review, model checking and compliance, demonstrably and ably. Leads and performs site test fits, does pre-concept development, creates area programs and is comfortable during dynamic presentations and workshops.

Performance Metrics / Success Criteria

• Design delivered against the design programme

• Design developed within the approved budget / cost plan

• Quality and completeness of design deliverables

• Operator brand-standard and regulatory approvals secured

• Design programme overrun as % of plan

• Design-driven cost change as % of budget

• Coordination issues / clashes resolved on time

• Design freeze and IFC milestones met as planned

Qualifications & Skills:

Education

• Degree in Architecture, Engineering or a design-related discipline

• Chartered status preferred; RIBA membership or a recognised international equivalent is noted

• Broad command of all design disciplines relevant to hospitality and branded residences, together with a sound cost and value awareness, is essential

Skills & Technical

• Multidisciplinary design management and coordination

• BIM / CDE administration (Autodesk Construction Cloud / ACC)

• Hospitality and branded residences design; FF&E, OS&E and hotel supplies

• Compliance, design assurance and cost / value awareness

• 100% fluent in English — speaking, communicating, reading and writing

• Knowledge of the Georgian and CIS market is an advantage

Experience

• 15–20 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities of the role, including the design management of hospitality and branded-residence developments across all design disciplines and trades

• Demonstrable experience leading LDC and specialist commissions, administering a CDE and BIM / ACC environment, and interfacing with hotel operator technical and brand teams on not fewer than three developments

• A versatile design manager with working knowledge of FF&E, OS&E and hotel supplies, focused on pace, follow-through and ownership of the design programme

• Demonstrable success and performance achievements in comparable developments of comparable values and complexity is critical

• MUST HAVE: Must have worked for a property developer, preferably within the developer’s design team, for not fewer than five years

Working Conditions & Expectations

• Based in Georgia; candidates not currently resident must commit to frequent, sustained travel to Georgia

• Site visits, design workshops, and operator / consultant engagement across all project phases

• Periodic work under tight schedules, particularly around design freeze milestones, IFC submissions and operator review cycles

• Cross-functional collaboration with Development, Commercial, Legal, and the appointed LDC and specialist consultants