Chief Design Officer (Real Estate & Hospitality Developments)

The Greater Change; Dubai; On-site; AED 600,000 - 1,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Bonus program

Leadership role

Creative ownership

Executive career path

Job summary

The Greater Change in Dubai is seeking a Chief Design Officer to establish and lead a new design studio, shaping the creative identity across luxury real estate and lifestyle developments.

Reporting to the CEO and Group Leadership, you will drive design strategy, mentor multidisciplinary teams, and ensure delivery of world-class concepts from concept to completion.

Qualifications

• 10–15 years of senior design leadership experience.
• Previous executive-level roles such as Chief Design Officer, Creative Director, Head of Design or similar.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the overall design vision aligned with business objectives.
• Build and scale the internal design studio and governance frameworks.
• Oversee design delivery across hospitality, residential and lifestyle developments.

Skills

Senior leadership

Creative strategy

Studio setup

Luxury real estate

Executive communication

Job description

About the Company

Our client is an ambitious and rapidly growing real estate and lifestyle development group committed to creating exceptional destinations that blend innovation, luxury and timeless design.

With a strong focus on premium developments, design excellence and customer experience, the organisation is building a portfolio of iconic residential, hospitality and mixed-use projects.

The business believes great design creates lasting value and is investing significantly in building a world-class in-house creative capability.

This is an opportunity to shape the design vision of a growing organisation and leave a lasting impact on landmark developments across the region.

About the Role

We are seeking an accomplished Chief Design Officer to establish and lead a newly created design studio responsible for defining the creative identity across a diverse portfolio of real estate and lifestyle developments.

Reporting directly to the CEO and Group Leadership, you will lead design strategy, creative excellence, innovation and studio operations while building a high-performing team capable of delivering world-class design solutions.

This is a unique executive opportunity for a visionary design leader who combines creativity with commercial thinking and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Design Strategy & Creative Leadership

• Define and lead the overall design vision aligned with business objectives.
• Establish design standards and creative benchmarks across every project.
• Drive innovation by introducing emerging design trends, technologies and best practices.
• Ensure design excellence from concept through project completion.

Studio Development

• Build and scale the internal design studio.
• Recruit, mentor and develop multidisciplinary creative teams.
• Create collaborative design processes and governance frameworks.
• Foster an innovative, high-performance creative culture.

Project Leadership

• Oversee design delivery across hospitality, residential and lifestyle developments.
• Collaborate closely with Development, Marketing and Commercial teams.
• Manage consultants, architects, vendors and specialist partners.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget and to the highest quality standards.

Stakeholder Management

• Present design concepts and creative strategy to executive leadership.
• Act as the principal design ambassador for the organisation.
• Ensure brand consistency across every customer touchpoint.

Performance

Success will be measured by:

• Design quality
• Creative innovation
• Studio growth
• Team performance
• Project delivery
• Brand consistency
• Stakeholder satisfaction

• 10–15 years of senior design leadership experience.

• Previous experience as Chief Design Officer, Creative Director, Head of Design or similar executive role.
• Proven experience leading creative strategy and multidisciplinary design teams.
• Experience building or scaling an internal design studio.
• Strong background in luxury real estate, hospitality, lifestyle or brand design.
• Experience designing hotels, restaurants, F&B concepts and residential developments.
• Excellent leadership and people development capabilities.
• Strong communication and executive presentation skills.
• Commercial awareness with the ability to balance creativity, timelines and budgets.

What We Offer

• Competitive executive salary
• Performance-based annual bonus
• Opportunity to build and lead an entirely new design function
• High level of creative ownership
• Long-term executive career opportunity