Executive Director - Design Management

Aldar; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Aldar is seeking an Executive Director - Design Management to lead the Design Management function across three product verticals: Upper & Luxury Residential; Commercial, Retail & Hospitality; and National Housing, Education & Civic. You will translate commercial briefs into high-quality design outcomes while balancing ambition with programme constraints.

You will build a world-class in-house design management capability serving government and private clients, leading a multi-disciplinary team

Qualifications

• Minimum 16 years' experience in architectural design management or urban development.
• At least 6 years in a senior executive leadership role.
• Proven leadership of large multi-disciplinary design teams.
• Master's degree in architecture, urban design or related discipline.

Responsibilities

• Lead design management across three product verticals (residential, commercial, civic).
• Direct design response to briefs ensuring market-differentiated outcomes and alignment with timelines and budgets.
• Chair design reviews and approve or escalate design decisions at governance stages.
• Maintain strong executive interfaces with client groups and senior stakeholders.

Skills

Architectural design management

Executive leadership

GCC market experience

BIM

AI-assisted design tools

Education

Master's degree in architecture/urban design

Tools

BIM

AI-assisted design tools

Job description

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 escalte 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.