Associate Director

Rias; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 61,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary aligned to RIBA/UK

33 days holiday

37.5-hour week

Pension 3.25%

Health scheme

Cycle to work

Job summary

Architype in Edinburgh seeks an Associate Director to lead the studio, oversee multiple projects, and drive delivery in a collaborative, high-performance environment.

The role requires a Part 3 Architect with ARB registration, a track record of managing teams, and strong business development skills, including fee proposals and client relationship building.

Qualifications

• Part 3 Architect registered with ARB (minimum 10 years experience).
• Experience delivering diverse projects including retrofit and complex schemes.
• Proven ability to write successful fee proposals and lead teams.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of local Edinburgh projects and oversee design, fees, resourcing, and programming.
• Lead and mentor teams, ensuring project quality and profitability.
• Develop and maintain client relationships and contribute to business development.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Project delivery

Business development

Education

Part 3 Architect (ARB)

Job description

Architype is seeking a new member of our senior management team who shares our passion for high-quality design, to help us deliver a growing portfolio of projects in Scotland.

Architype offers exceptional opportunities to be involved in projects at the cutting edge of zero carbon and genuine sustainability, building on our unrivalled 42 years of experience in this area. Architype is the UK’s leading Passivhaus Architect and widely recognised for our innovative approach including multiple RIBA National, RIAS, CIBSE Building Performance and BCO Awards. Our talentedco-owners are often recognised by the Architects' Journal including the New Talent List and Sustainability Champions of the Year.

Our approach is inclusive and collaborative.

We are looking for the following role: Associate Director for our Edinburgh studio.
The ideal candidate will have experience of leading and delivering a wide range of projects across different scales and sectors, including large and complex schemes and retrofit, and will have a proven track record for writing successful fee proposals.

They will possess excellent design skills and leadership, have excellent technical ability and have a passion for work winning, business development and networking. Knowledge of delivering projects to the Passivhaus standard, or other technically challenging projects such as laboratories, is desirable. They will have experience of overseeing and managing the strategic direction of a number of projects concurrently, including design, fees, resourcing and programming.

In addition, they will have experience of managing a team of people, providing pastoral support and managing HR issues.

About Architype
Architype has an open and collaborative ethos with a common purpose – to deliver fantastic architecture that performs exceptionally. We are a practice of almost 50 people, collaborating across three studios in Edinburgh, Hereford, and London.

Architype has a rich history of pioneering low carbon design and a clear focus on how buildings work for people and the planet. We masterplan and design a wide range of buildings across the education, university, housing, community, and cultural sectors. Our consultancy service PERFORM+ enables us to offer insight and cutting-edge technical expertise to clients.

Working culture at Architype is creative and caring. We work in a collaborative and supportive way that encourages fresh ideas and career progression, and we support flexible working for all.

We are 30% owned by the staff through an Employee Benefit Trust and are committed to becoming 100% employee owned in the future – it is why we call ourselves “co-owners”.

Architype is currently operating a hybrid working policy to enable staff to work flexibly from both home and from our studios. Our Edinburgh studio is located within the creative hub of Custom Lane on The Shore in Leith. All co-owners are fully supported with equipment to enable hybrid working and are integrated into our collaborative team culture both on and offline.

• A competitive salary which is aligned to the annual RIBA salary bandings survey/industry standards. This is currently in the following range: £60,690 - £77,450.
• 33 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays)
• 37.5-hour week – flexible/hybrid working possible
• Pension benefits of 3.25% employer contribution and access to a company health scheme and cycle to work scheme.

Architype is an Equal Opportunities employer. We are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community. We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements and staff engagement forums, to support staff from different backgrounds.

We welcome applications from all nationalities; however, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role, so before you apply for this post, please ensure that you have the right to work in the UK.

This post will be offered on a permanent basis, with a 4-month probation period. The closing date for applications is 6pm on Friday 13th November 2026. Interviews will be held on Tuesday 1st or Wednesday 2nd December.

Unfortunately, due to the volume of applications we are sorry we cannot respond to all applicants, so if you do not hear from us by Friday 20th November 2026, please assume that you have been unsuccessful.

Note that all applications will be treated in accordance with our GDPR policy. For more information, please visit our website.

Associate Director Job Description and Specification
The overall mission of each office Associate Director is to deliver effective local management to achieve company aspirations.

Core purpose
Each Associate Director’s core purpose is the day-to-day management of the office to:

• Support the local Director to deliver Architype’s business plan, including vision, strategy and direction
• Support the local Director in ensuring effective management and a dynamic local culture
• Support the local Director to ensure financial, technical and design performance

Key responsibilities

• Participate in the local board of directors and assist in management of the local office
• Take responsibility for a key area of local management (design / technical / financial)
• Manage a portfolio of projects
• Deliver individual project design quality and profitability
• Manage and motivate teams and staff
• Support staff development and training
• Develop office systems within ISO 9001 and 14001
• Collaborate effectively with the other local management team

Required experience and skills
An Associate director will be expected to have the majority of these experiences and skills:

• qualified part 3 Architect registered with the ARB and with a minimum of 10 years experience
• capable of taking responsibility for designing and delivering a number of separate projects and managing a team of architects and assistants
• 5 years experience of managing people and team
• the ability to deliver leadership behaviours in line with our core values, in particular the ability to lead collaboratively
• ability to apply critical thinking, identify and foresee problems and suggest solutions

Permanent

Full time

Practice

Architype Ltd
The Old Assembly Hall
37 Constitution Street
EDINBURGH EH6 7BG
United Kingdom

The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, 15 Rutland Square, Edinburgh EH1 2BE
t: [phone] e: [e-mail]

RIAS Offices are open from 10am until 5pm, Monday to Friday.