Associate Director Wayfinding, Benoy (UK)

Sign Design Society Ltd; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Sign Design Society Ltd is seeking an Associate Director to lead and inspire a team across Wayfinding, Placemaking and Visual Identity. You will manage projects, mentor junior staff, and contribute to new business while maintaining high design standards and on-time delivery.

The role emphasizes leadership, client engagement, and strategic resource planning within a UK-based practice.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7–10 years experience as a Senior Wayfinding Designer / Strategist.
• Experience across design for the built environment and related sectors.
• Fluent in written and spoken English.
• Strong project management and client liaison capabilities.
• Demonstrated leadership and mentorship of junior staff.

Responsibilities

• Lead and inspire the team to deliver Wayfinding, Placemaking, and Visual Identity projects.
• Plan, coordinate, and manage project processes from inception to delivery.
• Lead client meetings and contribute to business development activities.
• Oversee budgets, resources, and scheduling using integrated tools.
• Provide technical and creative leadership across multiple projects.

Skills

Wayfinding design

Project management

Leadership

Client liaison

Communication

English fluency

Team collaboration

Strategic thinking

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Sign Agent

MS Office

Revit

Job description

The Associate Director leads and inspires their team with a strong focus on creative / technical leadership and project management in the fields of Wayfinding, Placemaking and Visual Identity to ensure that innovative and thought-provoking projects achieve high-quality design standards and are delivered on time and on budget. They operate autonomously, requiring only minimal supervision from the Senior Associate Director / Director, and are responsible for supporting mid-level and junior colleagues to achieve their full potential. Not only do they support the delivery of corporate-level business development strategies, but they also actively support the development of leads and the generation of new business across existing and future sectors and markets. Their time is split between project management, leadership and actively contributing to live project deliverables.

Where required you will manage the development key wayfinding deliverables using both internal and external resource.

Key responsibilities

Project management

• Manages their team across projects to deliver design and technical excellence that meet high-quality standards.
• Plans, coordinates, and manages the project process, maintaining involvement throughout, including instigating / supporting the Senior Associate/Director to put in place systems / processes that don’t already exist.
• Liaises with Senior Associate / Director to ensure that innovative and thought-provoking projects are consistently delivered.
• Leads project meetings and some client presentations, increasingly acting as the primary contact for client interaction and maintaining good relationships with clients to maximize opportunities for repeat business.
• Creates and maintains project plans and the master project program (from Cito data) and reviews it with Senior Associate / Director for strategic planning of resourcing, forecasting, etc.

Leadership

• Role models Company values and fosters a collaborative environment in which innovation is encouraged and best practices are shared.
• Leads, guides, and provides training to junior talent, offering timely feedback that contributes to their continuing creative, technical, and professional development, including regular 1-2-1s, mid-year and end-of-year reviews, and assessments.
• Initiates or participates in studio or group activities, leads brainstorming sessions, and effectively manages conflicts.
• Provides technical / creative leadership and oversight across multiple projects within the studio, ensuring high-quality design standards.
• Demonstrates high-quality creative output through actively designing in live projects.

Client relationships

• Leads project meetings and some client presentations, increasingly acting as the primary contact for client interaction and maintaining good relationships with clients to maximize opportunities for repeat business.
• Engages with colleagues to support the development of new business, enhancing internal and external communication via functions, events, forums, and publications.
• Assists in the preparation of fee bids and undertakes fee proposals and negotiations for projects.

Budget control

Demonstrates a sound understanding of cost control, fee charging, and project finance, ensuring project fees are maximized and project targets are achieved through sensible management of time and allocated resources.

• Responsible for liaising with new project clients on contractual set up, invoicing schedule, etc., ensuring all key project documents are in place at the start.
• Responsible for project related budget and resource management in order to achieve or maintain project profit across all allocated projects.
• Analyzes resource utilization and project data (using our proprietary project and finance management tool, Cito), identifying where changes may need to be made and overseeing how these changes are implemented.
• Assesses / defines short- and long-term resource needs to meet project requirements and confirmed pipeline.

About you

Skills and experience required

• Proven experience working across design for the built environment at a range of project scales and sectors.
• The successful candidate is likely to have had a minimum of 7–10 years experience as a Senior Wayfinding Designer / Strategist prior to applying for this role.
• The focus of this role will be on Wayfinding projects in the main, but experience of delivering Placemaking and Visual Identity projects is also desirable.
• Highly organized with a strong track record of project management and client liaison.
• Team-oriented and personable with excellent interpersonal, influencing, and communication skills.
• Proven leadership skills and the ability to allocate work and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Able to work with minimal supervision and plan own workload; ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines are prerequisites.
• Design obsessive, aware of best practices in the industry.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to effectively present ideas.
• Fluent in written and spoken English.
• Excellent computer knowledge, Adobe Creative Suite, Sign Agent and MS Office.
• Understanding of BIM process and deliverables across the RIBA stages of work.
• Knowledge of BIM tools such as Revit and Autodesk desirable.
• Experience of managing all stages of the project design process and supporting business operations activity.