Head Ideation EMEA

Haworth International; London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global office furniture manufacturer is seeking a Head of Ideation in London. The ideal candidate will lead the Ideation Workplace Strategy team in EMEA, managing workplace consulting projects and developing strategic services. Requires a Bachelor's degree and 4-6 years in workplace consulting. The role involves significant collaboration and travel, with a focus on enhancing client relationships and market position.

Qualifications

• 4-6 years’ experience in workplace consulting or interior design.
• Strong English language skills at a business professional level.
• Excellent presentation and visualization skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of Ideation consulting and research processes.
• Manage workplace consulting client projects.
• Support sales and marketing teams in client-facing interactions.

Skills

Relationship management

Interpersonal skills

Analytical problem solving

Communication skills

Visualization skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in relevant field

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

Job Purpose

The purpose of Haworth’s Ideation team is to position Haworth as a leader in workplace knowledge, enhancing sales and dealer relationships, through high quality research, workplace insights and analysis, leading edge tools, training and application, to help customers align their business strategies with their workplace.

The Head of Ideation leads the Ideation Workplace Strategy team activities, in EMEA. Manages development and improvement of Ideation consulting and research processes. Leads research projects, involving applying of new consulting tools and documents on workplace and business-related topics. Manages workplace consulting client projects; consults with sales leaders and Workplace Advisors to develop strategic rationale for new consulting services for development of high-performing workplaces. Participates and represents Haworth at key industry events/function to help position Haworth as a workplace knowledge leader. Drives Haworth’s EMEA sales and market strategy to support dealers, knowledge partners, designers and consultants.

A glimpse of your daily mission

• Support and build Ideation’s research and consulting framework, including theory, application, and integration with other functions to bring engagement and value to Haworth clients surrounding workplace strategy and design.

• Lobbies for funds for consulting services and tools for development of high performing physical environments, in accordance with leading workplace strategies.

• Supervises team members and establishes roles and responsibilities for consultancy, research and development projects to identify and quantify client specific goals, preferences, and concerns.

• Directs project team members to develop strategies for improvement, after analyzing primary applied research of clients’ culture, work styles, patterns, social networks, and organizational structures to ensure project meets client specifications.

• Consults and collaborates with Marketing Communications, Product Development, Field Sales, and Executive Management department members on marketing and information related to workplace research and trends.

• Writes and develops workplace articles and publications to support Haworth’s strategy, services and products.

• Works with sales leaders, dealers, knowledge partners, designers and consultants, to interact with key clients and drive front-end strategy, including client consulting, market differentiation, strategic partnering, and identification of emerging markets; developing plans for joint research and development projects together with the EMEA team.

• Supports the sales and marketing teams in client-facing interactions and positioning discussions, pitching for new business and differentiating with Haworth’s Ideation services, research and tools.

• Leads workplace and design workshops with clients and their partners as first steps to translate workplace knowledge into implementable applied workspace solutions specific to their key business and project goals.

• Develops and manages relationships with designers & architects, workplace consultants, knowledge partners, suppliers, partner organizations, professional organizations, and academia to support the EMEA sales strategy.

• Provides thought leadership in the area of workplace strategy through knowledge sharing, participation and facilitation to help evolve the workplace, people within it and the technologies used.

• Plans, organizes, and conducts expert seminars and symposia, including topic selection and solicitation of expert involvement to continue to lift Haworth’s brand image within marketplace as knowledge leader.

• Represents Haworth on national and international committees and at trade shows, industry events, seminars, and forums to monitor influences and make professional contacts in the industry to position the team member.

• Continually seeks out and shares insights to new connections between Ideation workplace knowledge and applied design to inform improvements in the Ideation workplace advisory and consultancy services.

• Captures learnings from client projects and coordinates with department leads to present findings and inform leaders of Ideation, Product Development, Marketing, Architectural and Design (A&D), Sales, and Dealer Distribution.

• Creates case studies for completed projects, publishing internally and externally with customer approval.

• Leads as an active agent in continuous training and development of all regional team members, continually focused on Ideation Services as a consolidated services proposition.

• Drives the development, enhancement, marketing and client adoption of Haworth’s Ideation tools and services in collaboration with the Ideation team in EMEA.

• Develops tools for delivery and tracking of Haworth’s services to measure and facilitate Haworth’s market penetration.

• Utilizes technology Specification software, such as Freespace, CoDesigner, to improve work/communication and create deliverables for Design Workshops.

• Spends appropriate levels of time in marketplace, requiring overnight and occasional international travel away from “home” office.

Job Requirements and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in interior design or architecture, workplace strategy, corporate real estate, organizational behavior, environmental psychology, social science or an equivalent area of study.

• Advanced degree, i.e., Master’s in Design, Business Administration, or Social Science preferred.

• 4-6 years’ experience in workplace consulting, interior design, corporate real estate, organizational design.

• Strong relationship management skills.

• English language skills must be at a business professional level.

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills – written and verbal.

• Excellent presentation and visualization skills.

• Excels at problem solving with excellent analytical, interpersonal and communication skills.

• Demonstrated track record in “cross-functional collaboration”

Travel Requirements

Travelling 50% of the time internationally

About Us

Haworth is one of the world's largest manufacturers of office furniture, providing solutions for tomorrow's customers worldwide. At the center of our work is the human being: What does a person need to work, what pushes them, motivate them and what makes people feel comfortable at work? Only if we can answer that question, we are able to introduce designs to our customers that will make them achieve their goals. To stay one step ahead, we invest in our own research, have a worldwide network of interesting partners and are part of think tanks around the world who are trying to think ahead. The family-owned company, headquartered in Holland, Michigan/United States, employs more than 8.000 people and is represented in more than 150 countries in Asia, Europe and America with subsidiaries and partners.