Project Director - Critical Facilities

Gensler; Greater London; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and dental insurance

Season ticket loans

Pension and bonus opportunities

Job summary

Gensler in London seeks a Project Director to lead Critical Facilities projects, building our capabilities and delivering exceptional design and technical work. The role collaborates across the studio, European region, and global teams to advance our practice and client relationships.

You will mentor staff, lead multi-disciplinary teams, manage budgets and schedule, and help recruit top talent while maintaining a strong design culture and market reputation.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of architectural experience, including 5+ years in management or client development.
• 10+ years in critical facility design, with a preference for data centers.
• Strong leadership, creativity and communication skills for client workshops and presentations.
• Experience guiding multi-disciplinary teams and managing client expectations.

Responsibilities

• Lead project leadership and client relationships to grow Critical Facilities work.
• Collaborate across the studio, European Region and broader Practice Area.
• Manage financial health of critical facilities projects and client relationships.
• Lead RFQ/RFP responses to build a pipeline of new work.
• Stay current with technology and design innovations for critical infrastructure.
• Report status to leadership on projects, pursuits and teams.
• Identify and recruit top talent with office leadership.
• Mentor staff in the design profession.
• Strengthen market reputation through thought leadership.
• Foster a positive work environment among peers and teams.

Skills

Project leadership

Client relationships

Mentoring

Team leadership

Presentations

Business development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Architecture/Design/Interior Design

Job description

Your Role

As Project Director in the Gensler's London office, you will bring your years of project leadership and client relationship skills to build our capabilities to inspire and realize Critical Facilities projects of all scales and complexities. Building the Critical Facilities practice is fundamental to our strategic plans, so you will be integral to moving our entire practice into the future.

Description

On a day-to-day basis, you will be accountable primarily for building our practice through the delivery of exceptional design and technical work. We take a highly collaborative approach to work, and the nurturing of a design culture in our studios and in the office is highly important to us. We also believe that the project leadership shares accountability for the design, technical, and financial success of the projects, and will look to you to lead your teams to be successful in those measures.

This role is essential in the design and delivery of world-class Data Centers and other Critical Facilities projects.

Our Critical Facilities practice area is unique, having the ability to draw expertise from and collaborate with our network of teams across the globe to serve clients based on their evolving technical requirements. Beyond data centers, our critical facilities team delivers projects for high performance/research/supercomputing, command and control centers, SCIFs, Artificial Intelligence factories, and various other technology-rich project types.

What You Will Do

• Utilize your experience in project leadership and client relationship skills to build our capabilities to inspire and deliver Critical Facilities projects of all scales and complexities, with the vision of creating a stand‑alone studio focused on Critical Facilities clients
• Work collaboratively with others in your studio, in the European Region and in the broader Critical Facilities Practice Area
• Be accountable and manage the financial health of critical facilities projects and client relationships.
• Lead a team or individually respond to RFQ / RFPs to build a pipeline of new work.
• Keep pace with technology advances and the design innovations required to develop the supporting critical infrastructure.
• Effectively and routinely communicate with your leadership on status of projects, pursuits, and teams.
• Work closely with office leadership to identify and recruit best-in-class talent
• Actively mentor staff in their growth in the design profession
• Strengthen our market reputation through thought leadership and a differentiated point of view
• Foster and encourage a positive work environment amongst peers and teams

Your Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Architecture, Design or Interior Design.
• Ideal candidate will possess 15+ years of architectural experience, inclusive of 5 or more years' experience in an architecture and design firm in client development, and/or management of a studio, practice group, or regional office.
• 10+ years of experience in critical facility design with a preference in the data center projects.
• A high degree of self-motivation, flexibility, and resourcefulness
• Ability to inspire and lead a team with creativity and compassion
• Strong presentation skills with the ability to be articulate and convincing in client workshops, interviews, and other presentations
• Demonstrated experience developing relationships with new and existing clients
• Substantial experience working directly with senior management representatives, facilities and project managers, and other project stakeholders, leading planning studies to achieve programmatic requirements
• Leadership experience, including managing client expectations, multi-disciplinary teams, and meeting scope/schedule/budget
• Advanced knowledge of the architectural planning and design process, code requirements and design of building systems.
• Skilled at developing and motivating teams of people both internally and externally, along with a desire to mentor team members

Life at Gensler

We encourage every person at Gensler to lead a healthy and balanced life. Our comprehensive benefits include medical and dental insurance, season ticket loans, pension and twice annual bonus opportunities.

• medical and dental insurance
• season ticket loans
• pension and twice annual bonus opportunities

As part of the firm’s commitment to professional development, Gensler offers reimbursement for certain professional qualifications and associated renewals and exam fees. In addition, we reimburse tuition for certain eligible programmes or classes. We view our professional development programmes as strategic investments in our future.

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS

We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affimative Action employer of choice. All aspects of employment decisions will be based on merit, performance, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of any status protected under applicable regulatory laws.

Individuals with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable regulatory laws.

Gensler endeavors to make gensler.com/careers accessible to all applicants. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us.

Regarding Gensler’s approach to recruiting new talent, we will never ask an applicant for sensitive or personal financial information during the recruitment process. We advise all applicants seeking employment with Gensler to review available information on recruitment fraud. Anyone who suspects that they have been contacted by someone falsely representing Gensler should email [e-mail].