Awards Specialist

Gensler; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Gensler in Los Angeles is seeking an Awards Specialist to define and build the firm’s global external awards program across 10 regions, 56 offices, and 33 practice areas. You will help ensure industry visibility and collaborate with leadership to turn wins into a sustained reputation for design excellence.

This role sits within Gensler’s Global Marketing & Brand Communications Studio, leading brand strategy, digital experiences, editorial, PR, and go-to-market storytelling to drive growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, Journalism, Architecture, Design, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in awards, communications, PR, marketing, or program management; experience in architecture, design, engineering, or professional services preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to build a program from a standing start, including process design, calendar management, and stakeholder alignment.
• Excellent writing and editing skills, with the ability to shape a technical project story into a compelling submission narrative.
• Comfort influencing senior stakeholders and managing submissions across time zones.

Responsibilities

• Develop External Awards Program in collaboration with Marketing to define priority programs and categories.
• Create Calendar and Pipeline for Awards with timelines and intake processes.
• Enable Internal Dialogue and Collaboration across regional teams and leaders.
• Foster Relationships with awards organizations and jurors to amplify visibility and credibility.
• Measure Outcomes with KPIs and annual portfolio adjustments.

Skills

Awards management

Stakeholder influence

Cross-timezone work

Strong writing

Program management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Description

At Gensler, we design for people. We leverage our global perspective and local presence to innovate at every scale. We are not just designers. We are tinkerers, craftspeople, visionaries, innovators, and thought leaders. Fueled by passion and entrepreneurial spirit, our people bring new ideas to solve the world’s most challenging problems, like designing a more resilient, inclusive, and equitable future for our communities and cities.

Description

At Gensler, we design for people. We leverage our global perspective and local presence to innovate at every scale. We are not just designers. We are tinkerers, craftspeople, visionaries, innovators, and thought leaders. Fueled by passion and entrepreneurial spirit, our people bring new ideas to solve the world’s most challenging problems, like designing a more resilient, inclusive, and equitable future for our communities and cities.

Your Role

Design awards are one of the clearest signals of excellence in our industry. They recognize design excellence, shape how clients evaluate firms, how editors and juries decide whose work deserves attention, and how the best designers in the world choose where to build their careers.

We are looking for an Awards Specialist to help define and build Gensler’s global external awards program. Across 10 regions, 56 offices, and 33 practice areas, our teams produce an extraordinary volume of award-worthy work. Your job is to make sure the industry sees it, and to collaborate with leadership to develop the roadmap that turns individual wins into a sustained reputation for design excellence.

This role will assist in setting the direction for where Gensler competes and why, raise the quality bar on how our work is presented, foster the relationships that keep the firm visible to the organizations and juries that matter, and connect recognition to the media, business development, and recruitment outcomes it can drive.

This role will sit within Gensler’s Global Marketing & Brand Communications Studio, which leads an integrated approach to brand strategy, digital experience, editorial, public relations, and go-to-market storytelling that drives growth for the firm. We are a highly collaborative team of writers, designers, digital marketers, and communications professionals working across 10 regions. You will work closely with regional marketing and PR leaders, practice area leadership, and the firm’s design leadership, and you will have a key role in building this program from the ground up. This role will report to the Global Director of Marketing and Communications with regular connectivity to the firm’s Co-CEOs and be based onsite 5 days a week.

What You Will Do

Develop External Awards Program

• In collaboration with Gensler’s Marketing team, build and own a firm wide external design awards strategy: which programs matter, which categories the firm should compete in, and where recognition creates the most value for growth and reputation of our design brand.
• Help set clear prioritization criteria so the firm invests effort where it can win, rather than submitting broadly and thinly
• Partner with global practice area leaders, design synergy leaders, and regional PR leadership to align awards priorities

Create Calendar and Pipeline for Awards

• Build and maintain a global external design awards calendar covering international, regional, national, and industry programs
• Run an intake process for submission requests with published criteria and clear timelines
• Manage the end-to-end submission process for priority programs: narrative development, visual assets, credits, budget, and deadlines
• Maintain a central record of submissions, outcomes, and learnings that improves the quality of future entries

Enable Internal Dialogue and Collaboration

• Enable a regular organized dialogue with design leaders across the firm to promote awareness of projects on the boards and nearing completion for awards consideration.
• Equip regional teams with templates, narrative guidance, and imagery standards so quality is consistent without every submission routing through the Hub
• Run training and office hours for regional teams during peak submission cycles
• Partner with creative and editorial on submission narratives, photography, and presentation standards

Foster Relationships to Amplify Brand

• Develop relationships with awards organizations, program administrators, and jurors across design, architecture, real estate, and business categories
• Identify and support Gensler leaders serving as jurors, judges, and program advisors
• Partner with PR and Digital to amplify wins across earned media, gensler.com, social, and newsletters, so recognition converts to visibility

Measure Outcomes

• Report on submission volume, win rate by program and category, cost per submission, and the media and business development value generated by wins
• Develop KPIs for tracking of awards recognition and marketplace traction.
• Recommend annual changes to the program portfolio based on results

Your Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, Journalism, Architecture, Design, or a related field
• 5+ years of experience in awards, communications, PR, marketing, or program management; experience in architecture, design, engineering, or professional services is strongly preferred
• Demonstrated ability to build a program from a standing start, including process design, calendar management, and stakeholder alignment
• Excellent writing and editing skills, with the ability to shape a technical project story into a compelling submission narrative
• Comfort influencing senior stakeholders and saying no to submission requests that do not meet criteria
• Experience working across time zones with decentralized global teams
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage many concurrent deadlines without losing quality
• If located in Washington, DC, the compensation range will be between $100k-$110k plus bonuses and benefits and contingent on relevant experience.
• If located in New York City, the compensation range will be between $105k-$115k plus bonuses and benefits and contingent on relevant experience.
• If located in Los Angeles, the compensation range will be between $100k-$110k plus bonuses and benefits and contingent on relevant experience.
• If located in San Francisco, the compensation range will be between $105k-$115k plus bonuses and benefits and contingent on relevant experience.

Life at Gensler

At Gensler, we are as committed to enjoying life as we are to delivering best-in-class design. From curated art exhibits to internal design competitions to “Well-being Awareness Week,” our offices reflect our people’s diverse interests.

We encourage every person at Gensler to lead a healthy and balanced life. Our comprehensive benefits include medical, dental, vision, disability, wellness programs, flex spending, paid holidays, and paid time off. We also offer a 401k, profit sharing, employee stock ownership, and twice annual bonus opportunities. Our annual base salary range has been established based on local markets.

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

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS

We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Aff…

Individuals with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with federal, state and local law.

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