Senior Interior Designer, Planning, Design & Construction

University of Cincinnati; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Senior Interior Designer to lead innovative projects in a dynamic university environment. This role involves managing interior design activities, overseeing project management from initiation to closeout, and collaborating with various stakeholders to ensure compliance with university standards. The ideal candidate will bring extensive experience in interior design and project management, along with a passion for creating functional and aesthetically pleasing spaces. Join a mission-driven organization committed to transforming the community and fostering a culture of innovation and excellence.

Benefits

Tuition remission for employees and dependents

Robust retirement plans

Generous time-off policy

6 weeks paid parental leave

Flexible spending accounts

Wellness programs

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design or Architecture required.
• Nine years of relevant experience can substitute education requirement.

Responsibilities

• Lead project management from initiation through project closeout.
• Coordinate with various departments and vendors for project execution.
• Oversee major capital projects’ interior design scope.

Skills

Interior Design

Project Management

Space Planning

Drafting/CAD

Furniture Products

Color and Materials Application

Graphic Presentations

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design or Architecture

Tools

CAD Software

Job description

Senior Interior Designer, Planning, Design & Construction

Current UC employees must apply internally via SuccessFactors

Founded in 1819, the University of Cincinnati ranks among the nation’s best urban public research universities. Home to 53,235 students, nearly 12,000 faculty and staff and 350,000+ living alumni, UC combines a Top 35 public research university with a physical setting The New York Times has called “the most ambitious campus design program in the country.”

With the launch of Next Lives Here, the Cincinnati Innovation District, a $100 million JobsOhio investment, the oldest and one of the largest cooperative education programs, a dynamic academic health center and entry into the Big 12 Conference, UC’s momentum has never been stronger. UC’s annual budget stands at $1.85 billion, and its endowment totals $2 billion.

UC is a mission-driven organization where we are committed to student success and positively transforming the community through scholarship and service. We thrive on innovation, making an impact, and fostering an environment where staff and faculty are key contributors to UC’s success.

Job Overview

Responsible for supporting and managing all interior design related activities to present creative, solution-based interior design and related interiors project management support in space planning, drafting/CAD, furniture products, color and materials application, as well as internal graphic and verbal presentations related to interior design and interior architecture/fit out.

Essential Functions

• Lead project management from initiation through project closeout. Duties include planning, scope of work determination, cost estimating, code evaluation, competitive bidding, contractor negotiations, cost control, work inspections, scheduling, work coordination, move planning and management, project close out, and post occupancy follow up.
• Coordinate with leadership in various university departments and committees, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, consulting Architects and Interior Designers and construction/furniture vendors firms, as well as internal P+D+C project managers and related constituents.
• Oversee major capital projects’ interior design portion of scope, supporting project managers to ensure consulting firms follow University methodology of delivering work as in compliance with the P+D+C’s Project Manager’s Manual, OFCC guidelines and University Standards. Development and oversight of campus interiors and FF&E University Standards.
• Help develop, maintain, and execute annual and life-cycle budgeting, repair, and replacement of FF&E and finishes inventories (e.g., residence hall corridor carpet upkeep and replacement program).
• Improve space utilization by promoting and ensuring all projects move towards greater flexibility and scalability to reduce the cost of reconfigurations as well as increase net gross usable space.
• Critically evaluate business cases for warehousing of surplus inventory, reuse, and/or disposal/sale of FF&E that vastly reduces our back stock against better upkeep for reuse of inventories.
• Partner with the Procurement Office to support means by which to leverage best practices to get value and positive outcomes out of the solicitation process.
• Development and oversight of the interior designers with the goal of supporting productivity, delivery methodologies, best practices and standards and means by which to assure best in class service.
• May provide direct and/or indirect supervision to exempt and non-exempt staff (i.e., hiring/firing, performance evaluations, disciplinary action, approve time off, etc.).
• Perform related duties based on departmental need. This job description can be changed at any time.

Required Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design or Architecture.
• Nine (9) years of relevant work experience and/or other specialized training can be used in lieu of education requirement.

Required Trainings/Certifications

NCIDQ – Council for Interior Design Qualification

Required Experience

Five (5) years’ experience in interior design or related experience in the commercial furniture business.

Physical Requirements/Work Environment

• Repetitive hand motion (such as typing) - Often
• Talking - Often
• Standing - Seldom
• Walking - Seldom
• Bending - Seldom
• Stooping - Seldom
• Kneeling, squatting - Seldom
• Crouching - Seldom
• Reaching overhead - Seldom
• Pulling, pushing - Seldom
• Lifting - up to 20 pounds - Seldom
• Lifting - up to 50 pounds - Seldom

Compensation and Benefits

UC offers an exceptional benefits package designed to support your well-being, financial security, and work-life balance. Highlights include:

UC provides tuition remission for you and your eligible dependents, covering tuition costs for nearly all undergraduate and graduate programs offered by the university.

Robust Retirement Plans

As a UC employee, you won’t contribute to Social Security (except Medicare). Instead, you’ll choose between state pension plans (OPERS, STRS) or an Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP), with UC contributing 10–14% of your salary.

Real Work-Life Balance

UC prioritizes work-life balance with a generous time-off policy, including:

Vacation and sick time

11 paid holidays and additional end-of-year paid time off (Winter Season Days)

6 weeks of paid parental leave for new parents

Additional Benefits Include:

• Competitive salary based on experience
• Flexible spending accounts & wellness programs

UC is an E-Verify employer. If hired into this position, you will be required to provide satisfactory proof of employment eligibility by providing acceptable, original forms of identification for employment verification via the Federal I-9 employment verification process. A list of acceptable documents can be seen here: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents

Important : To apply you must create a profile and submit a complete job application through the UC applicant portal. We are unable to consider “easy apply” applications submitted via other websites. For questions about the UC recruiting process or to request accommodations with the application, please contact Human Resources at [e-mail] .

The University of Cincinnati is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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