Design Leader Principal

Stantec Buildings is on a mission to become the world's leading integrated design practice. Our architects, engineers, interior designers, sustainability specialists, and technologists are passionate about the power of design. We take an innovative, collaborative approach to projects, sharing a common belief that sustainable design for the built environment can make the world a better place for future generations. Join us and design your place with Stantec.

At Stantec, our Buildings' practice keeps people at its heart, recognizing that our shared journey forward is shaped by the meaningful and responsive places we design. From iconic designs to monumental groundbreakings, every day we apply our expertise, creativity, and passion to propel communities into the future Join us to bring transformational building solutions to life.

Your Opportunity

Your opportunity is to join a dynamic and growing team based in the US West. You would join a team of principals that have established a robust network of local clients while strategically growing our practice. Through a mix of internal promotion and external recruitment, the practice is growing to fulfill a vision to be a strategic partner to clients locally and nationally.

We strive for design excellence and total integration among all design disciplines. Your role as a Design Leader in a multi-discipline team is to work collaboratively and partner with our principals to pursue, win, and deliver brilliant work together. You may also work independently as needed, to grow client accounts and manage key projects and pursuits. Your experience ensures you are familiar with the design process from inception through close-out, including planning, building codes and regulatory requirements, coordination with consultants and build trades, contract documentation, and designing to a budget. You will lead diverse integrated project teams successfully through the design process to achieve the highest possible level of design, while ensuring exceptional project delivery and client satisfaction. You will lead in business development activities, nurturing existing client accounts and seeking to grow our client base through building new relationships and project pursuits.

You will be expected to join leaders in the practice to foster a collaborative and engaging environment, promote design excellence, enhance a design culture and brand, mentor design talent, facilitate design critiques, be an ambassador of the firm's design ethos and values, embrace design systems and processes in place (while offering opportunities for improvement), and ensure quality in the work we do. You will be expected to have a strong foundation in understanding that management of the design process requires hands on problem solving, an entrepreneurial spirit to grow the practice, aptitude to manage and mitigate contractual and project risks, a willingness to be inclusive of all perspectives, and the ability to see challenges as opportunities. As a leader, you are expected to display the highest moral conduct and ethical standards.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Advocate and inspire creative and critical thinking. Set high standard for design excellence both internally and externally.
• Uphold a strong internal and external presence and voice as a leader of design in our business center (BC) that currently spans nine office locations across five states.
• Develop, manage, and grow client accounts and / or strategic projects with responsibility including design quality, technical quality, financial performance, accounts receivable, and overall account health.
• Work collaboratively with Business Center (BC) leaders and Global Market Leaders to craft and support the business plan and strategy of a multi-discipline practice, thereby helping to achieve top line growth for the BC .
• Work collaboratively with current design leadership within the BC, including regional design leader, to set and achieve goals and vision across the geographic reach of our BC, and to achieve key performance metrics
• Work with BC leadership to implement practice wide design excellence measures, to foster collaboration between disciplines, sectors, offices and other market sectors while promoting a collaborative culture embodying "We are Better Together".
• Act as a vehicle for the delivery of firm's message on design, quality, safety, community, inclusion, innovation, etc.

Business Development, Marketing, Pursuits, and Projects:

• Be responsible for account and project health including design quality, technical quality, and financial performance.
• Support Business Development activities, including pre-positioning of strategic pursuits, marketing proposals, interview, conference attendance, etc.
• Evaluate the quality of design and ensure the technical quality meets a high level of quality throughout our work.
• Support development and implementation of the firm's brand, image, marketing collateral and business collateral. Oversee and participate in production of design award submissions, papers, and speaking opportunities.
• Engage staff in dialog on design, ensure design process is followed and influence usage of advanced technologies.
• Express philosophy of the work with appropriate vocabulary.
• Identify and direct project photography, written descriptions, and other media in support of building the firm's portfolio.
• It is anticipated that the role would be engaged on project work 50%-60% of the time.
• Establish a culture of design excellence in all our marketing material, pursuits, and projects.

People and Administrative:

• Assist in identification, recruiting, and interviewing of top talent design staff at all levels.
• Act as a mentor, teacher, and coach to design staff with the goal of growing and guiding them through their careers.
• Participate in performance reviews including setting of career goals.
• Be an ambassador and steward of the firm's values and portfolio of work with ability to guide and educate others.

Your Capabilities and Credentials

• Ability to engage in creative and critical thought.
• Be inspiring for those around you and encourage a healthy environment that allows everyone to have a voice.
• Produce design at a level that would be perceived externally as excellent.
• Ability to effectively communicate abstract ideas through strong graphic and verbal communication to the client, their representatives, jurisdictions, communities, and the project team.
• Strong presentation and interview skills.
• Participate in a project team setting, while bringing out the highest value from all team members through strong engagement and leadership skills.
• Lead several teams simultaneously on large complex projects from the development of a design concept through construction.
• Receive criticism and respond appropriately and professionally, as well as offer constructive criticism that .
• Inspire confidence and garner trust and respect with the project team and with clients.
• Provide a balanced approach and good judgement.
• Check work of others for accuracy and completeness and manage team to meet project budget and schedule.
• Scale process, design and effort to various roles on the project, the needs of the project, and other conditions.
• Interpret sketches, drawings, codes, building program and other similar material.
• Ability to empathize strongly with clients and comprehend problems from their point of view in order to develop solutions that best serve their needs.
• Exhibit maturity and cultural awareness internally and externally.
• Strong working knowledge of the codes and standards that regulate the design of the built environment, including but not limited to the International Building Code, NFPA, zoning ordinances
• General knowledge of building construction systems, constructability, materials, and industry associated standards.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, and understanding of production processes in Revit, Adobe Creative Suite, SketchUp, Newforma, and modeling software.

Education and Experience

Bachelor's or master's degree in Architecture. Professional registration is required. Minimum of 15 years of experience, with substantive experience leading large, complex projects and teams.

Typical office environment working with computers and remaining sedentary for long periods of time. Field work may include exposure to the elements including inclement weather.

This description is not a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that may be required of the employee and other duties, responsibilities and activities may be assigned or may be changed at any time with or without notice.

Stantec is a place where the best and brightest come to build on each other's talents, do exciting work, and make an impact on the world around us. Join us and redefine your personal best. #DesignYourPlace