1. Build & Own the Design Function:

- Own the Design function end-to-end, including people, process, quality, productivity, and delivery.

- Establish a scalable organisational structure to grow the team from ~30 to ~100 designers over the next four years.

- Define clear roles, responsibilities, accountability, reporting lines, and ownership across the department.

- Build a high-performance culture focused on quality, speed, commercial outcomes, and continuous improvement.

2. Design Process & Systems:

- Design, implement, and continuously improve a single, scalable design process across project types.

- Establish clear workflows, review mechanisms, quality gates, approval stages, and escalation processes.

- Introduce standardisation without compromising creativity.

- Build processes that provide visibility to Sales and Estimation teams throughout the design lifecycle.

- Identify bottlenecks and implement data-driven improvements to workflow, efficiency, and turnaround time.

3. Lead & Develop the Design Leadership Team:

- Directly manage and mentor approximately 4 Design Leads.

- Build the managerial and leadership capabilities of the Design Leads.

- Develop managers who can independently manage their teams, solve problems, improve processes, and make sound decisions.

- Establish regular performance reviews, coaching mechanisms, capability development, and succession planning.

- Ensure Design Leads are accountable for the quality, productivity, development, and performance of their respective teams.

4. Quality, Commercial Outcomes & Accountability:

- Establish clear ownership within the Design function for good, commercially viable, and sellable design.

- Drive improvements in design quality, conversion, turnaround time, productivity, and overall efficiency.

- Develop and manage a design scorecard covering design volume, turnaround time, productivity, efficiency, win ratio/conversion rate, converted design value, quality metrics, and training/capability development.

- Use data and performance insights to continuously improve departmental outcomes.

5. Cross-functional Collaboration:

- Partner closely with the COO, Sales, Estimation, Project Delivery, and other business functions.

- Ensure the Design team is aligned with commercial priorities and customer requirements.

- Provide leadership visibility into pipeline, capacity, workflow, bottlenecks, and resource requirements.

- Reduce unnecessary C-suite involvement in routine design execution and deal conversion by building a self-running department.

6. International & Western Client Orientation:

- Understand and operate effectively within American and European client and brand expectations.

- Collaborate confidently with US- and Europe-based stakeholders.

- Bring a strong understanding of international standards, communication styles, timelines, quality expectations, and customer requirements.

- Experience working directly with international clients or brands for 2+ years will be a strong advantage.

7. Industry & Business Adaptability:

- While prior experience in the exhibition industry is not mandatory, you should be able to quickly understand trade show and exhibition environments, show timelines and regulations, materials and modular elements, construction methods, design-to-delivery workflows, and commercial/operational realities.

- Candidates from Retail, Architecture, Interior Design, Experiential Design, Commercial Design, Brand Experience, or other large-scale design environments are encouraged to apply.