Design Manager

Manages the design department, all the design personnel and is responsible for the overall performance of the staff and department. Basic responsibilities include workload management, departmental budget adherence, representing design in sales presentations, professionalism and accuracy of department, etc.

Specific Responsibilities and Duties:
Management of Department

  • Analyzes sales projections, level of design activity and senior management team feedback for the best deployment of design resources; manages team assignments to ensure workload activities are appropriately balanced and supported

  • Assures maximum staff productivity through quarterly and annual reviews, prioritizing and coordinating staff schedules, and negotiating deadlines in order to meet client requests/needs

  • Checks work progress to redirect activity and resources to meet project goals and time frames

  • Provides coaching and direction to staff designers working on design projects

  • Monitors design hours on all projects, and works with designers to ensure that actual time spent on design work is within the estimated hours for those projects

  • Reviews design invoicing to ensure that all sold design is billed, and to ensure that all design allocation to the sales department is accurate and complete

  • Evaluates Bids and RFPs to determine Go, No-Go decision. If project is a “Go”, help determine and design the best solution to meet customer’s criteria and win project

  • Monitors and manages the design budget within the guidelines provided by senior management and the accounting department

  • Represents the design department at management meetings, expressing project and staff concerns, seeking feedback on design performance and assisting upper management in the dissemination of company decisions back to the design department

Sales & Marketing

  • Plays a major role in the marketing of design services to clients, participating in major sales presentations as the representative of the design department

  • Prepares design estimates, quotes and contracts for large or complex projects; reviews estimates, quotes and contracts done by department staff; ensures appropriate terms, price and scope are on contracts

Personnel Development

  • Ensures development of a top performing design department through selection, training, performance evaluation, and coaching of staff

  • Recruits and hires the best designers; offers training and professional development programs or opportunities to allow designers to become more professional, efficient and capable

Specific Responsibilities & Duties (cont.)

  • Coaches individual designers to become more effective at their job

  • Conducts performance reviews, and works with the human resources department on raises, commendations and any discipline actions necessary

Organizational Interfaces

  • Assists sales with defining the design scope of work for a project; develops design game plan to get project completed within client/dealership time frames

  • Coordinates the interaction between design, sales and operations to develop and maintain the highest quality of service to customers

  • Works collaboratively with clients, and clients' third- party firms, including A&D firms, interior contractors, electrical and communication engineers, customer’s IT group, etc.

Process, Quality and Customer Satisfaction

  • Ensures standards of performance are met for all customer work activities

  • Facilitates continuous quality improvement of design processes and procedures to ensure accuracy and productivity

  • Is responsible for ensuring that all design procedures are clear, documented and implemented in a disciplined manner

Technology and Software

  • Works with the IT department to evaluate and acquire the best software productivity tools for the department

  • Expert in CORE business system to monitor each designer’s workload, ensure project time tracking and pay periods and up to date and managed, evaluate designers’ prioritization and time management, track department errors and scorecards performance.

  • Works with management to ensure that the design department has computer and office equipment that maximizes productivity at a cost-effective price

Miscellaneous
  • Follows Parron Hall values and promotes the company purpose and vision
Please send your resume, cover letter, and portfolio (if available) to Gary Laughlin at glaughlin@parronhall.com


Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled