
Chief Design Officer (Real Estate & Hospitality Developments)
At a Glance
- Category
- 🏠 Real Estate
- Level
- C-Level
- Type
- Full-time
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About the Company
Our client is an ambitious and rapidly growing real estate and lifestyle development group committed to creating exceptional destinations that blend innovation, luxury and timeless design.
With a strong focus on premium developments, design excellence and customer experience, the organisation is building a portfolio of iconic residential, hospitality and mixed-use projects.
The business believes great design creates lasting value and is investing significantly in building a world-class in-house creative capability.
This is an opportunity to shape the design vision of a growing organisation and leave a lasting impact on landmark developments across the region.
About the Role
We are seeking an accomplished Chief Design Officer to establish and lead a newly created design studio responsible for defining the creative identity across a diverse portfolio of real estate and lifestyle developments.
Reporting directly to the CEO and Group Leadership, you will lead design strategy, creative excellence, innovation and studio operations while building a high-performing team capable of delivering world-class design solutions.
This is a unique executive opportunity for a visionary design leader who combines creativity with commercial thinking and operational excellence.
Key Responsibilities
Design Strategy & Creative Leadership
- Define and lead the overall design vision aligned with business objectives.
- Establish design standards and creative benchmarks across every project.
- Drive innovation by introducing emerging design trends, technologies and best practices.
- Ensure design excellence from concept through project completion.
Studio Development
- Build and scale the internal design studio.
- Recruit, mentor and develop multidisciplinary creative teams.
- Create collaborative design processes and governance frameworks.
- Foster an innovative, high-performance creative culture.
Project Leadership
- Oversee design delivery across hospitality, residential and lifestyle developments.
- Collaborate closely with Development, Marketing and Commercial teams.
- Manage consultants, architects, vendors and specialist partners.
- Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget and to the highest quality standards.
Stakeholder Management
- Present design concepts and creative strategy to executive leadership.
- Act as the principal design ambassador for the organisation.
- Ensure brand consistency across every customer touchpoint.
Performance
Success will be measured by:
- Design quality
- Creative innovation
- Studio growth
- Team performance
- Project delivery
- Brand consistency
- Stakeholder satisfaction
- 10–15 years of senior design leadership experience.
- Previous experience as Chief Design Officer, Creative Director, Head of Design or similar executive role.
- Proven experience leading creative strategy and multidisciplinary design teams.
- Experience building or scaling an internal design studio.
- Strong background in luxury real estate, hospitality, lifestyle or brand design.
- Experience designing hotels, restaurants, F&B concepts and residential developments.
- Excellent leadership and people development capabilities.
- Strong communication and executive presentation skills.
- Commercial awareness with the ability to balance creativity, timelines and budgets.
What We Offer
- Competitive executive salary
- Performance-based annual bonus
- Opportunity to build and lead an entirely new design function
- High level of creative ownership
- Long-term executive career opportunity
Requirements
- •10–15 years of senior design leadership experience
- •Previous experience as Chief Design Officer, Creative Director, Head of Design, or similar executive role
- •Proven experience leading creative strategy and multidisciplinary design teams
- •Experience building or scaling an internal design studio
- •Strong background in luxury real estate, hospitality, lifestyle, or brand design
Responsibilities
- •Define and lead the overall design vision aligned with business objectives
- •Establish design standards and creative benchmarks across every project
- •Drive innovation by introducing emerging design trends, technologies, and best practices
- •Build and scale the internal design studio
- •Recruit, mentor, and develop multidisciplinary creative teams
- •Oversee design delivery across hospitality, residential, and lifestyle developments
- •Collaborate with Development, Marketing, and Commercial teams
- •Manage consultants, architects, vendors, and specialist partners
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