Strategist - Senior

About Strategy at Gensler

Gensler’s Strategy Practice is focused on enabling transformation – our creative and collaborative approach, supported by data and intelligence, enables impactful change and evolution of our clients’ organization, culture, and environment. Our multidisciplinary global team works with a wide range of organizations including major Corporations, Healthcare and Cultural Institutions, Real Estate Developers, and Universities to develop holistic experiences. We use in-depth user research and engagement to explore and develop strategies that enable our clients to meet their business and organizational objectives. In parallel, we help our clients manage change to ensure new ideas take root, and to build capability that sustains. With our design teams here in Dallas and around the world, we conceptualize and implement creative solutions that support our client’s needs.

Our practice in Dallas is growing and we are looking for a Senior Design Strategist to lead projects across our broad range of services including workplace strategy, real estate portfolio strategy, change management, and design guidelines. We are looking for established leaders with an entrepreneurial spirit who will help us develop and strengthen our client relationships and evolve our practice.

Your Role

As a Strategist, you lead multi-disciplinary teams working with a wide range of clients across industries and sectors to evaluate their current conditions, define their goals, and develop integrated strategies for how their environment, technology, policies, and services can support their objectives. Your work will span a wide range of scales, from pilot projects that test new ideas to global strategies and programs. You’ll define and conduct rigorous research efforts, synthesize data and feedback into meaningful insights, and develop innovative future state concepts and solutions. You’ll guide the design and facilitation of robust processes to engage with a variety of stakeholders to get input, co-develop solutions, and assess options.

What You Will Do

On projects, you’ll

• Lead projects, responsible for content creation and directing the team with guidance from Project/Strategy Directors

• Encourage and support original thinking

• Plan and perform user research and data collection activities

• Design and support engaging workshops with internal teams, clients, and other stakeholders

• Analyze qualitative and quantitative data from multiple sources to determine impact on business goals, organizational culture, or performance criteria for spatial design

• Guide the synthesis of information and data into meaningful insights and narratives told through presentations, reports, posters, videos, websites, etc

• articulate and represent scenarios (with plans, data, feedback, relevant precedents, etc) to illustrate a range of relevant solutions (e.g. design concepts, work styles, program, service models, etc) based on the research that meet the client’s objects and expresses the tradeoffs associated each option

• Use interdisciplinary thinking and collaboration to ground all ideas in research insights and design constraints

• Define and develop concepts and prototypes of experiences, programs, services, and spaces to test with users and stakeholders

• Provide day-to-day direction, ongoing feedback to team members, and maintains the strategic direction and expectations set by Project/Strategy Director

• Work closely with the Project/Strategy Managers to ensure project success. Strategy Managers manage day-to-day operations for projects including staffing, fee tracking and forecasting, and client meetings

• Support the interface with Gensler design studios to ensure the seamless transition of design strategy into the design implementation phase

With clients, you’ll

• Lead and facilitate client presentations and meetings with Strategy Directors

• Focus on learning their business, culture and desired outcomes

• Share relevant precedents for context and inspiration

• Assist in building client relationships as a trusted advisor

As a business developer and thought leader, you’ll

• Identify opportunities to grow the practice through engagements with new and existing clients, bringing potential business leads to Studio Leadership

• Support the development of proposals that clearly articulate process, scope, and compensation

• Develop pitch materials with internal teams and participate in presentations

• Mentor future Strategy Leads, along with others in the Studio

Your Qualifications

Who You Are – You’re passionate about the built environment and its impact on individuals and organizations. You

• Are a self starter and quick learner

• Thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic, and open environment that requires fast iterations and pivoting between collaborative and individual work

• Have the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously

• are a clear communicator and presenter of ideas, findings and/or point of view

• Are an enthusiastic collaborator and are able to work successfully with a range of other disciplines who compliment your experience

• Are a critical and creative thinker

• Infuse empathy and behavioral analysis into your work

• Respond proactively and thoughtfully to design critique and feedback from clients and colleagues

• Are experienced with research methodologies and activities, along with working with both qualitative and quantitative data

• Can graphically visualize information and ideas, able to effectively use charts, graphics and design concepts to represent and communicate findings and complex ideas

• Are a strong and persuasive writer, able to clearly and succinctly describe work process, options for consideration, findings, recommendations, communications, memos, etc.

• Can create powerful and compelling narratives with strong written, visual, and graphic content

• Are comfortable with ambiguity and able to work with your team to forge a path on projects that may have vague parameters or frequently change/evolve

Your background and experience

• 10+ years of relevant professional experience and an undergraduate or master’s degree in architecture, interior design, environmental design, urban design, real estate, design strategy, organizational development, organizational psychology, or similar fields

• A background in the design of the built environment (architecture, interior design, urban design, etc.).

• A strong portfolio demonstrating excellent command of fundamental communication design including composition, information graphics, and persuasive writing

• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign required), and Microsoft Office 365 (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook), and other visual communication tools

• Fluency with digital collaboration tools such as Miro, Mural, Microsoft Teams etc.

• Familiarity with design software such as Revit and AutoCAD is a plus

• Familiarity with website development software/language, Readymag, Square Space and other technologies is a plus

• Familiarity with rapid prototyping tools such as Invision, Sketch, and AdobeXD a plus

To be considered, please submit a portfolio and/or work samples in PDF format.

This is not a hybrid or remote position. If you’re open to relocating to the Dallas, Texas area, please apply! Non-local candidates are welcome. U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-2024 study ranks Dallas in the top 3 places to live in Texas!
 

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