Arada | Interior Design Director

Role purpose

Design leadership and management

• Sets design vision, strategy, standards, briefs, stage gates, deliverables, review cycles, and approval protocols.
• Manages consultants and specialist teams; reviews submissions and coordinates multidisciplinary packages through tender, IFC, construction, and handover.
• Leads value engineering, design optimization, risk management, change control, tender evaluation, procurement coordination, and construction-stage reviews.
• Maintains design governance through comment trackers, decision logs, risk registers, material libraries, and lessons learned.

Interior design direction

• Directs concepts, spatial strategies, planning, material palettes, lighting, FF&E/OS&E, specifications, and interior detailing across project types.
• Translates brand, operator, customer, sales, and market requirements into design briefs and direction.
• Reviews samples, mock-ups, visualizations, drawings, and technical interfaces; ensures designs are priceable at tender and buildable at IFC.
• Directs show apartments, sales centers, visualizations, material boards, and handover materials to reflect the delivered product.

Commercial and stakeholder leadership

• Defines consultant scopes and deliverables; leads RFPs, prequalification, technical evaluation, fee negotiation, and appointment recommendations.
• Works with cost management on budgets and cost plans, assesses variations and claims, and supports long-lead procurement strategy.
• Reports design status, risks, decisions, and cost and schedule impacts to senior management; develops the internal design team.

Required experience

• 15+ years of professional interior design or interior architecture experience.
• 5+ years in developer-side, client-side, or design management work, managing consultants and delivering on behalf of a client.
• 8+ years in senior design leadership, with team, portfolio, consultant, and executive stakeholder responsibilities.
• Track record delivering completed projects from brief and concept through design development, tender, IFC, construction, and handover.
• Experience reviewing design and coordinating technical packages at DD, tender, and IFC stages, including construction support.
• Exceptional portfolio with clearly described personal contribution; GCC or UAE delivery experience, authority approvals, and regional market knowledge.
• Experience across residential, hospitality, retail, amenity, workplace, and mixed-use developments; international experience preferred.

Education and language

• Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design, Interior Architecture, Architecture, or a related field.
• Master’s degree and formal design management, project management, or contract administration training are advantageous.
• Fluent English is essential; Arabic is an advantage.

Technical and professional competencies

• Expertise in interior design processes, space planning, FF&E, materials, lighting, joinery, sanitary and kitchen design, schedules, specifications, and detailing.
• Knowledge of UAE authority requirements, building codes, accessibility, fire and life safety, and sustainability frameworks such as Al Sa’fat, Estidama, or LEED.
• Design management tools include programmes, deliverable and comment trackers, risk registers, stage gates, and document control platforms such as Aconex.
• Commercial knowledge includes consultant scopes and fees, cost plans, tender evaluation, value engineering, variations, procurement, and FIDIC contract awareness.
• Tools include AutoCAD, Revit, BIM coordination, Bluebeam, Adobe Creative Suite, MS Office, and Project; familiarity with 3ds Max, V-Ray, or equivalent is sufficient to evaluate and direct visual output.
• Strong executive-level presentation, communication, negotiation, design storytelling, judgment, and consultant leadership; awareness of AI-assisted design and visualization.

Desirable experience

• Branded residences, operator-led developments, luxury and ultra-luxury residential, waterfront, resort, and large-scale master communities.
• Hospitality interiors such as hotels, serviced apartments, F&B, spa, wellness, amenities, and clubhouse facilities.
• Show apartments, sales galleries, customer experience centers, cultural or experience-led interiors, and work with recognized consultancies or operator technical teams.
• Experience with a UAE or GCC developer of comparable scale is desirable.

About Arada

Application process

• Candidates are asked to complete assessments and interviews independently, without generative AI assistance.