Job Requisition ID: 168386
Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United A”rab Emirates. Structured into five operating divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail and healthcare; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over 200 of the world's most admired and innovative brands. Al-Futtaim Group’s entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organisation to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate.
By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration and integrity; Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day.
Overview of the role:
The role will focus on a variety of design management tasks for the Design department, including consulting and stakeholder management, technical review of and advisory on design quality, functionality, engineering, and systems, and statutory considerations, constructability, and completeness of deliverables, along with periodic internal design studies, research, and other creative and technical analyses.
The role will typically be responsible for multiple projects. The role will typically be responsible for three or more complex projects, including more challenging atypical projects.
What you will do:
- Complete assessment of plots, including evaluations of the physical characteristics, location and context, visibility, access, and circulation, etc.
- Create a detailed design brief, incorporating product objectives, project and context description, collating all relevant background information and related documents, and defining the key design objectives and technical criteria.
- In coordination with the Project Management department, define a set of detailed infrastructure, engineering, delivery, or statutory considerations to be included in the design brief.
- Guide projects through the various stages of the project, from design vision to tender documentation, with an advisory role to the Project Management department throughout construction.
- Ensure project timeframes, design aspirations, and documentation requirements are clearly defined with the appointed consultant(s) through regular meetings, workshops and other communication.
- Ensure a clear and consistent communication protocol between internal and external stakeholders, with defined lines of communication and complete records of submissions, feedback and decisions.
- Lead reviews of projects for development and design priorities, including compliance with development objectives, hard and soft costs, efficiency, user experience, functionality, public realm interface and aesthetics, along with all technical requirements and compliance with the contractual requirements.
- Complete comprehensive technical review on design criteria and performance, engineering and systems coordination, constructability and delivery considerations, and statutory authority issues.
- Provide detailed commentary on design deliverables required for executive presentations, including visualizations, diagrams, illustrative plans, etc.
- Assess the implications of design changes, including time, cost, quality, and other considerations, and make recommendations accordingly.
- Prepare summary presentations for executive Al-Futtaim stakeholders on various topics, as and when required.
- Ensure all relevant internal stakeholders are involved throughout, including business development and development management, finance, sales, asset management, marketing, cost management, interior design, MEP, civil and infrastructure, authorities, programme, and delivery, as well as retail/leasing, if applicable.
- In case of conflicting feedback, seek to resolve issues of concern in the best interest of the company, and endeavor to explain the rationale to the concerned parties.
- Ensure all necessary statutory approvals are secured via the consultant and in direct coordination with the Al-Futtaim statutory authority liaison(s).
- Guide the development of marketing collateral, including all required materials for the project launch (ex., unit plans, lease outline drawings, renderings, supplementary graphics, and physical models).
- Lead research on relevant topics related to city design, including smart city technologies, advanced mobility models, sustainability, thermal comfort, public realm and art, etc.
- Lead research on relevant topics related to product design, including smart living technologies, alternative parking strategies, amenities, urban farming, and other product characteristics etc.
- Lead the development and/or refinement of key departmental systems, including processes, design guidelines, standards, templates, review processes and procedures, reporting documentation, and other resources.
- Occasionally support with market and economic analysis, or with research on new product types and positioning strategies.
- Advise on the development potential of parcels, considering the site, context, regulations, and market analysis.
- Advise on various aspects of the development brief documents, including project positioning, development statistics targets, and project programme.
- Identify and advise on key design, infrastructure, engineering, delivery, or statutory considerations that have an impact on the development strategy.
- Conduct independent cost analysis and coordinate with the Commercial department for cost benchmarks to ensure the suitability of targets.
- Advise on project budget, including breakdowns of hard and soft costs.
- Support return on investment calculations that model and evaluate the benefits of various product or design considerations within projects.
- Manage internal and/or external stakeholders to define a detailed project schedule to account for the major work streams, notable milestones, and statutory authority approval process.
- Create project roadmaps highlighting the key milestones and tasks to guide the week-to-week progress of the project over a portion of the project lifecycle (ex., 90-day periods).
- Prepare regular progress reports highlighting the status of the project, suitable for review by the AFGRE’s executive leadership.
- Advise on various contractual matters, as appropriate, including the form of agreement, insurance and liability requirements, professional registration and other qualification requirements, submission requirements, etc.
- Lead the day-to-day contract and commercial management of projects, coordinating between the consultant(s) and Commercial departments to ensure completeness of submissions, evaluation, approvals, and recommendations on invoices, variations, and related contractual issues.
- Advise and define the recommended approach to pre-contract procurement strategy (ex, competition, commissioned, etc.) and provide considerations for post-contract procurement models (ex., traditional, design-build, framework agreements, etc.).
- Pre-qualify, recommend, and assess consultants for architecture, engineering, and various other design and pre-contract services, including technical advice on the consultant proposals.
- Prepare all relevant RFP documents, including detailed scopes of work, services, deliverables, and time schedules.
Required Skills to be successful:
Minimum 12 years’ experience in design and management-related roles, preferably having worked with leading local developers or consultancy firms
What equips you for the role:
- Master’s or bachelor’s degree in architecture or a similar field.
- Extensive experience with Hospitality & Residential for all design stages (from Concept to IFC)
- Supplementary training in business or real estate is a plus.
- Fluent in English and Arabic.
About Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate
The real estate development and operations arm of Al-Futtaim, Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate is responsible for a multi-billion-dollar portfolio across MENA. With high-quality residential, business, retail, tourism, educational and healthcare developments, the master developer caters to the diverse needs of cities and communities in the region. From origination, conception, development, sales, procurement and construction of mega-projects and the leasing, operation and management of these projects after completion, Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate (AFGRE) has been developing and managing owned landbanks, unlocking the economic potential of the region and contributing to future development for more than 40 years. Our focus is to enable and invest in meaningful relationships to make our properties the best places to live and work, build additional products and services and enable partnerships to create true value to our customers throughout their entire experience with us.
AFGRE is responsible for master planning of all projects in its portfolio, including two large scale mixed use destinations: Dubai Festival City and Cairo Festival City.
