Design Operations Director

INSIDE SOURCE•San Francisco, CA

About The Position

The Director, Design Operations leads Insidesource’s NorCal Design department, elevating its performance, processes, and contribution to the client experience. The role partners with leadership and department managers to position Design as a strategic business capability. It fosters a culture of learning, accountability, and collaboration while setting annual goals, KPIs, and quality standards for department deliverables. The Director builds and leads a high-performing team in partnership with Design Team Managers, providing designers with clarity, support, and growth opportunities. The role develops effective workflows, tools, workload distribution, and resources to make strong design work repeatable and to support changing market needs and client outcomes. The position defines the design practice’s vision; oversees department goals, quality, staffing, performance, and development; improves design processes and documentation; evaluates technology tools; forecasts and allocates resources; manages project workflow tracking and the annual design operating budget; and monitors contractor costs, capacity, and capabilities. It directly supervises NorCal Design Team Managers and, as needed, individual design positions.

Requirements

10 or more years of interior design and/or furniture dealership experience.
Proven track record of team leadership and organizational and cultural development.
Management or supervisory experience.
Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills to work effectively with personnel and departments at all organizational levels.
Business acumen to drive KPIs and build departmental structure and success.
Comprehensive knowledge of the commercial interior design industry, including project approach and workflow from business development through project close-out.
Working knowledge of applicable building codes, ADA regulations, and seismic and electrical code requirements.
Extensive knowledge of workplace furniture and accessories lines.
Excellent written, verbal, visual, presentation, and facilitation skills.
Strategic planning and implementation skills.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Self-starter and critical thinker who is creative and collaborative.

Responsibilities

Define and implement the overall vision for the design practice in alignment with department leadership and organizational goals.
Advocate for design excellence and innovation throughout the organization and represent the Design department in NorCal meeting forums.
Champion a design philosophy focused on elevated client experience, service innovation, and impactful engagement.
Foster a culture of continuous learning, accountability, and collaboration.
Stay current with industry standards, trends, and market intelligence.
Set quarterly and annual goals and KPIs for the Design department.
Collect internal and external feedback on department performance.
Build and maintain a high-performing department through recruiting, training, performance management, and professional development.
Establish quality assurance expectations for department deliverables and ensure KPIs are met.
Oversee the health, performance, and development of the design team, including hiring, reviews, compensation decisions, and staffing, in partnership with Design Team Managers.
Manage day-to-day people administration, including approval of expense reports and PTO requests.
Promote team participation in vendor presentations and training to expand product and technical knowledge.
Collaborate with design leaders to optimize workflows and ensure procedures are documented, implemented, and accessible.
Coordinate updates to standards for design documentation and project execution.
Work with IT and Business Operations to support and implement technical requirements, and evaluate and implement emerging technology tools.
Analyze sales projections, team activity, and feedback to forecast staffing and resourcing needs.
Partner with managers and designers to balance workloads, optimize resource assignments, and provide ongoing support for strategic accounts.
Determine staffing assignments and allocate designers across teams and projects according to business priorities and capacity.
Manage a tracking system for workflow and status across Design team projects.
Hold regular check-ins with Design Team Managers to monitor team health, KPIs, and progress toward annual goals.
Establish and manage the annual design operating budget in partnership with the VP Market Engagement.
Monitor and optimize contractor costs, capacity, and capabilities.
Exemplify Insidesource values and participate in All Company Meetings and Regional Town Halls.
Embody diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Insider community and business practices.
Directly supervise NorCal Design Team Managers and, as needed, individual design positions.