Senior Higher Education Campus Planner/Designer

NBBJ•Columbus, OH

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

NBBJ is an award-winning design firm recognized as a TIME100 Most Influential Company, a Fast Company Most Innovative Architecture Firm and a two-time 2025 AIA National Honor Award recipient. These recognitions reflect our purpose-driven approach that, fueled by ideas and a culture of collaboration, creates healthy buildings, strong communities and a resilient environment. With leading clients, diverse colleagues and offices in creative capitals around the globe, a career at NBBJ will inspire you to be extraordinary. Join us to make an impact today! Senior Higher Education Campus Planner/Designer to join our Campus Planning/Urban Environments Practice. In this role, you will lead transformative campus planning projects for top-tier colleges and universities, integrating design thinking with institutional strategy and data analytics. The ideal candidate brings a strong background in large-scale campus planning, planning-level design concepts, a deep understanding of academic environments, ability to guide institutions through visioning of long-range planning strategies.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, or a related field.
15+ years of experience in higher education planning or institutional strategy.
Proven experience leading campus planning efforts for higher education institutions.
Excellent communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to engage diverse audiences and build consensus.
Proficiency in analog or digital sketching skills.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, or a related field.
AICP, PLA, AIA or other relevant professional certifications.
Familiarity with data visualization tools or dashboards is a plus.

Responsibilities

Translate client vision into actionable and inspiring spatial strategies and conceive these spatial ideas through hand-drawn or digital plans, diagrams and sketches.
Conceptualize ideas at varying scales – from large (campus-wide) to medium (districts) to small (site-specific).
Collaborate with NBBJ campus planning team colleagues including practice leaders, principals, senior and junior staff.
Collaborate cross practice with NBBJ architects, designers, and strategists to translate client goals into planning insights.
Advocate for integrated sustainability, resilience, and equity in all planning recommendations.
Serve as a trusted advisor to higher education clients, leading the planning process from early engagement through final delivery.
Present plans and recommendations to senior university leadership and stakeholder groups.
Cultivate and maintain relationships with higher education clients.
Support business development efforts, including proposals, project interviews, and relationship-building across the higher education sector.
Support the advancement of NBBJ’s thought leadership through speaking engagements, white papers, and participation in industry forums.
Stay at the forefront of higher education trends, emerging pedagogies, and the evolving role of the physical campus.