Head of Design – Retail Fit Out in Surrey

90,000

110,000

ABOUT THE COMPANY

A leading workplace design and delivery business specialising in creating inspiring, people-focused environments for a wide range of commercial clients across the UK and Europe.

The business operates across workplace strategy, interior design, and design & build delivery, offering a fully integrated service that takes projects from early concept through to completion.

With a strong reputation for creativity, quality, and client service, the company is entering an exciting phase of growth and is looking for a senior design leader to help shape its next chapter.

 

 

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Opportunity

This is a key leadership role for an experienced and ambitious design professional who can combine creative vision with commercial awareness and strong team leadership.

As Head of Design, you will take ownership of the creative output of the business, leading a talented design team and ensuring consistently high standards across all workplace projects.
You will also play a central role in client engagement, design leadership on pitches, and supporting business growth through innovative and compelling design solutions.
Reporting to the senior leadership team, you will be a visible and influential figure within the business, helping to shape both design direction and wider company strategy.
Key Responsibilities Design Leadership

  • Lead the creative direction and design standards across all workplace projects
  • Oversee workplace strategy, concept design, space planning, and interior design delivery
  • Ensure consistent design excellence across all stages of project delivery
  • Champion innovation, sustainability, wellbeing, and user-centred design
  • Keep the business at the forefront of workplace design trends and best practice

Team Leadership

  • Lead, mentor, and develop a multidisciplinary design team
  • Foster a collaborative, high-performance and creative culture
  • Support recruitment, capability development, and succession planning
  • Encourage continuous improvement and design excellence across the team

Client & Business Development

  • Act as a senior design lead in client meetings, workshops, and pitches
  • Build strong relationships with key clients and industry partners
  • Support the development of new business opportunities through design excellence
  • Represent the business as a senior creative ambassador

Project Oversight

  • Provide strategic design leadership across multiple live projects
  • Work closely with project management and delivery teams to ensure successful outcomes
  • Ensure projects are delivered on time, on budget, and to a high design standard
  • Maintain oversight of design resourcing and quality control

REQUIREMENTS

We are looking for a highly experienced design leader with a strong background in workplace or commercial interiors.

Essential Experience

  • Significant experience in workplace design, commercial interiors, or design & build environments
  • Proven track record leading and developing design teams
  • Strong conceptual design, workplace strategy, and spatial planning skills
  • Experience contributing to business growth and client development
  • Excellent presentation and client-facing skills
  • Strong understanding of sustainability and modern workplace trends
  • Proficiency in Revit or similar design tools

Personal Attributes

  • Strong creative vision with a commercial mindset
  • Confident, articulate, and engaging with clients and teams
  • Collaborative leadership style
  • Passionate about workplace design and innovation
  • Able to balance strategic thinking with hands-on design leadership

REWARDS AND BENEFITS

 

  • Senior leadership role with real influence over design direction
  • Opportunity to shape a growing and ambitious workplace design business
  • Varied portfolio of high-quality commercial workplace projects
  • Collaborative and design-led culture
  • Competitive package with bonus and benefits
  • Clear opportunity to make a long-term impact on the business

APPLY FOR THIS JOB

About this Recruiter

Zara Eley
Consultant

A bit about me

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SALARY UP TO

100,000

SALARY UP TO

80,000

SALARY UP TO

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Construction professionals,
looking for a career enhancing opportunity

Find your next construction job, today.

Are you looking for new construction job? If you are a skilled construction professional, we will have an opportunity for you. We are an experienced construction recruitment agency and have an impressive track record of sourcing the best opportunities for the professionals we work for.

Providing you with an in-depth insight of industry knowledge, we can help you make the most informed decisions about your next move, now and for the entirety of your career.

Helping to enhance careers and teams

Work with Cityscape Recruitment

0 +

careers Enhanced in 2022

0 %

of our work comes from
repeat business

0 Star

Google review rating from
both construction professionals and clients

0 + years

average tenure of our consultants

About Cityscape Recruitment

Cityscape Recruitment is not like any other construction recruitment agency. Our business does not have a sales-driven environment, instead, we reward quality over quantity.

We use our specialist industry knowledge to help introduce and guide construction professionals into companies that best suit their desired career aspirations and personal goals. From Quantity Surveyors to Site Managers to Civil Engineers, we work to the same objective of helping to enhance their careers.

And our relationships don’t end on day one of a new role – we pride ourselves on our ability to build long-lasting relationships with both clients and construction professionals. And we are fortunate enough to work with many leading construction companies and professionals in London and throughout the rest of the UK.

SUPPORTING THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Clients we work for

Our clients range from small, privately owned specialist contractors right up to top-tier PLCs responsible for shaping our country’s landscape.

What our clients say

We have worked with Alex Wallace and the Cityscape Recruitment team for a number of years now and find their service excellent.

They supply well matched and vetted candidates and very quickly understood all our requirements. They have always demonstrated good market knowledge and an ability to deliver to our requirements.

Commercial Director,
Main Contractor

I have used Cityscape Recruitment multiple times over the last 5 years. Very pleasant to deal with and all candidates put forward for interview are well suited to the position and well vetted by the team, so there is no time wasted with unsuitable applicants. I would highly recommend Cityscape. I intend to use them again in the future should any vacancies become available.

Operations Director,
Platt and Reilly Ltd

The Cityscape Recruitment team has always been great to deal with. Always ready to listen to our needs and requirements, a quality some recruiters do not appreciate or have, then advising where they can assist in our staff procurement. We look forward to working with Laura and Cityscape in the coming years.

Director,
Soilfix

Construction Recruitment FAQs

Here are answers to some questions that you may have.

At Cityscape Recruitment we have teams of consultants who find opportunities for construction professionals in the following sectors:

  • Main Contractor – Build
  • Fit Out and Refurbishment
  • Residential Development
  • Specialist Contract
  • Civil Engineering
  • Consultancy

Read more about our company here.

Our Residential Development team recruits for the very broad range of roles available in the Construction and Civil Engineering industries. From Quantity Surveyor to Technical Coordinator to Project Manager.

They can also recruit for the complete range of seniorities within these specialist areas. From Graduate roles, up to Heads of Departments and Managing Directors

To view all our live roles, click here

Our clients range from small, privately owned specialist contractors right up to top-tier PLCs responsible for shaping our country’s landscape. 

Some of our key clients are Statom Group, 8Build, AJ Morrisroe and Sons, VolkerFitzpatrick, Troy Group and Bellway Homes. 

Whatever your career aspirations may be, we will have the opportunities and the industry knowledge to share with you.

Our office is in Rickmansworth, West Hertfordshire. We are, therefore, best placed to provide recruitment services for London, the Home Counties, and the Southern Region of the country. However, we can and do recruit for the whole of the UK and have made many successful placements for construction professionals in the Midlands and the North and West regions of the country. 

To view all of our live roles, click here

When you first contact us, be that through direct contact, responding to an advert or applying through our website, we will connect you with a consultant who works in your specialist area. 

Initially, they will arrange a meeting to talk through your CV and career history. They will encourage you to go into detail about your background and experiences, capabilities and responsibilities, personal circumstances and any other factors they feel are relevant to help them build up a well-rounded profile of you. 

We take extraordinary care in matching professionals to an opportunity – one that will help enhance their careers and a clients’ team. We therefore also use this meeting to empower you in your career. Using our extensive knowledge of the construction industry, we would provide in-depth overviews of businesses, projects and available roles, and guidance on where your strengths will add the most value and career potential. 

After this meeting, the consultant will speak to a number of their clients about you and your CV. Who they speak to can be either jointly agreed upon or you can trust the judgement and expertise of the consultant to contact clients they feel are the best fit for your experience and goals.

If any clients are interested in meeting with you, the consultant will manage the interview process, coaching you before any interviews if required. (Further guidance can be found here.)

If you are successful in receiving an offer(s), our consultant will communicate this with you and help to negotiate the offer(s) and any other terms of employment. 

Finally, we will support you in resigning from your current role, navigating potential counter offers and starting your new role.