Vice President – Architecture Design
by Tiger Recruitment in Real Estate Development & Property Management
The Vice President – Architecture Design is an executive-level leadership role based in Dubai within a major real estate development organization. The role is responsible for full governance, strategic direction, and performance management of the design and technical function across a portfolio of large-scale property developments. It drives design excellence, innovation, commercial performance, compliance, and cross-functional integration from concept through construction and final project handover. The VP establishes and enforces design governance frameworks including Design Management Processes (DMP), oversees consultant procurement strategies, manages international design consultants, and ensures alignment of all design outputs with corporate objectives and board-level expectations. The role provides executive oversight of Project Design Management Plans (PDMP), design stage gateways, and ensures adherence to scope, quality standards, timelines, and cost parameters across multiple concurrent projects. It leads value engineering initiatives, constructability optimisation, cost efficiency strategies, and monitors variation orders and change management processes to ensure financial and technical control. The position oversees tender documentation strategies, consultant selection, negotiation, contracting, and professional fee evaluation while ensuring commercial discipline in all design-related activities. It works closely with commercial, quantity surveying, sales, marketing, hospitality, and project delivery teams to ensure integrated design outcomes that support product optimisation, brand alignment, procurement, construction execution, and operational readiness. The VP also leads organizational capability development by structuring the design department, defining roles and performance metrics, leading recruitment with HR, and implementing succession planning and leadership development programs. The role ensures compliance with authority approvals, regulatory requirements in Dubai, HSE standards, corporate governance policies, and maintains robust documentation and reporting systems for transparency and performance tracking. As a key advisor to the Chairman, Managing Director, and Project VP, the role provides strategic guidance on design risks, deviations, approvals, and corrective actions while presenting executive-level reports on design performance and project delivery status.