Senior Interior Design Manager
by Mace Group in Real Estate Development & Property Management
Senior Interior Design Manager role based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, within Technical Services, for a landmark residential community development in Dubai creating a nature-led living environment that integrates contemporary homes with extensive green spaces, wellness-focused amenities, and sustainable infrastructure. The project is designed to enhance quality of life, foster community connections, and deliver a distinctive, people-centric urban destination. The role leads the implementation of design management systems, ensuring compliance and value delivery, drives change and improvement across all project phases, coordinates with key functions, provides strategic leadership to design teams, and approves consultant appointments in alignment with governance and client expectations. The position directs the interior design strategy and vision for a large-scale retail and mixed-use development from concept through delivery; manages internationally renowned interior design consultants and specialist design teams throughout all project stages; drives innovative retail, lifestyle, entertainment, and experiential design concepts that enhance customer engagement and destination appeal; oversees design development, design reviews, presentations, approvals, and technical coordination across all interior environments; and supervises the design of public areas, retail streets, food halls, entertainment districts, family attractions, lounges, concierge facilities, and premium customer environments. Responsibilities include reviewing and approving material palettes, finishes, FF&E, lighting concepts, wayfinding integration, artwork strategies, and experiential design elements; collaborating with leasing, operations, asset management, marketing, and development teams to ensure commercial objectives are integrated into design decisions; driving innovation through digital experiences, immersive environments, smart technologies, sustainability initiatives, and future-focused retail concepts; managing design interfaces between interior designers, architects, landscape architects, lighting consultants, signage consultants, and engineering disciplines; ensuring design compliance with local regulations, authority requirements, accessibility standards, sustainability targets, and operational needs; leading value engineering workshops while protecting design intent and customer experience objectives; monitoring consultant performance, programme delivery, design quality, and budget compliance; preparing executive-level presentations and design reports for senior leadership and stakeholders; and benchmarking global best practices and emerging trends in luxury retail, experiential retail, entertainment destinations, and mixed-use developments. The successful candidate requires a Bachelor’s degree in interior design, architecture, environmental design, or a related discipline, with professional qualification and/or membership with a recognised industry body preferred. Significant experience in interior design and design management is required, together with proven experience delivering major retail, shopping mall, mixed-use, lifestyle, hospitality, or entertainment developments, strong client-side, developer, or PMC experience on complex developments, demonstrated experience managing multiple international design consultants and specialist design teams, strong understanding of the complete design lifecycle from concept through construction and handover, extensive knowledge of FF&E, materials, lighting design, customer journey planning, and experiential retail environments, and experience delivering high-end retail districts, luxury retail environments, flagship destinations, or iconic public spaces.