Executive Director, Great Lakes Region

If you think your skills, experience and aspirations make you a good match for this position, we encourage you to apply. This position may be filled anywhere in the United States. Preference may be given to candidates that can work in any of the CannonDesign offices located in our US Great Lakes Region offices which include Buffalo, NY, Chicago, IL, and Pittsburgh, PA.


ABOUT THE ROLE This role will work in partnership with other senior leaders to grow the firm in scale, impact, revenue, and profit on the Great Lakes Region geographic footprint that includes Buffalo, NY, Chicago, IL, Pittsburgh, PA and Toronto, ON. This role is an executive management role for the firm and will sit on the Core Team.


WHAT YOU WILL DO As the Executive Director, Great Lakes Region, you will be responsible for the growth of the region and realizing the ambitions of the strategic framework. The key responsibility of the role is to develop and execute a regional growth plan with a target of a minimum of 10% year-over-year growth, while continually being a champion for design excellence. While you will focus on a specific geographic area, a key part of the role is collaborating with key individuals to build out complementary and distinct capabilities across the firm to further advance SFMO (Single-Firm, Multi-Office). This requires implementing the regional growth in context with a firm-wide blueprint for developing a network of highly integrated offices. Executive Director, Great Lakes Region, in concert with the AEI Executive Director of Operations, oversee the business practices, risk mitigation and quality execution of the work using a firm first, region second methodology. You will review contracting exceptions and grant exceptions using the firm's and legal team guidance. You will be a champion for design, quality and a voice of sustainable strategies.


AREAS OF FOCUS Regional Leadership: Responsible for sourcing, building and advancing a high-performing, diverse and inclusive senior leadership team including region, location / office-based talent. You will provide leadership, guidance, and support, holding leaders accountable to achieve firm wide goals and individual role responsibilities and expectations.Strategic Leadership: Responsible for defining and executing a strategic regional growth plan. You will partner and engage with other firm, office, and market leadership to develop and implement a business plan which identifies key business strategies and entrepreneurial initiatives focused on the continued growth and impact of the region.Top Line Development: Partner with Office Practice Leaders, Market Leaders, and Business Line Leaders to identify growth market opportunities, key target clients and yearly Net Signed Fee targets that will grow the business volume of the region a minimum of 10% a year. Champion clients for life vs commodity work.Practice, Market, and Services Growth: Work with others to evaluate and take appropriate action to address the senior talent needs in the region. Focusing on building strong leadership teams capable of expanding our growth potential for our markets, practices, and business lines. Identify new potential markets, practices, and business lines for investment and development. Support research and development and encourage development of new ideas, services, and products to differentiate the firm and expand business potential.Lead with strong Business Practices: Partner with your Regional Practice Director to champion the best practices of project management, risk management, process improvement, project leadership and financial stewardship. Together with the Regional Practice Director be accountable for achieving or exceeding the profitability goals noted above for the firm first and the region second.Communication and Brand Ambassador:Represent the Firm externally at community-based events, conferences and broader events that continually support the overall brand and direction of the firm. Regularly write, speak and communicate through external venues. Work with the Executive team annually to identify strategic placement / speaking opportunities. Be a leadership voice in firm-wide meetings, and events. Provide inspirational leadership communicating aspirations, outcomes, directions, initiatives, policies, etc. Develop and execute internal communication processes to keep staff informed and foster collaboration. ABOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES Bachelor's Degree is required for this role. Advanced degrees are preferred.Generally, at least 20 years of related experience or equivalent is required.Experience working in the A/E/I industry is required.Proven track record of ability to lead and inspire others required.Build our Brand by being connected externally and being visible in the region.Champion our Living-Centered Design ethos.Demonstrate ownership and accountability.Be a great teammate, championing collaboration, design excellence and show fairness in actions and decisions, always putting our firm first.Champion entrepreneurial behavior; open to new ideas, innovative concepts, and solutions.Demonstrate optimistic and inclusive leadership of a diverse team.Demonstrate business acumen with a sound approach regarding risk management and mitigation.Communicate effectively internally; energize, inspire, motivate, and develop high-performing accountability. ABOUT OUR FIRM We're a design practice at the nexus of strategy, experience, architecture, engineering, and social impact. We dream up, create, and bring to life solutions that enhance human vitality, further equity, strengthen communities and safeguard our planet all at once. We've been recognized multiple times by Fast Company as one of the most innovative design firms in the world. With nearly 1,300 teammates across 18 offices, we forge deep partnerships with clients across all industries, empowering them to reach greater heights. At the heart of our work lies our ethos, Living-Centered Design — a bold commitment to using our skills to not only enhance the world but to fundamentally reshape it for the better.


ABOUT WORKING HERE We are relentless in our pursuit of client adoration (not simply satisfaction). Consistent delivery of the best service is what we are about.We are committed to ensuring our practice is equitable for all employees, representative of the communities around us – and focused on the future of design. We advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts through the leadership of our DEI Council, Employee Resource Groups and other community advocacy initiatives.We're about communication and transparency here. If you want to talk to someone about an idea you have, or a challenge that needs addressing, we're ready for you. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Please note that candidates can only apply to our positions on our company Careers site. It's not uncommon for scammers to create positions that look legitimate on other sites; never enter your information or apply for CannonDesign positions on any platform. Should an issue arise that you feel we should be aware of, please contact us. Please provide your resume and portfolio when applying.

As a condition of employment, all employees are expected to complete mandatory training, including compliance training, within required timeframes and adhere to our internal policies and our Code of Conduct.

CannonDesign is an Equal Opportunity Employer. CannonDesign is committed to maintaining a work environment that is free from any and all forms of unlawful discrimination and harassment. It is therefore the firm's policy to prohibit discrimination and harassment against any applicant, CannonDesign employee, vendor, contractor, or client on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other basis prohibited by law. It is also CannonDesign's policy to prohibit any and all forms of retaliation against any individual who has complained of harassing or discriminatory conduct, or participated in a firm or agency investigation into such complaints.

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