Design Guardian (RIBA/ARB) - Masterplanning / Design Coordination (London-Based)

Description

• Work 2 to 3 days per week on-site within the consultant team in London, acting as the project’s design guardian and ensuring the masterplan intent is upheld through all coordination activities.
• Lead the flow of information, track decisions, and coordinate across disciplines to maintain consistency and clarity.
• Support the global team in upholding project vision, design principles and strategic objectives.
• You become the key voice ensuring the integrity of the masterplan vision.
• Review consultant outputs, identify design implications, and report risks or required decisions back to the design principal.
• Act as the primary interface between UK-based consultants and the international design leadership.
• Act as a trusted ambassador for the practice, establishing strong working relationships with senior consultant teams.
• Participate in coordination sessions, technical discussions and design reviews across multiple time zones.

Requirements

Given that the design team is distributed globally, you will need to be comfortable working across time zones, with occasional early-morning or out-of-hours coordination.

If you thrive in high-level coordination, love complex urban-scale problems, and enjoy being trusted with real responsibility, this role will give you unparalleled exposure.

• Strong understanding of design coordination, interfaces, and the knock-on effects of multidisciplinary decisions.
• Strong organisational ability: tracking issues, managing actions, ensuring alignment.
• Some exposure to construction-stage realities or value-engineering processes.
• Experience reviewing consultant work across engineering, mobility, infrastructure, environmental or urban systems.
• Familiarity with Revit or ability to liaise with technical support teams working in BIM.
• Ability to work autonomously, represent a design principal, and act with clarity, maturity and confidence.
• Experience working across multiple time zones.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills… calm, articulate, ego-free.
• 8 to 10 years of experience (minimum 5) in architecture, urban design or masterplanning.
• A genuine passion for ambitious, visionary design projects.
• Self-motivated and dependable.
• Demonstrable experience on large-scale, complex development projects… ideally masterplans or multi-building sites.

Benefits

• Hybrid model: part-week in consultant offices, part-remote, with high autonomy.
• You work directly with the global leadership of a renowned design studio.
• Competitive senior-level compensation aligned with experience.
• Long-term commitment: initial 2+ years of guaranteed work, with potential involvement extending to 2030.
• You gain exposure to complex urban systems, cutting-edge design thinking, and major international stakeholders.
• Full-time role via a consultancy-style engagement.

Training + Development

Interview process

Visa Sponsorship

Security clearance