General Information
Posting Date
09-11-2026
Time Type
Part-Time
Job ID
9028
Areas of Expertise
Strategy
Job Category
Strategy
Locations
Columbus, OH, US
Description
Gensler is a global design firm committed to holistically improving the human experience. Guided by determined optimism, we use the power of design to spark positive change and create futures that promote equity, resilience, and wellbeing for everyone. Design Strategy at Gensler is a multi-disciplinary practice focused on enabling transformation – our creative and collaborative approach, supported by data and research, enables impactful change and evolution of our clients' organization, culture, and environment. Gensler's value is rendered optimally when a client faces disruption. We reveal the conditions of their business, culture, and environment, and work with them to design an unexpected solution with real impact. Our clients span a variety of industries across the sectors of workplace, healthcare, hospitality, entertainment, education, retail, public and community.
Our services provide a broad range of innovation expertise including the inventing and implementing of futures; the design and building of capability; the assessment and activation of culture; and the planning and adoption of specialty spaces for innovation. We are looking for an established Strategy Director to join this group of creative entrepreneurs. Our passion as a collective is to unlock the potential in all of us. We ask that you are curious, authentic, agile, strategic, design savvy and detail oriented. You are ideally energized about being a leader in the acceleration of bringing Gensler's full value and potential to market.
Your Role
As Strategy Director in the Columbus office, you will direct projects with a level of professionalism, confidence and visionary ability to yield bespoke results for each opportunity. You will establish the relationship with the client and garner their trust so that they continue to see Gensler as their go-to innovation advisor. You will imagine what's possible and create clarity so that the client, team and partners can all collectively also see this vision so strongly that they know exactly how to move towards it. You will lead by example and influence the culture of the team with positivity, fearlessness and inclusivity. You will work closely with the Innovation Director, Studio Director and your peer Strategy Directors to champion the development and scaling of the business within the firm and the market. You should have an aptitude and experience to deliver projects across the broad range of Innovation Consulting services analogous to foresight and futures-casting; capability building; organizational design and culture strategy; experience strategy and design; change management and change activation.
This is a part-time and temporary role.
Who You Are
You're passionate about innovation, business, and design - and its impact on individuals and organizations. As a leader, you're able to inspire your clients, teams, and co-collaborators. You're comfortable with ambiguity and able to forge a path on projects that may have vague parameters or frequently change/evolve. Experience and empathy enables you to successfully work with a wide range of stakeholders from Executives to Business Leaders in Real Estate, Technology, HR, Corporate Communications, as well as directly with business Units. You're able to lead clients through complex challenges, frame potential options, and enable them to make informed decisions. As an excellent collaborator, you're able to work successfully with a range of other disciplines and experts. You're a persuasive communicator and an authority on relevant trends, research, and other examples. You thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic, open, collaborative environment and can lead multiple projects simultaneously.
What You Will Do
On projects, as a Strategy Director you will:
- Be responsible for the strategic direction for a project and have final authority in determining the strategic approach, scope, and project deliverables
- Inspire strategy teams and effectively connect experts as needed
- Encourage and support original thinking
- Guide teams as they collect quantitative data and qualitative feedback from user research
- Develop creative design concepts that illustrate options of how client organizations can be supported through performance enhancing workplace strategies
- Manage synthesis of information and the impact on innovation strategies, business goals, organizational culture, and/or performance criteria for spatial design
- Oversee development of powerful communication tools that help clients to visualize and understand the tradeoffs associated with various futures, and strategic organizational/design scenarios
- Interface with Gensler design studios when projects have a place-based element to ensure the seamless transition of design strategy into the design implementation phase
- Direct and guide Project/Strategy Managers to ensure project success. Strategy
- Managers manage day-to-day operations for projects including staffing, fee tracking and forecasting, and client meetings
- Mentor, support, and direct staff to help them achieve not only client goals but their own professional development goals
With clients, you will:
- Be the primary client contact relating to the strategic aspects of a project
- Lead client conversations with conviction and expertise
- Focus on learning their business, culture, and desired outcomes
- Share relevant precedents for context and inspiration
- Develop client relationships to earn status as a trusted advisor
- Ensure our deliverables answer the question or problem we've been asked to solve
As a thought leader and business developer, you will:
- Be a visible and recognized leader/authority in the market, such as participation in industry organizations, speaking events, and/or publishing articles or blogs.
- Sustain ongoing client relationships, as well as grow existing and new relationships
- Use insights to position Gensler's strategic POV in business development initiatives
- Build relationships with our colleagues across the globe to support our client's interests and needs
- Lead proposal development, including scope definition, process mapping, and compensation requirements
- Where relevant, maintain relationships with client's other third-party service providers including real estate brokers, consultants, project managers, etc.
- Convert opportunities into project wins, and convert single projects into longstanding account pipelines
Your Qualifications
- 15+ years of relevant professional experience and an undergraduate or master's degree in business, design strategy, architecture, interior design, environmental design, urban design, real estate, organizational development, organizational psychology, social science, business, or similar fields
- Experience in a leadership position in the innovation consulting industry or similar
- Experience directly leading client engagements and teams, recognized by your clients and teams as having expertise in developing innovative processes and solutions
- Successful business developer, with demonstrated project or account wins and practice growth; maintains relationships with clients and industry partners
- A strong portfolio demonstrating excellent command of fundamental communication design including composition, information graphics, and persuasive writing
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook), and other visual communication tools
- Fluency with digital collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, Miro, Mural, Microsoft Teams etc.
A level of familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite (In Design, specifically) to lead team members who use these programs.
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Life at Gensler
At Gensler, we are as committed to enjoying life as we are to delivering best-in-class design. From curated art exhibits to internal design competitions to “Well-being Awareness Week,” our offices reflect our people’s diverse interests.
NOTICE TO APPLICANTS
We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer of choice. All aspects of employment decisions will be based on merit, performance, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of any status protected under federal, state and local law.
Individuals with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with federal, state and local law.
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.