Design Solutions Manager

# Design Solutions Manager###

Job Description
* You’re the person who can take someone else’s vision for how a space should feel and make it real – down to the manufacturer, the finish, and the number that has to work for the business, too. You’d rather own a design solution start to finish than hand off a concept and walk away, and you know how to direct another designer’s work without needing the word ‘manager’ in front of your title to do it.

If holding design intent and gross margin in the same hand sounds like the job you’ve been doing informally for years, keep reading. This is what it looks like to lead design at Kay-Twelve.
*** Qualifications (Who)
** This is a licensed interior designer or architect who personally leads Kay-Twelve’s design production work, translating the vision and guiding principles established in Collaborate into a design solution that is educationally sound, on-brand for our Radically Student Centered (RSC) approach, financially viable, and buildable. He or she has strong client-facing presentation and communication skills and a strong understanding of interior design processes, furniture specification, and construction documentation.

He or she is briefed by the Project Manager at the Collaborate → Design handoff and owns the design solution from that point forward: confirming manufacturer fit, setting gross profit expectations to hit Kay-Twelve’s target average, and directing the Design Production Specialist’s day-to-day production work – comfortably, without needing formal HR supervisory authority to do it. This person has the financial acumen to hold a margin target while protecting design intent, and working knowledge of 100+ furniture manufacturers and current K-12 product trends.

Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail come naturally to this person, who keeps the PM informed at each stage-end deliverable and protects both design integrity and project margin. Above all, this person lives Kay-Twelve’s core values – Be the Change, You Belong Here, Listen. Care. Follow-Through, and LFG! – and maintains consistent, positive communication with the PM and Design Production Specialist across every project in production.
** Responsibilities (What)
** The Design Solutions Manager’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
** Scorecard KPI:
** GP Goal Alignment — confirm manufacturer fit and budget alignment before every purchase order, and set gross profit percentage to hit Kay-Twelve’s 35% average target on every project.
1. Personally lead production work, translating Collaborate-stage vision and guiding principles into design intent, spatial strategy, and furniture layouts, owning the product and manufacturer decisions needed to hit Kay-Twelve’s gross profit target within the budget the PM has established.
2. Develop conceptual design solutions, 2D drawings, 3D renderings, and furniture specifications for client presentation.
3. Ensure alignment between educational outcomes and physical environment decisions.
4. Apply knowledge of ADA, life safety, fire, and electrical codes to every design solution.
5. Direct the Design Production Specialist’s day-to-day production work, reviewing output for accuracy and design integrity, and resolving day-to-day production or design questions directly — looping in the PM only when a conflict is client-driven or would affect a vision, scope, or budget commitment made at Collaborate.
6. Confirm manufacturer fit for every specified item, balancing design intent, lead time, and cost.
7. Set gross profit percentage on each project to hit Kay-Twelve’s average target within the budget the PM has established with the client, and monitor it through the design and specification process.
8. Partner with…