Market Director, Education & Public Sector (Architecture)

About the role

We are seeking an experienced and visionary Market Director to lead the delivery, growth, and operational performance of our Educational market throughout the Tampa region. This leadership role is responsible for ensuring design excellence, fostering strong client relationships, and driving successful project execution across K-12, Higher Education, and Independent School projects.

Responsibilities

• Support the Market Leader in executing strategic, operational, and growth initiatives across the assigned market, with emphasis on Educational clients and pursuits in the Tampa region.
• Oversee daily operations to ensure projects are delivered on time, on budget, within scope, and aligned with design excellence and quality standards.
• Provide architectural leadership and oversight to ensure strong design outcomes, technical rigor, and consistent documentation across project teams.
• Lead resource planning and workforce management, aligning architectural talent and expertise to Educational and public-sector client needs.
• Manage and monitor key financial metrics including revenue forecasts, backlog, utilization, project profitability, and overall delivery health.
• Support business development through proposal preparation, interview strategy, pursuit planning, and long-term client relationship management.
• Serve as a trusted client partner for school districts, universities, and independent schools, strengthening client satisfaction, repeat work, and strategic account growth.
• Collaborate with project managers to monitor performance and ensure alignment with contractual requirements, agency standards, and public procurement processes.
• Promote strong stakeholder engagement practices appropriate to Educational and public-sector environments, including board presentations and user-group coordination.
• Partner with HR and market leadership to support employee development, mentoring, career planning, and performance management.
• Drive operational consistency and continuous improvement by implementing best practices in project delivery, QA/QC, and team performance.
• Act as a culture ambassador by promoting an inclusive, collaborative, and high-performance environment across offices and disciplines.
• Contribute to annual planning and budgeting processes by identifying growth opportunities, efficiencies, and risk mitigation actions.
• Oversee compliance with health, safety, and quality assurance standards across the market.
• Represent the market in internal forums, leadership meetings, and town halls when needed, acting as a proxy for the Market Leader/VP.
• Collaborate effectively with clients and colleagues across cross-functional teams, peers, direct reports, and leadership to foster a positive work environment.
• Collaborate with other key offices to effectively execute work, including but not limited to offices across Florida.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from an accredited program.
• Registered Architect (active licensure required).
• Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience in architecture, including leadership in project delivery, operations, and/or market leadership within the A/E/C industry.
• Demonstrated experience leading teams, managing budgets, and overseeing project portfolios.
• Demonstrated depth of experience delivering Educational projects, including K-12 and/or Higher Education.
• Ability to support and grow Educational work in the Tampa region, including independent school clients and project delivery.

Preferred

• Master’s degree or advanced certification in architecture, operations, management, or related field.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams across distributed offices or remote work environments.
• Prior experience supporting market financial accountability and profit-center performance (direct or support role).
• Additional public-sector project experience (municipal, civic, justice, or other government work).