London, UK
Senior interior designer
at Soane Britain
Soane Britain is seeking a senior interior designer to join its office in London.
Job title: senior interior designer – 12 month fixed term contract
Location: Pimlico
Department: UK sales
Position reports to: managing director
Direct reports: junior interior designer
Salary Range: commensurate with experience
Company overview:
Soane Britain, led by founder Lulu Lytle, designs and makes exceptionally well-made furniture, upholstery, lighting, fabrics, wallpapers and interior necessities that consistently reward the investment, adding joyful atmosphere to any interior.
Every Soane Britain design is made in Britain in small workshops that excel in traditional crafts, such as iron forging, rattan weaving, chair making, precision engineering and saddlery.
Soane Britain’s client list includes international interior designers, decorators and architects with Soane Britain’s designs found in many important private houses, chalets and yachts around the world as well as hotels, restaurants, members clubs, boardrooms and retail spaces.
For more information please visit our website or join our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
Purpose of the position:
- deliver Soane Britain’s interior design projects on time and to budget, exceeding clients’ expectations
- responsible for delivering agreed six monthly budgets at agreed margin
- responsible for overheads and P&L relating to the interior design department
- a Soane Britain brand ambassador
- using Soane Britain interior design projects to maximise sales of Soane Britain designs, including fabrics and wallpapers
- offer interior design experience and skills to other areas of the business as required
Duties and responsibilities:
- respond to all new leads and determine whether projects are appropriate for Soane Britain
- work with the creative director to interpret creative brief for each project
- keep up to date with the Soane Britain product range to maximise sales through interior projects
- ensure that the interior design look book is kept updated with photographs of interior design projects
- all data on clients and suppliers to be kept updated, including a marketing mailing list
- keep up to date with new designs from suppliers
- project manage interiors project from concept to completion
- ensure that all costs for the projects are captured in estimate and are in-line with monthly management accounts
- ensure clients are invoiced in a timely manner and chase for payment as required
- review monthly management accounts with the finance manager
- ensure suppliers are paid on time and maintain excellent supplier relationships
- ensure that each project is fully resourced; plan and implement help and additional resources as required (e.g. CAD technician)
- work alongside, train and manage junior interior designer
- ensure HR details are kept updated and that company policies are adhered to
- attend regular meetings with the creative director to ensure that they are up to date with projects
- ensure that the design room and its resources are tidy and up to date
- ensure that the rest of the Soane Britain team is knowledgeable about the Soane Britain interior design service and knows how to refer enquiries
Qualifications for the position:
- educated to degree standard and with an interior design qualification
- at least five years’ experience, of which two years at a senior level, in a leading high-end residential design studio.
- demonstrating experience of team and project management
- experience with bespoke and custom briefs and furnishings
- demonstrable creative and strategic thinking in addition to efficiency in implementation
- experience of working and liaising with architects, M&E etc
- technical understanding of all aspects of architectural design, interior and joinery design and materials
- Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint; other such as Photoshop or Indesign would be useful
- EstiPC required
Skills or qualities for the position:
- excellent client servicing skills and business acumen
- confidence in directing staff and liaising with clients and contractors
- ability to galvanise a team to deliver projects on time to tight deadlines
- strong organisational and time management skills
- ability to multitask and meet challenging targets
- design flair with an extensive and up-to-date product knowledge
- a strong interest in interior design, new trends and techniques
- hand sketching and CAD ability useful
- technical knowledge to read and interpret drawings, shop drawings etc
- competent understanding of building material construction, joinery and cabinetry detailing
- a solid grasp of the importance of brand identity and consistency
- a passion for research and scrupulous attention to details
- ability to recruit the right skills and experience to the team
- a champion of the department and company
- enviable black book of supplier and specialist contractors
- driving licence – not essential but can be an advantage