New York, USA
Design and project coordinator
at Aesop
Aesop has an opportunity for a design and project coordinator to join its growing team in New York.
Aesop has carefully cultivated a work environment in which our employees are constantly challenged to do their best. Our company is determinedly creative, intelligent and progressive, and nurtures these qualities by employing people who share our passionate interest in design, innovation, and incisive enquiry across all fields.
Our organizational culture is entirely unique, distinguished by an uncommon blend of courtesy, cordiality and intellectual energy. We seek those who can bring a wealth of life experience and inspired ideas to our table.
In return, we provide comprehensive induction and training programmes, and encourage an inclusive culture that nurtures enduring professional relationships. We also appreciate the benefits that flow from our employees’ external pursuits.
We raise our bar high at Aesop and never lower it; this is one of the keys to our success and one of the many reasons why people wish to work here. If you would like to join Aesop, we invite you to peruse our current career opportunities.
Position purpose:
Reporting to the manager of store design and development Americas, the design and project coordinator will support retail development across the Americas region. The role will act as the project architect, developing and enhancing store and counter designs across the region in collaboration with the manager of store design and development and head office design team. The position is also responsible for ensuring that existing and new stores meet quality standards. In the pursuit of these objectives, the design and project coordinator must strike a balance between achieving commercial/ financial objectives and remaining faithful to Aesop’s values.
Skills and experience:
- bachelor’s degree in architecture, interior design or similar
- two or more years of project coordination in the US retail environment
- working knowledge of architecture-specific design programs (AutoCAD, Rhino, Adobe, etc.)
- strong attention to details and design aesthetic
- shows initiative and proactively presents and escalates ideas, suggestions and problems to ensure outstanding results
- self-disciplined, organized and able to effectively coordinate and collaborate with external architects, contractors and vendors
- strong written and verbal communication and language skills
- please submit portfolio with application·
Main responsibilities
The design and project coordinator will work closely with the manager of store design and development Americas and Aesop head office design team throughout projects to:
External design:
- generate locally-sensitive and Aesop appropriates design briefs for retail projects, including signature stores, to be passed onto external architects for consideration
- coordinate design proposal with external architect, manager of store design and development Americas, Aesop head office design team and all relevant stakeholders to meet Aesop’s design guidelines and also address or harness local constraints and peculiarities
- work with external architects on project execution as the key communication channel with Aesop’s internally, contractors, shopping malls, etc.
Internal design:
- generate locally-sensitive and Aesop appropriates design briefs for retail projects, including: signature stores, counters within the Americas
- generate locally-sensitive and Aesop appropriates design for specialized projects, including: signature stores, counters within the Americas;
- generate appropriate design concepts for retail projects that meet Aesop’s design guidelines and also address or harness local constraints and peculiarities
- liaise with internal stakeholders to ensure that each design proposal meets Aesop’s design guidelines
- provide feedback to manager of store design and development Americas and Aesop’s head office regarding local design constraints and suggest resolutions to in order to achieve store design proposals that meets both local market and Aesop head office design guidelines
Project coordinator:
- coordinate in collaboration with the manager of store design and development Americas on budget, project scope, and project schedule
- coordinate with local Aesop teams regarding store opening requirements (e.g. visual merchandising, etc.)
- coordinate in collaboration with architect of record and professional consultants on structural, lighting, mechanical, building code, fire services etc. coordinating with manager of store design and development Americas throughout each project
- negotiate, as required and in collaboration with the manager of store Design and development Americas the quotation process and contract terms with contractors
- draft construction contracts where required
- review builders’ shop drawings and control deviation from approved drawings package
- monitoring budgets and construction schedule with contractors coordinating with manager of store design and development Americas throughout process
- manage on-site construction to control derivation with design proposal
- furniture procurement
- conduct post store assessments (e.g. defects checks with an emphasis on timely rectification)
Retail development and store maintenance:
- when necessary conduct store visits with the manager of Store Design & Development Americas as necessary to assess defects and suggest improvements to retail layout