VP Design & Construction

Purpose: The Vice President of Design & Construction oversees the department responsible for design, construction, and development of new restaurants and retail stores including Duty Free locations, remodel projects, and concept conversions across the company’s portfolio of North America airports.  

Essentials Functions: 

• Oversees the Design and Construction function and leads departmental staff consisting of internal project, procurement, design, estimating and architectural professionals; develops and enhances department procedures, training, tools, and capabilities   

• Contributes strategic guidance and direction to Business Development and Operations partners on new business proposals, re-development programs, and other real estate maximization projects and initiatives 

• Provides strategic and tactical guidance for all capital projects from initial opportunity assessments through restaurant and retail store hand-off and throughout lease terms during mid-term reinvestments, concept conversions, etc. 

• Partners with Global Shop Development on Duty-Free retail design development, retail standards best practices, process improvement, and internal audit initiatives 

• Establishes reporting protocols, cadence, and form of project progress, scope change, schedule adherence, and budget compliance communications; regularly meets with executive leadership to communicate project status 

• Coaches staff to find innovative and creative design and construction solutions; drives a culture of engagement, innovation, and collaboration within the function 

• Monitors progress on design and construction projects and provides coaching and support as needed to optimize team effectiveness and project delivery performance; ensures compliance with the company’s capital policies and procedures  

• Establishes and develops a community of highly capable external third-party designers, architects, engineers, contractors, project managers, equipment/furniture vendors, etc. to support the company’ goals and commitments  

• Proactively drives and supports the company’s ESG goals and initiatives, including adopting sustainable practices, establishing minority and women-owned partnerships, and utilizing technology and building processes that are more efficient and have less of a long-term impact on the environment 

Reporting Relationship: The Vice President of Design & Construction reports to the Senior Vice President, Business Development 

Minimum Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Work Environment:  

• Education and Experience: The combination of education and professional experience must exceed 12 years: 

• In a leadership role: Requires 7 years of experience leading a senior level team of construction management professionals engaged in developing and executing design & construction programs 

• In a technical role: Requires 10 years of experience engaged in developing and delivering design & construction programs 

• A bachelor’s degree in a program related to the functional area can count for 3 of the ten-year requirement 

• An MBA or a master’s level degree in a program related to the functional area can count for an additional 2 years of the ten-year requirement  

• In the industry: 3-5 years of Hospitality, F&B and/or Retail experience  

• Specialized Training:  

• Knowledge of relevant state and federal regulations and statutes  

• Specialized Skillset/Competencies/Traits: 

• Expert level of knowledge and experience with design/build and project management, budgeting and cost control of food service and retail facility construction, and management of in-house personnel and outside consultants and contractors 

• Requires excellent skills in communication, consulting, influencing, and negotiating and a proven ability to operate effectively and professionally at all levels of an organization 

• Highly advanced business acumen and also has the strategic mindset required to understand the long-term implications of design & construction management decisions and to advance the organization’s goals 

• Demonstrated history of anticipating and balancing the needs of the business with the needs of complex stakeholders, the employee population and individual circumstances 

• Demonstrated history of creating and maintaining positive work environments through coaching, developing, and leading virtual teams to achieve common goals 

• Demonstrated experience exhibiting a continuous improvement mindset with the ability to optimize work processes and achieve positive results