Senior Workplace Strategist

With 19 offices across the U.S. and China, there’s a lot of opportunity waiting to be discovered and it looks like you’ve found one that interests you! We believe in fostering an environment of career growth and encourage you to look for that next step, whether it be in your own office or in another office.

The Los Angeles office is looking for a Senior Workplace Strategist to join our team.

We are seeking creative problem solvers and thought leaders to join our growing Workplace Strategy team. This role will be responsible for leading the successful delivery of real estate strategies assessments, portfolio analysis and planning, data collection and evaluation, cultural assessment, and change management. The Senior Workplace Strategist leads our clients to make more informed decisions about how they support their people, position their businesses, and manage their assets.

Working with us, you will:

• Plan and lead strategic client engagements
• Lead in all aspects of design research, research execution, and analysis (data gathering and research, workshops, observational research and interviews)
• Structure, analyze, and synthesize primary and secondary research and data (quantitative and qualitative) to generate actionable materials
• Articulate hypotheses, insights, and points of view to facilitate the development of design solutions and organizational recommendations
• Lead programming efforts (observations, data gathering, interviews and workshops), and the development of program and space requirement reports
• Work with project teams to implement strategy through planning and design concepts
• Partner with Studio Leaders, Director of Workplace and Marketing Strategist on Business Development & Thought Leadership
• Strengthen and grow team expertise
• Demonstrate strong leadership of team members to guide them in reaching their full potential and meeting their career goals. Specifically, these responsibilities include but not limited to:
• Actively participate in recruiting activities for new team members
• Proactively manage the performance of team members reporting directly to them
• Provide mentoring, coaching and guidance to team members
• Contribute and expand client wellbeing and ESG initiatives through workplace strategy and change management recommendations
• Direct contract negotiations with clients and consultants, and review and approve fee proposals
• Provide thought leadership in the area of workplace strategy through knowledge sharing
• Monitor and advise on National market trends
• Consult with and maintain relationships with client representatives at the regional level

An ideal candidate has:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field
• 15+ years professional experience, with a minimum of 5 years of direct experience in Workplace Strategy
• Additional degree or background in other fields, e.g., organizational design, design thinking, psychology, sociology, real estate, business is a plus but not required
• Proficient in MS Office (advanced skill in Excel), Adobe Creative Suite, AutoCAD and/or Revit (preferred but not required)
• Willingness to travel to fulfill assignments
• WELL, Fitwell, LEED AP, Prosci designation preferred but not required
• Comfort with technology tools for virtual collaboration and mobile work
• Experience delivering projects in one or more areas related to design strategy, corporate strategy, research and development or related within workplace
• Excellent presentation and communication skills, including experience delivering presentations to management groups and C-suite teams
• Confidence in facilitating strategic conversations
• Experience with responding to Requests for Proposals, Expression of Interests, Requests for Qualifications
• Strong business development skills, including considerable experience building and maintaining productive relationships with a client base
• Skilled in strategic and critical thinking. Experience working on workplace transformation initiatives in a consulting capacity
• Excellent critical thinking skills. Experience in facilitating workshops and other engagements for visioning, problem-solving and or requirements gathering and discovery
• Experience managing project implementation and project teams, leading client meetings, and facilitating group meetings
• Experience translating findings into client-specific strategies that address strategic business goals
• Ability to work in multi-disciplinary and distributed teams

SmithGroup offers competitive compensation and an excellent benefit package, including 401(k) and wellbeing resources. We promote a healthy work/life balance for our staff which includes an alternative work schedule that provides employees with an additional 15 days off per year (usually Fridays), as well as hybrid options that give our team flexibility to work within our vibrant office culture or remotely, as needed. We also offer paid time off that is immediately available to new hires, 8 paid federal holidays, and parental leave benefits.

SmithGroup offers competitive compensation and an excellent benefit package. The anticipated salary range for this position is $181,000 to $225,000 annually, at the time of posting. We may ultimately pay more less than the anticipated salary range for this position. Additionally, an employee in this position is eligible for a performance-based bonus on an annual basis. Our comprehensive benefits include medical, dental and vision coverage, flexible spending account options and voluntary insurances. We provide an opportunity to invest in your future through our 401(k) program with employer matching and a continuing education reimbursement. We offer 3 weeks of paid time off within the first year of employment, with the option of purchasing additional time off, 8 paid federal holidays, and parental leave benefits. SmithGroup also promotes a healthy work/life balance for our staff which includes an alternative work schedule that provides employees with an additional 15 days off per year (usually Fridays), as well as hybrid work options that give our team the flexibility to work within our vibrant office culture or remotely, as needed.