Office Practice Leader - Design Practice

If you think your skills, experience and aspirations make you a good match for this position, we encourage you to apply.

Your role is focused on providing strategic leadership, specifically developing, and leading a high-performance, diverse, and inclusive team for the Toronto office of CannonDesign to achieve growth and outstanding top line results. You will develop and implement a business plan for your office in concert with a regional leadership team and within the context of a firm-wide network of highly integrated offices that enhance our SFMO (Single-Firm, Multi-Office) culture. Importantly, you will be a leading ambassador of our brand, responsible for demonstrating how our Living-Centered Design ethos comes to life in our culture and in the way we partner with clients. Your time will be balanced between strategy development and execution, activities that support the growth and impact of the office, including external brand opportunities, building an office and team culture, and at a high level, you will also be expected to spend time on client leadership opportunities and engaged directly on projects.

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Expectations of Success:

• Office Growth: Providing leadership, guidance and support in the development of new business opportunities with client partners to achieve top line targets, which will support a minimum 10% growth of the office year over year. You will be accountable for the growth and success of the office, in collaboration with the team of Regional and Market Leaders.
• Strategic Leadership: Leading strategy development and execution. Engaging and partnering with all staff levels in the office and the firm to advance entrepreneurial opportunities, innovative market solutions, and impactful design solutions that differentiate the firm and create opportunities for increased market presence and office growth.
• Market Brand Enhancement: Elevating CannonDesign’s reputation in the community as a firm known for design and quality delivery is a critical aspect of this role. Acting as a leading voice for the office within the community and advancing strategies that engage staff in activities that promote and elevate the brand of the office and the firm. Championing Living-Centered Design and bringing our firm’s purpose—to help people continuously flourish—to life in every touchpoint you have with employees, clients, and the community.
• Design Culture: Together with Design Leadership, be a leading voice in the office for fostering a design-focused culture, understanding, and advocating for the power and impact of a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and integrated response to the opportunities presented by our clients. Empowering our people to realize the importance of design in all that we do and championing innovation in our project approach.
• Talent Acquisition and Development: Grow the team through acquisition of Market and Client Leaders that will contribute to Top Line growth, as well as staff to support project delivery.

Areas of Focus

• Strategic Leadership: Responsible for the leadership and implementation of an annual business plan for your office that rolls up to the regional and firmwide business plans. This may include key strategies for top line development, brand enhancement, and client engagement that promote growth of the office. You will be responsible for engaging Market and Client Leaders to participate in the process, take ownership, communicate, and champion the initiatives set forth in the plan.
• Top Line Development: Partner with Market Leaders, Service Line Leaders (Engineering, Interior Design, Lighting Studio, Experiential Graphics), Business Development Leaders, Client Leaders, and others to grow the business of your office and the firm. Champion strategic client development and initiatives that differentiate CannonDesign in the marketplace, promoting the full range of our integrated design and consulting services and supporting the advancement of Living-Centered Design in all phases of client engagement. In this role you will be accountable for the overall top line results of the office and have a personal goal of achieving top line success of $2.0M per year.
• Client Leadership Development: Identify, assess, and evaluate Client Leaders and champion the implementation of our client engagement process. Work with the Director of Brand, Marketing, and Business Development (BMBD) and other Office and Market Leaders to provide mentorship and training to advance the best practices of client leadership.
• Practice and Team Building: Work with the Regional Executive Director to evaluate and take appropriate action to address the senior talent needs in your office, focusing on building a strong leadership team capable of expanding our impact and growth. Work with other leaders to establish actions to implement the firm’s business plan to grow top line, optimize collaboration and integration, and expand our markets and services.
• Staff Development: Champion mentorship, growth and professional development of our future leaders, working with Human Resources, Market and Regional Leaders to identify, assess, mentor and coach the employees in your office. Champion employee engagement activities and own results.
• Adherence to Business Practices: Partner with the Regional Practice Director and the Regional Associate Practice Directors to champion the best practices of project management, risk management, process improvement, project leadership, and office profitability.
• Communication: Represent the office and staff on the regional leadership team, firm-wide meetings, conferences, and other external engagements. Communicate outcomes, directions, initiatives, policies, etc. back to the office for implementation or information purposes. Develop and execute internal communication processes to keep staff informed and foster collaboration.

Time Commitments

• 35% of your time should be devoted to activities that advance our brand and develop new business opportunities with client partners focused on the growth of the office, the region, and the Firm.
• 30% of your time should be focused on engaging and partnering with clients on billable project work. As a senior leader of the firm, we expect you to not only find ways to grow top-line revenue, but also to partner with clients at a high level. Providing leadership and fostering strong client relationships that lead to high client satisfaction and potential opportunities for future work.
• 25% of your time should be devoted to office leadership including strategy development, practice and market building, business practice support, recruiting and other related staff growth and development activities.

Targets and performance metrics for this role are subject to change as CannonDesign periodically evaluates our performance metrics.

Your required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field required. Master's preferred.
• Licensure preferred.
• 15 years’ minimum experience with a proven track record of business development success and top-line growth.
• Additional certifications and/or training relevant to this role is preferred.
• Communicates effectively; energizes, inspires, motivates, and develops high-performing accountable teams.
• Champions our Living-Centered Design ethos.
• Champions an ethical culture.
• Demonstrates ownership and accountability.
• Champions collaboration, has a team mindset, and shows fairness in actions and decisions putting the Firm first.
• Champions entrepreneurial behavior and is open to new ideas, innovative concepts, and solutions.
• Demonstrates sound judgement.
• Demonstrates sound approach regarding risk management and mitigation.
• Business acumen and proven ability to execute strategy.
• Some travel is required.

The salary range for this position is $171,300 (CAD) to $209,300 (CAD) annually. This salary range is the range we believe is the anticipated range of possible base compensation at the timing of the posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the anticipated salary range for the position. Employees may be eligible for discretionary bonuses. We offer a full benefit package including medical, dental and vision coverage and flexible spending account options and voluntary insurances. We have paid time off, flex-time schedules, remote work options and a 401k plan and employee perk programs. For a general overview of our benefits, please visit our careers page at https://www.cannondesign.com/careers/benefits. Actual compensation may vary from posting based on geographic location, work experience, education and/or skill level.

ABOUT OUR FIRM

CannonDesign is a design practice where strategy, experience, architecture, engineering, and social impact converge. We don’t just dream up solutions — we create and bring them to life in ways to solve some of the biggest challenges facing our clients and the society. At the heart of everything we do is Living-Centered Design, a bold commitment to using our talents to not just improve the world but to truly reshape it for the better. It’s more than a philosophy — it’s who we are, and it drives us to make a meaningful, lasting difference every day.

ABOUT WORKING HERE

• We are relentless in our pursuit of client adoration (not simply satisfaction). Consistent delivery of the best service is what we are about.
• We are committed to ensuring our practice is equitable for all employees, representative of the communities around us – and focused on the future of design. We advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts through the leadership of our DEI Council, Employee Resource Groups and other community advocacy initiatives.
• We’re about communication and transparency here. If you want to talk to someone about an idea you have, or a challenge that needs addressing, we’re ready for you.

Please note that candidates can only apply to our positions on our company Careers site. It's not uncommon for scammers to create positions that look legitimate on other sites; never enter your information or apply for CannonDesign positions on any platform. Should an issue arise that you feel we should be aware of, please contact us. Please provide your resume and portfolio when applying.

As a condition of employment, all employees are expected to complete mandatory training, including compliance training, within required timeframes and adhere to our internal policies and our Code of Conduct.

CannonDesign recognizes the value of diversity in our workforce and is committed to Employment Equity and the Federal Contractors Program. We encourage applications from qualified Canadians of Indigenous backgrounds, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities and women. CannonDesign has a longstanding policy of providing a work environment that is free from all forms of employment discrimination based on age, ancestry, colour, race, citizenship, ethnic origin, place of origin, creed, disability, family status, marital status, gender identity, gender expression, record of offences, sex, and sexual orientation.

CannonDesign is committed to providing accommodation for people with accessibility needs due to disabilities in all aspects of the hiring process. If contacted, please advise Human Resources if you require disability-related accommodation.