Market Director, Education & Public Sector (Architecture)

Market Director (Architecture – Education & Public Sector | Tampa Region)

Job Summary

The Market Director serves as a critical operations and design leader responsible for supporting the overall performance, coordination, and growth of an assigned market, with a primary focus on Educational clients and projects, including but not limited to K-12, Higher Education, and Independent Schools. Reporting to the Market Leader, this role will ensure consistent, high-quality architectural delivery across teams while contributing to strategic initiatives, client relationship management, and staff development.

This position plays a hands-on role in day-to-day operations, including oversight of project execution, resource planning, financial performance, and market-specific initiatives aligned with organizational priorities. The Market Director must be a licensed, Registered Architect with deep experience delivering Educational work and the ability to support and grow project opportunities across the Tampa region. Experience with broader public-sector projects such as municipal, civic, justice, and other government-related work is strongly preferred.

Primary Essential Functions

• Support the Market Leader in executing strategic, operational, and growth initiatives across the assigned market, with emphasis on Educational clients and pursuits in the Tampa region.
• Oversee daily operations to ensure projects are delivered on time, on budget, within scope, and aligned with design excellence and quality standards.
• Provide architectural leadership and oversight to ensure strong design outcomes, technical rigor, and consistent documentation across project teams.
• Lead resource planning and workforce management, aligning architectural talent and expertise to Educational and public-sector client needs.
• Manage and monitor key financial metrics including revenue forecasts, backlog, utilization, project profitability, and overall delivery health.
• Support business development through proposal preparation, interview strategy, pursuit planning, and long-term client relationship management.
• Serve as a trusted client partner for school districts, universities, and independent schools, strengthening client satisfaction, repeat work, and strategic account growth.
• Collaborate with project managers to monitor performance and ensure alignment with contractual requirements, agency standards, and public procurement processes.
• Promote strong stakeholder engagement practices appropriate to Educational and public-sector environments, including board presentations and user-group coordination.
• Partner with HR and market leadership to support employee development, mentoring, career planning, and performance management.
• Drive operational consistency and continuous improvement by implementing best practices in project delivery, QA/QC, and team performance.
• Act as a culture ambassador by promoting an inclusive, collaborative, and high-performance environment across offices and disciplines.
• Contribute to annual planning and budgeting processes by identifying growth opportunities, efficiencies, and risk mitigation actions.
• Serve as a liaison between project teams and executive leadership, escalating delivery risks, staffing needs, and client concerns as appropriate.
• Oversee compliance with health, safety, and quality assurance standards across the market.
• Represent the market in internal forums, leadership meetings, and town halls when needed, acting as a proxy for the Market Leader/VP.
  
  

Secondary Essential Functions

• Collaborate effectively with clients and colleagues across cross-functional teams, peers, direct reports, and leadership to foster a positive work environment.
• Collaborate with other key offices to effectively execute work, including but not limited to offices across Florida.
• Adapt to changing business needs and priorities while maintaining accountability to delivery outcomes, team performance, and client service.
  
  

Competencies (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities)

Knowledge

• Comprehensive understanding of Educational market trends, client expectations, and competitive positioning, including K-12, Higher Education, and Independent School environments.
• Strong knowledge of architectural project management, including scope, schedule, budget, and technical quality control.
• Familiarity with A/E/C regulations, public procurement processes, contracting methods, and delivery models.
• Awareness of workforce planning, resource utilization, and professional services financial performance metrics.
• Understanding of organizational development practices including coaching, performance reviews, and succession planning.
• Working knowledge of stakeholder-driven planning processes common to Educational and public-sector clients.
  
  

Skills

• Strong organizational and planning skills with the ability to manage multiple complex priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across clients, internal teams, and leadership.
• Financial acumen including forecasting, fee management, cash flow awareness, AR, and project financial tracking.
• Strong leadership skills including mentoring, conflict resolution, team development, and performance management.
• Proficiency with project and client management tools and platforms (e.g., Deltek, ERP systems, CRM tools).
• Ability to present effectively to boards, committees, public stakeholders, and executive-level decision makers.
  
  

Abilities

• Translate strategic goals into clear and actionable operational plans.
• Analyze operational and financial data to identify trends, risks, and growth opportunities within the market.
• Influence cross-functional teams and drive alignment without direct authority through clarity and accountability.
• Balance long-term planning with short-term execution demands while maintaining high-quality outcomes.
• Navigate complex, stakeholder-heavy environments with a solution-oriented, people-first mindset.
  
  

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from an accredited program.
• Registered Architect (active licensure required).
• Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience in architecture, including leadership in project delivery, operations, and/or market leadership within the A/E/C industry.
• Demonstrated experience leading teams, managing budgets, and overseeing project portfolios.
• Demonstrated depth of experience delivering Educational projects, including K-12 and/or Higher Education.
• Ability to support and grow Educational work in the Tampa region, including independent school clients and project delivery.
  
  

Preferred

• Master’s degree or advanced certification in architecture, operations, management, or related field.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams across distributed offices or remote work environments.
• Prior experience supporting market financial accountability and profit-center performance (direct or support role).
• Additional public-sector project experience (municipal, civic, justice, or other government work).