Imagine joining a multi-disciplinary design firm at a genuine inflection point.
A design team with a strong architectural lineage, a clear design voice, and the backing to grow… but without the complacency of a global corporate brand.
A studio where success is driven by judgement, relationships and timing, not volume or noise.
From its London base, this 20 strong, design-led architecture team is looking to appoint a Business Development Leader to help shape its next chapter of international work.
This is not a role built around chasing tenders or carrying a sales target in isolation.
It’s about placing the design studio at the right table, at the right moment, and ensuring the right people are in the room when decisions are made.
How the Role Really Works…
This is a relationship-first, leadership-supported model.
The expectation is not that you single-handedly “win” work. Instead, your role is to:
* Open conversations early… often before a brief exists
* Build trust and credibility with the right clients and stakeholders
* Identify when alignment is real and when it isn’t
* Create the conditions for senior design leadership to step in and do what they do best
You will remain closely involved throughout, shaping positioning, advising on approach, and supporting the pursuit… but you are not expected to close deals in isolation.
Success comes from orchestrating access, not forcing outcomes.
What the Role Looks Like in Practice…
From London, you will act as a visible and trusted representative of the design studio, helping to position it thoughtfully with the right potential clients and conversations.
Your work will include:
* Strategic conversations with developers, institutions and private clients… often at early, exploratory stages before formal briefs exist
* Representing the studio at key industry conferences, forums and curated networking events, using these settings to build long-term relationships rather than pursue immediate transactions
* Making thoughtful introductions rather than cold outreach, grounded in mutual value and alignment
* Helping shape how, when and where the studio shows up in the market… from informal gatherings to high-profile events
* Working closely with senior leadership to convert interest into opportunity, ensuring the right people are brought into the conversation at the right moment
This is a role for someone comfortable hosting, convening and being present, someone who understands that meaningful work is often unlocked through sustained visibility, trust and timing, not volume or pressure.
Who This Suits…
This role suits someone who understands that business development in architecture is a team sport.
You will likely have:
* Experience representing a design-led practice or adjacent consultancy
* A personal network built through trust, not transactional selling
* Confidence discussing design, ambition and process
* First-hand experience of originating work rather than inheriting it
Most importantly, you will be comfortable acting as a strategic connector, someone who opens doors, frames opportunity, and enables leadership to convert it.
If your background has been heavily weighted toward bid-only roles, volume sales or environments where reputation alone opens doors, this is unlikely to be the right fit.
The Environment…
* London-based, working closely with senior design leadership
* A growing design team with strong backing and long-term ambition
* Clear expectations, autonomy and mutual trust
* A culture that values discretion, intelligence and credibility
* A role where influence matters more than hierarchy
Why This Role Is Different…
This is not about being the loudest voice in the room. It’s about being the person who ensures the right voices are heard at the right time.
If you are motivated by building meaningful relationships, shaping opportunity thoughtfully and helping a design-led studio win the right work internationally… this role offers rare scope to do just that.