Regional Practice Area Leader - Sports

Your Role

Gensler's Seattle office is seeking Practice Area Leader to strengthen our architectural expertise and client relationship base in our Sports Practice Area .

This role is a project leader, strategy creator, design thinker, client advocate, and relationship steward. You must love to push new ideas, be passionate about design, and get excited about managing diverse projects with extremely talented creatives and exciting clients from across all industry segments.

As a market-facing practitioner with deep knowledge and experience, you will join the team to build our book of business in the Sports market sector through thought leadership and cultivating strategic relationships.

You are adept at business development while also taking on a leadership role on projects. Working collaboratively within the region and Gensler network, you will help shape how we get the work, lead the dialogue on design innovation, and help mentor the next generation of design professionals.

This is an excellent opportunity for a practice builder with a diverse portfolio of work to be part of a client-interfacing team and enjoy utilizing business development skills and acumen to capture clients and to deliver great projects!

For more information about Gensler and our Sports Practice, please visit :

What You Will Do

Responsible for building and leading the NW Region Sports Practice Area

Coordinate client management and the development of new business in the Sports Practice Area

Be in the market, actively engaged with clients and potential clients

Develop, communicate, and act on a practice area game plan which includes market positioning, revenue projections, and managing marketing spend, while maintaining a backlog of work and a pipeline of market opportunities

Build relationships with our colleagues across the globe and especially in the North West region to advance client interests and practice area objectives

Mentor, support, and direct staff to help them achieve not only client goals but personal development goals

Lead accounts and projects from business development presentations through strategy, design, and delivery

Lead and build project teams, ensuring the highest quality of work

Motivate, inspire and push thinking of design teams

Create coherent and compelling client presentations

Apply sustainable planning and design principles

Interface with multiple other Gensler practices, including but not limited to retail, mixed use, hospitality, community, workplace, and education

Manage multiple client relationships and develop strategic positioning for clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies

Lead client presentations to executive-level audiences

Initiate and close business development opportunities

Be accountable for client and project performance metrics

Your Qualifications

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Architecture preferred

At least 15+ years in an architectural practice with demonstrated success on large complex architectural projects (sports facilities, convention centers, recreation centers)

Licensed and / or registered Architect preferred

LEED accreditation preferred

Proficiency in Revit, MS Office, Adobe Creative Suite (Rhino and Sketchup is preferred but not required)

Strategic thinking and ability to position clients with strong rational and conceptual thinking

Business development experience, including proposal writing, client interviews and closing deals

Extensive experience leading design teams

Excellent storytelling and writing capabilities; analytical, problem-solving and communication skills

History of excellent client relationships

Project management skills including scheduling, scopes and fees, team management and coordination, client communication

Able to travel to other Gensler offices or client project locations as required

Great references and a top-notch personal portfolio of work

The base salary will be estimated between $130,000 - $190,000 plus bonuses and benefits and contingent on relevant experience.*

For consideration, please submit resume and relevant work samples.

Life at Gensler

At Gensler, we are as committed to enjoying life as we are to delivering best-in-class design. From curated art exhibits to internal design competitions to Well-being Week, our offices reflect our people’s diverse interests.

We encourage every person at Gensler to lead a healthy and balanced life. Our comprehensive benefits include medical, dental, vision, disability, wellness programs, flex spending, paid holidays, and paid time off.

We also offer a 401(k), profit sharing, employee stock ownership, and twice annual bonus opportunities. Our annual base salary range has been established based on local markets.

As part of the firm’s commitment to licensure and professional development, Gensler offers reimbursement for certain professional licenses and associated renewals and exam fees.

In addition, we reimburse tuition for certain eligible programs or classes. We view our professional development programs as strategic investments in our future.