Architect / Interior Designer

Job description

**Key Responsibilities** **1. Retail Design & Brand Experience** - Drive the design and execution of new stores, galleries, and retail touchpoints in partnership with the Retail Network Development team. - Ensure all stores consistently reflect Zoya's luxury brand identity, design philosophy, and customer experience standards. - Translate brand strategy into physical retail environments that enhance customer engagement and brand perception. - Recommend and implement design improvements to elevate the overall look, feel, ambience, and experience across stores. **2. Store Interior Management & Maintenance** - Own the upkeep and refresh of store interiors, fixtures, furnishings, signage, finishes, lighting, carpets, and other aesthetic elements. - Identify wear-and-tear issues and recommend suitable design interventions aligned with brand standards. - Define specifications related to materials, textures, colours, finishes, and detailing while coordinating implementation through RND and vendor partners. - Conduct periodic store audits to ensure consistency and quality of execution across the network. **3. Project Management & Store Rollouts** - Lead end-to-end execution of retail design projects including store launches, refurbishments, upgrades, branding changes, and special initiatives. - Coordinate with cross-functional stakeholders to ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and as per approved design intent. - Manage project timelines, approvals, artwork development, material selection, fabrication, installation, and execution. - Ensure seamless implementation of branding elements such as logos, signage, fixtures, and experiential design components. **4. Event & Experiential Design** - Conceptualize and execute luxury brand experiences across store launches, media events, customer engagement events, private previews, trunk shows, and curated dinners. - Design customer journeys and event environments that create memorable and differentiated experiences. - Oversee event aesthetics including layouts, visual elements, branding, dcor, installations, and experiential touchpoints. - Ensure all events are aligned with Zoya's premium positioning and storytelling. **5. Trunk Show & Gallery Experience Management** - Plan and execute design and experience requirements for trunk shows and temporary retail formats. - Define layouts, fixture requirements, display standards, and customer flow to optimize experience and product presentation. - Ensure all event and display assets are maintained and deployed effectively. - Travel regularly to oversee setup, execution, and quality standards. **6. Vendor & Partner Management** - Build and manage relationships with architects, design agencies, fabricators, fixture vendors, signage partners, and material suppliers. - Evaluate and source innovative materials, finishes, fixtures, and design solutions suitable for luxury retail environments. - Conduct vendor visits and quality reviews to ensure adherence to design specifications and quality standards. - Drive cost optimization without compromising the luxury experience. **7. Innovation & Design Excellence** - Stay abreast of global luxury retail, hospitality, and experiential design trends. - Continuously identify opportunities to enhance store aesthetics, customer engagement, and experiential elements. - Introduce innovative materials, finishes, technologies, and design concepts that strengthen the Zoya brand experience. - Act as the custodian of Zoya's retail design language and ensure consistency across all physical touchpoints. **Key Stakeholders** **Internal** - Retail Team - Retail Network Development (RND) - Marketing - Brand Team - Regional Visual Merchandisers **External** - Architects & Design Consultants - Fabricators & Contractors - Event Agencies - Material & Fixture Vendors - Signage Partners **Desired Candidate Profile** **Education** - Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Interior Design, Retail Design, Architecture, Spatial Design, Visual Merchandising, or related disciplines. **Experience** - 710 years of experience in Retail Design, Luxury Interiors, Store Design, Brand Experience, Visual Merchandising, or Experiential Design. - Prior experience with luxury retail brands, premium lifestyle brands, jewellery, fashion, hospitality, or retail design agencies is preferred. - Experience working with reputed retail design agencies such as Landor, Fitch, Dalziel & Pow, FutureBrand, DY Works, or similar organizations would be highly desirable. (as recommended by Secondary research) **Functional Competencies** - Retail & Store Design - Luxury Brand Experience Design - Interior Design & Material Knowledge - Spatial Planning - Project Management - Vendor Management - Event & Experiential Design - Budget & Cost Management - Design Development & Execution **Behavioural Competencies** - Aesthetic Sensibility - Customer Centricity - Attention to Detail - Stakeholder Management - Creative Problem Solving - Execution Excellence - Collaboration & Influence - Innovation Orientation **Travel Requirement** - Frequent travel across store locations and event venues (approximately 23 trips per month). **Technical Software:** - Sketch up Pro. 3D - Adobe Creative Cloud - Design and Illustration software - Autocad