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Head of Design Operations

Madison Taylor Design

Company Overview

Madison Taylor Design is a leading multidisciplinary design firm providing architectural, landscape architecture, interior design, furniture & decorating, project management, and construction services for clients in the residential, commercial, and hospitality sectors. Our mission is to deliver high-end design solutions that blend inspiration from nature with modern and sustainable materials.

At the heart of Madison Taylor Design is our people and the experience we create together. Our core values are the backbone of how we work, lead, collaborate, and make decisions — we believe exceptional work comes from exceptional teams, built on strong culture, clear expectations, trust, and accountability. As we grow, protecting that culture is just as important as building better systems, which is why we are implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS®) across the organization to create greater clarity, accountability, and alignment as we scale.

We are seeking a senior operational leader who understands that great operations are ultimately about enabling great people to do their best work — someone who can help us build the operating structure of our multidisciplinary Design Department without losing the creativity, collaboration, and culture that define us.

Summary

We are seeking a Head of Design Operations to lead the operational performance and capacity planning of a team of approximately 15–20 professionals across Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interior Design, and Furniture & Decorating — roughly half of Madison Taylor Design's overall team of 40 people.

This is not a traditional Project Manager, Studio Manager, or construction management role. This is a senior leadership position responsible for ensuring we have the right people, with the right capacity, allocated to the right work at the right time, while improving how our multidisciplinary design teams operate, perform, collaborate, and scale.

The successful candidate will take ownership of resource and capacity planning, utilization, team performance, project efficiency, operational systems, accountability, technology integration, and continuous improvement across the Design Department.

Year one of this role is a build-out year — establishing the capacity planning tools, Scorecards, Measurables, and Core Processes that will govern how the department operates going forward. Many processes are currently in place; others need to be improved, integrated, or built. Creating reliable visibility into both current and future capacity will be one of the key priorities of the role. Building this structure is part of the job.

Reports to: Integrator (the company's senior operating leader)
Location: Midhurst, ON — on-site with hybrid flexibility
Employment Type: Full-time
Compensation: $100,000–$110,000 base annually, commensurate with experience, plus eligibility for up to an additional $20,000 in performance-based bonus — tied to departmental build milestones in Year 1, and to established Measurables, Rocks, and business outcomes from Year 2 onward. Total compensation potential up to $130,000.
Application Deadline: Hiring Now — applications reviewed on a rolling basis

• Own Design Department capacity and resource planning across Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interior Design, and Furniture & Decorating, maintaining clear visibility into current workloads, available capacity, project demands, and upcoming resource requirements.
• Develop forward-looking capacity forecasts that connect the project pipeline, active project schedules, anticipated project phases, staffing availability, and utilization to identify resource gaps, bottlenecks, and excess capacity before they affect project delivery.
• Work with discipline leads to allocate and rebalance resources across projects, helping ensure workloads are sustainable, deadlines are achievable, and team capacity is being used effectively.
• Provide leadership with the data and recommendations needed to make proactive decisions around project timing, staffing, hiring, workload distribution, and future team structure.
• Establish and monitor Scorecards and Measurables for capacity, utilization, project performance, workload, and departmental efficiency, creating clear visibility into both current performance and future demand.
• Improve visibility into project health — schedules, milestones, fee performance, resource requirements, and profitability indicators — and work with discipline leads to solve recurring bottlenecks at their root.
• Lead the operational performance of the Design Department (~15–20 professionals), helping establish clear expectations, accountability, and consistency across disciplines.
• Support the implementation of EOS®, including Rocks, Scorecards, Measurables, Issues, Core Processes, Accountability, and Level 10 Meetings.
• Develop, document, and continuously improve Core Processes, workflows, and handoffs between disciplines.
• Lead the implementation and optimization of project management, resource planning, dashboard, and reporting tools, and drive team adoption through training and accountability.
• Evaluate opportunities to use AI and automation (including platforms like ChatGPT and Claude) to reduce administrative work, improve forecasting, and strengthen reporting.
• Provide leadership with clear operational data to support decision-making, while supporting — not managing — the creative process.
• Help identify future roles and operational infrastructure needed as the department grows.

What You Bring

• 15+ years of progressive experience in operations, project management, professional services, AEC, architecture, engineering, design, consulting, construction, or another complex project-based environment preferred.
• Demonstrated experience owning resource and capacity planning for a multi-person, project-based team, including forecasting future demand and identifying staffing or workload constraints.
• Strong understanding of capacity management, resource allocation, utilization, workload forecasting, project scheduling, project performance, operational KPIs, and project economics.
• Demonstrated experience building — not just administering — operational systems and processes for a professional team.
• Experience translating a project pipeline and active workload into practical staffing and resource plans is strongly preferred.
• Experience implementing or significantly improving project management, ERP, CRM, resource planning, or similar business systems — with platforms such as Asana, Monday.com, Smartsheet, MS Project, HubSpot, or comparable tools.
• Experience creating and using dashboards, Scorecards, KPIs, and management reporting to support resource and operational decision-making.
• Experience with EOS® is a significant asset; experience operating within another structured business operating system is also valuable.
• Experience within architecture, engineering, interior design, landscape architecture, construction, or professional services is an asset, but business and operational leadership experience is equally important.
• Strong understanding of design project workflows and deliverables (Concept, DD, CDs, etc.) is an asset.
• Demonstrated interest in and understanding of AI, automation, systems integration, and emerging technology.
• Comfortable operating in an environment where some systems are established while others still need to be created.
• PMP or other relevant project management or operational credentials are an asset but not required.

Why Join Us?

• Take on a senior leadership role shaping how a growing, 40-person multidisciplinary design firm operates.
• Help build the operational infrastructure — Scorecards, Core Processes, EOS® — that supports our next stage of growth.
• Lead technology and AI integration across the department's day-to-day work.
• Work across a wide variety of high-end residential, commercial, and hospitality projects.
• Competitive base salary, performance bonus opportunity, and benefits package.

To Apply

Please submit your resume and a brief cover letter to lindsey@madisontaylordesign.com outlining your interest and, specifically, an example of an operational system, team, or organization you have helped build or materially improve.

This posting is for an existing vacancy that Madison Taylor Design is actively seeking to fill.

Madison Taylor Design does not use artificial intelligence to screen, assess, or select applicants for this position.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: $100,000.00-$130,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental care
• Extended health care
• Life insurance

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Midhurst, ON: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Experience:

• Project Management: 5 years (required)

Language:

• English (required)

Work Location: In person