Vice President of Interior Design

Why this role exists

The Vice President of Interior Design exists to define, elevate, and operationalize Blue Heron’s interior design vision across both architectural interiors and furnishings. This role ensures that design intent is not only conceptually exceptional but also executed with precision, consistency, and scalability across every project.

Equally, this role is accountable for building a best-in-class furnishings platform that enhances the client experience, drives incremental revenue, and reinforces Blue Heron’s position as a fully integrated, design-led firm. The VP ensures that interior design is not a downstream service, but a central driver of value, differentiation, and brand identity.

Core Accountabilities

Design Leadership & Creative Direction

• Establish and continuously refine Blue Heron’s interior design philosophy, standards, and visual language
• Ensure cohesive integration between architecture, interiors, and furnishings across all projects
• Lead concept development on flagship and high-visibility projects
• Uphold design integrity from concept through installation

Furnishings Business Leadership

• Build, scale, and lead a high-performing furnishings (FF&E) division
• Develop a curated product and vendor ecosystem aligned with Blue Heron’s design standards
• Own pricing strategy, margin performance, and revenue growth for furnishings
• Establish standardized processes for selection, procurement, tracking, and installation

Operational Integration

• Integrate interior design workflows into the broader design-build process
• Partner with Procurement and Construction to ensure feasibility, budget alignment, and execution accuracy
• Drive early involvement of interior design in project lifecycle to maximize impact
• Eliminate silos between architecture, interiors, and field execution

Team Leadership & Development

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing interior design and furnishings team
• Define clear roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations
• Develop design talent capable of operating at a luxury, client-facing level
• Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement

Client Experience & Brand Elevation

• Elevate the interior design client journey from inspiration through final install
• Ensure furnishings enhances emotional connection, not just aesthetic completion
• Participate in key client presentations and milestone decisions
• Reinforce Blue Heron’s brand as design-led, highly curated, and execution-driven

What Success Looks Like

• Interior design is consistently recognized as a defining differentiator of the Blue Heron product
• Furnishings operates as a profitable, scalable business with strong client adoption
• Projects demonstrate seamless integration between architecture, interiors, and construction
• Design intent is preserved through execution with minimal compromise
• The interior design team operates with clarity, accountability, and high performance
• Clients experience a cohesive, elevated journey from concept through final installation
• Vendor and product ecosystem reflects a curated, world-class standard

Who This Role Serves & Sets Up for Success

Primary Stakeholders

• Architecture 
• Construction & Project Management
• Procurement & Purchasing
• Sales & Client Experience Teams
• Executive Leadership

What “Setting Others Up for Success” Means

• Providing clear, buildable design direction that reduces rework and ambiguity
• Aligning selections with budget, schedule, and constructability constraints
• Ensuring Procurement has vetted, standardized, and accessible product pipelines
• Enabling Construction teams to execute interiors without interpretation gaps
• Equipping Sales with a compelling, differentiated design narrative
• Creating systems that allow teams to move faster without sacrificing quality

How Performance Is Measured

• Primary: Client NPS, schedule adherence, margin, furnishings revenue
• Design quality and consistency across completed projects
• Reduction in design-related change orders and field conflicts
• Client adoption rates for furnishings
• Project alignment between design intent and final execution
• Team performance, retention, and development
• Efficiency and scalability of FF&E processes and operations

Capabilities Required

Technical & Functional Acumen

• Deep expertise in luxury residential interior design and FF&E
• Strong understanding of materials, detailing, and constructability
• Experience building or scaling a furnishings or procurement-driven business 
• Proficiency in design documentation, specifications, and vendor management

Business & Integration Mindset

• Ability to operate at both creative and operational levels
• Strong financial acumen, including margin management and revenue modeling
• Systems thinker who can integrate design into broader business processes
• Experience working within or alongside design-build environments

Communication & Leadership

• Executive-level communication and presentation skills
• Ability to influence cross-functional partners and drive alignment
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to inspire and hold teams accountable
• Skilled in client-facing interactions at a luxury level

Character & Professionalism

• High ownership mentality with a bias toward action
• Commitment to excellence and continuous improvement
• Disciplined decision-making grounded in both design and business impact
• Integrity in representing the brand, clients, and internal teams

How The Individual Shows Up (Blue Heron Expectations)

• Design-Led Thinking – Champion design as a strategic driver, not a downstream function
• Accountability Without Excuse – Own outcomes fully, from concept through execution
• Integration Over Silos – Proactively connect teams, decisions, and workflows
• Client-Centric Mindset – Prioritize experience, not just deliverables
• Operational Discipline – Build systems that scale excellence, not chaos
• Continuous Elevation – Push the standard forward in both design and execution