Strategist - Workplace - Senior

Workplace Strategy at Gensler is focused on enabling transformation – our creative and collaborative approach, supported by data and intelligence, enables impactful change and evolution of our clients’ organization, culture, and environment.

Our practice in Toronto is growing and we are looking for a talented workplace strategist to lead data-driven projects across our broad range of services including workplace research, workplace scenario development, real estate portfolio strategy and change management. We’re focused on developing holistic strategies for a wide range of influential organizations, such as major corporations, healthcare providers, cultural institutions, real estate developers, and universities. We are looking for established practitioners with an entrepreneurial spirit who will help us develop and strengthen our client relationships and evolve our practice.

Your Role

As a Strategist, you will lead teams working with a wide range of clients to develop and deliver insights and workplace recommendations (concerning workplace design, policies, technologies and operations) through your technical expertise. You will leverage client data from a range of sources to evaluate current workplace conditions and develop solutions that support our clients’ objectives. Your work will span a wide range of scales, from pilot projects that test new ideas to strategies rolled out across the globe. You’ll define and conduct research efforts, synthesize data and feedback into meaningful insights, and develop innovative future state concepts and solutions. You may also propose and build solutions for clients’ ongoing data analysis and management.

What You Will Do

On projects, as a Strategist you’ll:

• Lead and/or facilitate projects, be responsible for work product with guidance from the Project/Strategy Directors
• Develop and implement analytical methodologies for solving business problems to make portfolio or enterprise level decisions
• Develop insights from large scale data sets to determine impact on business goals, organizational culture, or performance criteria for spatial design
• Design and support working sessions with internal teams, clients, and other stakeholders
• Articulate and represent scenarios (with plans, data, feedback, relevant precedents, etc.) to illustrate a range of relevant solutions, based on the research, that meet client objectives
• Guide the development of project narratives told through presentations, reports, websites, etc.
• Provide day-to-day direction to team members, and maintain the strategic direction and expectations set for the project by the Project/Strategy Director
• Work closely with the Project/Strategy Managers to ensure project success (Strategy Managers manage day-to-day operations for projects including staffing, fee tracking and forecasting, and orchestration of client meetings)

With Clients you’ll

• Lead and/or facilitate client meetings and presentations with Project/Strategy Directors
• Focus on learning their business, culture and desired outcomes
• Share relevant precedents for context and inspiration
• Assist in building client relationships as a trusted advisor

As a business developer and thought leader you’ll

• Support the development of proposals that clearly articulate process, scope, and compensation
• Develop pitch materials with internal teams and participate in presentations

Your Qualifications

Who You Are – You’re passionate about the built environment and its impact on individuals and organizations. You

• understand how workplace design, policies, technologies and operations can impact organizational outcomes
• are experienced with workplace research methodologies and activities, and can with work with both qualitative and quantitative data
• are a clear communicator and presenter of ideas, findings and/or point of view
• are an enthusiastic collaborator and are able to work successfully with a range of other disciplines who complement your experience
• are a critical and creative thinker
• have a solution-oriented mindset
• respond proactively and thoughtfully to feedback from clients and colleagues
• can graphically visualize information and ideas, able to effectively use charts, and graphics to represent and communicate findings and complex ideas

Your background and experience

• 8+ years of relevant professional experience (as described above) post-graduation
• Undergraduate or master’s degree in architecture, interior design, environmental design, urban design, real estate, design strategy, organizational development, organizational psychology, or similar fields
• Expertise in data analysis, visualization, and management
• Experience in working with workplace performance data and survey data
• Fluency in French is a plus

To be considered, please submit portfolio and/or work samples in PDF format.

**The base salary range will be estimated between $100,000 - $115,000. Gensler’s total compensation package is multi-layered and includes a base salary, two annual bonuses paid in December and June. To learn more about our compensation philosophy and full benefits offerings, please visit Great People, Great Rewards | Gensler **

About Strategy at Gensler

Gensler’s Strategy Practice is focused on exploring and defining how space, technology, services, and policy can create great experiences and support an organizations’ best work. We use in-depth user research and data to explore and develop strategies that enable our clients to meet their business and organizational objectives. With our design teams here in New York and around the world, we conceptualize and implement creative solutions that support our client’s needs. In parallel, we help our clients manage change to ensure new ideas take root, and to build capability that sustains.

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, our offices reflect our people’s diverse interests.

Perks: We encourage our employees to lead a healthy and balanced life. Our comprehensive benefits include medical, dental, vision, wellness programs, paid holidays and paid time off. We also offer contributions to the RRSP and twice annual bonus opportunities.

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.