Our client is a premier international real estate developer and integrated construction-led group. We are seeking a Chief Design Officer (CDO) to serve as a cornerstone of the Group's executive leadership team. Based in Cyprus, this is a high-impact, strategic role designed for a visionary leader who can bridge the gap between world-class design ambition and commercial delivery.
The CDO will hold functional authority over the entire design and planning organization, ensuring that the Group's "Product Identity" remains uncompromised from the first concept sketch to final handover.
Strategic Collaboration
As a key member of the Group ExCo, the CDO works in a high-level collaborative ecosystem:
- Ownership & MD: Aligning design vision with the Group's long-term legacy and investment goals.
- Construction CEO: Ensuring designs are buildable, cost-aware, and aligned with execution strategies.
- Group CFO: Managing design budgets, consultant performance, and high-level value engineering.
- Sales & Marketing: Ensuring product differentiation, market alignment, and an elite end-user experience.
Key Responsibilities
Product Vision & Market Alignment
- Define and safeguard the Product Identity for each development in the portfolio.
- Ensure design decisions are intrinsically linked to target market positioning, branding, and sales strategy.
- Collaborate with Sales and Marketing on unit mix, layouts, and amenities to ensure market-leading differentiation.
Design Governance & Concept Leadership
- Act as the final internal authority on all key design, layout, and product decisions.
- Establish and enforce design governance frameworks, including clear approval gates and decision-making protocols.
- Oversee the evolution of projects from early concept through to "Issued-for-Construction" (IFC) documentation.
Technical Design & BIM Strategy
- Lead the BIM strategy to ensure effective multidisciplinary coordination and seamless information flow.
- Ensure total synchronization between architecture, structural engineering, MEP, interiors, and landscape.
- Oversee the planning management organization to navigate complex jurisdictional requirements.
Construction Integration & Value Engineering
- Foster a close partnership with construction leadership to champion "Design for Manufacture and Assembly" (DfMA) where applicable.
- Lead senior-level value engineering sessions, ensuring cost-efficiencies are found without diluting the core design intent or luxury quality.
Consultant & Team Management
- Structure and lead a high-performing internal design organization.
- Direct the appointment, performance management, and evaluation of external specialist consultants, ranging from local partners to world-renowned international firms.
Candidate Profile
The successful candidate will be a heavyweight design leader with a "Developer Mindset"-someone who views design through the lens of commercial outcome and project lifecycle.
- Experience: Proven track record as a CDO, Design Director, or equivalent within a major real estate developer or an integrated construction-led firm.
- Sector Expertise: Deep experience across Ultra luxury residential, Resorts, High - Rise and hospitality developments.
- Technical Mastery: Strong background in concept design, interior design coordination, and BIM-led environments.
- With a degree in Architecture or Interior Design from a reputable university
- Lifecycle Knowledge: A comprehensive understanding of the full development lifecycle, from initial land acquisition/planning through to construction and handover.
- Regional Reach: Experience in international or multi-jurisdictional projects (experience with Italian and Cypriot markets is a significant advantage).
Leadership Style & Cultural Fit
- System-Oriented: We are looking for a leader with a long-term organizational mindset rather than a purely project-centric approach.
- Balanced Authority: You must be comfortable balancing high design ambition with the practicalities of cost and constructability.
- Collaborative & Structured: A delivery-oriented leader who can command a room of consultants while maintaining a collaborative relationship with the CFO and Construction CEO.
Location & Travel
This role is based in Cyprus and requires consistent on-the-ground leadership. The CDO will be expected to travel regularly to engage with international partners and oversee projects within the Italian portfolio.
How to Apply
If you are a strategic design leader ready to define the skyline of the Mediterranean and beyond, please submit your CV
