Director, Interior Design - EMEA

Job description

About Four Seasons: Four Seasons is powered by our people. We are a collective of individuals who crave to become better, to push ourselves to new heights and to treat each other as we wish to be treated in return. Our team members around the world create amazing experiences for our guests, residents, and partners through a commitment to luxury with genuine heart. We know that the best way to enable our people to deliver these exceptional guest experiences is through a world-class employee experience and company culture. At Four Seasons, we believe in recognizing a familiar face, welcoming a new one and treating everyone we meet the way we would want to be treated ourselves. Whether you work with us, stay with us, live with us or discover with us, we believe our purpose is to create impressions that will stay with you for a lifetime. It comes from our belief that life is richer when we truly connect to the people and the world around us. About the location: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is a global, luxury hotel management company. We manage over 130 hotels and resorts and 50 private residences in 47 countries around the world and growing. Central to Four Seasons employee experience and social impact programming is the company’s commitment to supporting cancer research, and the advancement of diversity, inclusion, equality and belonging at Four Seasons corporate offices and properties worldwide. At Four Seasons, we are powered by people and our culture enables everything we do. Director, Interior Design – EMEA The Director, Interior Design – EMEA is responsible for the oversight, coordination, and design leadership of interior design workstreams for new build, renovation, conversion, and repositioning projects across Europe, with support to adjacent regional priorities as required. The role safeguards the Four Seasons design vision and brand standards while ensuring each project delivers exceptional guest experience, luxury, operational functionality, craftsmanship, maintainability, and long-term asset value. Working closely with Owners, Developers, Consultants, Property Leadership, Project Managers, and internal Four Seasons stakeholders, the Director will lead/support design reviews from concept through construction documentation, implementation, pre- and post-opening. The role requires strong design judgment, hospitality planning expertise, technical review capability, commercial awareness, and the diplomacy to influence multidisciplinary teams in complex, international project environments. The Director will bring a sophisticated understanding of luxury hospitality, interior design, FF+E, art, detailing, local context, and sense of place, ensuring that each project feels distinctive, culturally relevant, operationally sound, and unmistakably Four Seasons. What You’ll Be Doing: Design Leadership + Brand Stewardship Serve as Design Services Interior Design lead for assigned EMEA projects, ensuring the design vision aligns with Four Seasons brand standards, design briefs, guest experience expectations, operational requirements, and Owner objectives. Champion design quality, spatial logic, intuitive guest flow, craft, detailing, art integration, FF+E quality, and consistency of the Four Seasons experience across guest-facing and employee-facing spaces. Ensure each project balances luxury, local relevance, operational efficiency, maintainability, sustainability, and accessibility. Deliver projects that are distinctive, relevant to their market and culture, operationally sound, and at a level of refinement expected of Four Seasons. Project Coordination Lead/support new build, renovation, conversion, and adaptive reuse projects, including development of design briefs, master vision documents, renovation scope documents, property transition plans, opening look books, and design review presentations. Coordinate interior design activities across the full lifecycle, including concept design, schematic design, design development, construction documentation, specifications, mock-ups, site reviews, pre-, and post-opening support. Assess project needs and confer with Senior Director, Interior Design, to build a team of Designers to recommend to Owners. Write Design Brief; assemble necessary background information, undertake research, and compose a Design Brief with Senior Director oversight to guide the team. Review drawings, specifications, design packages, finish schedules, FF+E specifications, sample submissions, mock-ups, and shop drawings for quality, completeness, durability, operational fit, and alignment with approved design intent. Identify, escalate, and help resolve design conflicts, detailing concerns, etc., in a timely manner. Stakeholder Management Act as a trusted liaison for the Interior Design discipline amongst Owners, Owner representatives, Developers, Consultants, Property teams, regional stakeholders, and Four Seasons leadership. Represent Design Services in design reviews, workshops, site visits, executive presentations, and project steering meetings. Translate design issues into clear recommendations for senior leaders and non-technical stakeholders. Provide clear direction to external design teams while maintaining a collaborative, diplomatic, and solutions-oriented approach. Facilitate timely decisions and alignment between Owner priorities, brand requirements, project constraints, operational needs, financial objectives, and guest experience outcomes. FF+E, Art + Technical Interior Coordination Participate in FF+E review from a Hotel Operator perspective, including furniture design, specifications, finishes, materials, decorative lighting, textiles, carpets, OS+E interfaces, durability, maintainability, and prototype reviews. Coordinate art consultant recommendations and art program development to ensure projects reflect the design brief, local culture, brand positioning, and guest journey. Partner with Design Services team members (Architecture, Engineering) and Operations stakeholders to ensure interior design decisions are technically feasible, coordinated, and service-led. Review material palettes, detailing, millwork, decorative lighting, signage, collateral, public-area styling, guestroom functionality, and operational touchpoints. Quality Assurance Establish and uphold quality benchmarks for design execution, fit and finish, material performance, detailing, durability, art installation, styling, and operational readiness. Participate in mock-up reviews, factory reviews, etc., as required. Act as an Interior Design quality gatekeeper during implementation, with authority to identify, escalate, and help resolve quality, detailing, coordination, sequencing, and brand alignment issues. Promote a culture of excellence, accountability, craftsmanship, guest-centricity, and continuous improvement. Change + Risk Management Support evaluation of design changes, value engineering proposals, substitution requests, scope adjustments, and Owner or consultant change items. Assess impacts of design decisions on guest experience, brand standards, schedule, operations, maintainability, sustainability, and asset value. Identify risks early and propose mitigation strategies related to design coordination, documentation quality, operating hotel constraints, heritage constraints, and stakeholder alignment. Internal Coordination + Reporting Prepare concise project updates, executive summaries, design review materials, risk and issue summaries, meeting notes, and leadership presentations. Maintain organized records of design direction, approvals, open items, action logs, decisions, risks, changes, and lessons learned. Keep Senior Director, Interior Design and relevant Design Services leaders closely informed of key project decisions, risks, issues, milestones, and required escalations. Department Strategic Development Contribute to the evolution of Four Seasons Design Standards, design briefs, consultant onboarding, review processes, and best-practice documentation. Assist with sourcing, evaluating, and onboarding Interior Designers, Art Consultants, and Specialty Consultants, including review of portfolios, studio capability, documentation quality, luxury hospitality experience, and ability to deliver. Conduct Designer orientations and communicate Four Seasons brand expectations, design standards, deliverables, review protocols, approval processes, and ways of working. Capture market intelligence, luxury hospitality design trends, operational learnings, and post-opening insights to strengthen future project delivery. What You Bring: Minimum 15 years of progressive experience in luxury hospitality interior design, preferably including work with Hotel Operators, Owners, Developers, and internationally recognized design firms. Minimum 3 years of Hotel Operator experience. Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design, or a related design discipline required. Minimum 4-year duration. Master’s Degree in related field beneficial. Membership in a recognized Interior Design or related association beneficial. Sustainability, wellness, accessibility, or project management credentials beneficial. Experience with luxury hotels, resorts, branded residences, restaurants and bars, spas, wellness, members' clubs, etc. Proven success reviewing and guiding design from concept through delivery, including design briefs, space planning, FF+E, art programs, materiality, lighting coordination, mock-ups, etc. Experience working in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa with international Owners, Architects, Interior Designers, Project Managers, Consultants, and Senior Executives. Familiarity with renovation, adaptive reuse, heritage, and conversion environments is strongly preferred. Demonstrated ability to lead through influence in matrixed, multicultural, and fast-paced environments while balancing brand standards, design excellence, Owner priorities, schedule, budget, and operational requirements. Strong knowledge of the interior design process, hotel planning, spatial organization, guest journey, service flow, and luxury hospitality operations. Ability to review and coordinate architectural drawings, interior design drawings, reflected ceiling plans, lighting layouts, millwork details, finish schedules, FF+E specifications, material boards, shop drawings, mock-ups, and site conditions. Excellent knowledge of FF+E, materiality, lighting, art programs, styling, durability, maintainability, sustainability, accessibility, and luxury-level detailing. Knowledge of renovation, conversion, adaptive reuse, operating hotel constraints, and European project delivery contexts. Proficiency with AutoCAD or comparable drafting tools, Bluebeam, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, PowerPoint, Excel, and collaboration or document-control platforms. Ability to prepare and review design briefs, look books, presentation decks, design review notes, action logs, open-item trackers, and executive summaries. Key Skills/Who You Are: Maintains a calm, diplomatic, and solutions-focused approach under pressure, effectively managing Owners, consultants, property stakeholders, and internal teams while safeguarding Four Seasons' interests. Demonstrates strong design judgment, curiosity, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to identify what elevates a project from good to exceptional. Self-motivated and productive, with strong critical thinking and the ability to operate independently with appropriate escalation. A collaborative team player who can lead through influence, build trust, and navigate ambiguity across matrixed international teams. Strong communication, presentation, negotiation, documentation, and conflict-management skills. Executive presence and excellent command of written and spoken English. French, Italian, or another European language is an asset. Consistent adherence to schedules, clear follow-through on deliverables, and disciplined management of priorities. Ability to assess physical product and define design scope required to reposition a property as relevant, stylish, operationally strong, and competitive in the ultra-luxury market. Ability to inspire and communicate a design vision in a clear, concise, and compelling way. Ability to work effectively with internal and external teams while balancing design excellence, brand standards, Owner objectives, budget, schedule, operations, and asset value. Strong documentation habits and disciplined follow-up. Proactive refinement of the design approach as new information, site conditions, operational learnings, or market insights emerge. Contribution to departmental initiatives, standards, consultant relationships, and continuous improvement in project delivery. Travel: 30% - anticipated travel across Europe and internationally as required for design workshops, consultant meetings, site reviews, mock-up reviews, factory visits, openings, and stakeholder presentations. This role will be a Hybrid working model, which will require 3 days per week in the Four Seasons Corporate Office Geneva #LI-Hybrid