ORGANO
Head – Design Management | Job Description
ORGANO
Head – Design Management
Job Description
| Role Title | Head – Design Management |
| Function | Delivery |
| Reports To | Head – Delivery |
| Role Level (RBO) | Managing Business |
| SME Track | Principal SME – Design Management & Construction Integration |
| Direct Reports | Design Managers, MEP Design Manager, Landscape Design Manager, Digital Engineering & Information Manager, Technical Support Team |
| Location | Organo HQ (Hyderabad), with project site travel |
| Role Type | Full-Time, Leadership |
About Organo
Organo is an ecological real-estate and placemaking company building eco-neighbourhoods across South India. Rooted in the belief that how we build shapes how we live, Organo's projects integrate ecological design, community life, and long-term well-being across residential, commercial, healthcare, and education typologies.
The Delivery function is responsible for converting Organo's approved Product Package into buildable, compliant, and occupied ecological neighbourhoods — safeguarding design intent from handover through to Occupancy Certificate.
Role Summary
The Head of Design Management is the custodian of Product Fidelity during project delivery. The role translates the approved Product Package into a coordinated, buildable, compliant, and efficiently executable project, preserving design intent, customer experience, and the four quadrants of Product Excellence (4Q) throughout execution.
The Head of Design Management leads all design-related activities from Product Package handover through statutory approvals, detailed design, construction support, commissioning, HOTO, and Occupancy Certificate — driving First-Time-Right (FTR) execution through proactive planning, consultant leadership, risk mitigation, value engineering, digital integration, and disciplined governance.
| RBO Framework Position — Managing Business: centers on department leadership, consultant and cross-functional accountability, and ensuring the design management function delivers Product Fidelity and FTR outcomes at business scale. The role also carries a Principal SME designation, recognising deep expertise in design coordination, construction integration, and digital engineering that shapes execution standards across all active projects. |
What This Role Is Not
| This role does not own product definition or design intent creation — that sits with the Product Design Studio (PDS). The Head of Design Management is the custodian and executor of the approved Product Package, not its author. Unauthorised deviations from the approved product are not within this role's discretion; all design changes are governed through established approval mechanisms. |
- Not responsible for: original design concept, typology development, or sales narrative creation (owned by PDS).
- Not responsible for: land acquisition, project financing, or legal/statutory strategy decisions.
- Not responsible for: direct site construction execution or contractor supervision (owned by Construction/Site Delivery).
- Not responsible for: sales conversion, CRM operations, or customer relationship management.
Key Responsibilities
1. Product Inheritance & Governance
- Receive the approved Product Package from Business Development / Product Design Studio and establish it as the project baseline.
- Ensure faithful execution of the approved product without unauthorised deviations.
- Govern all design changes through established approval mechanisms.
2. Department Leadership
- Build and lead a high-performing Design Management Department across Design Managers, MEP, Landscape, and Digital Engineering & Information functions.
- Allocate resources across multiple concurrent projects.
- Develop technical capability and a culture of continuous improvement.
- Foster collaboration across Delivery, Planning, QS, Procurement, and Construction.
3. Consultant Leadership
- Identify, appoint, and manage the most suitable consultants, drawing on local and international expertise as required.
- Define consultant scopes, deliverables, review processes, and performance expectations.
- Drive consultant accountability for quality, coordination, and programme.
4. Design Coordination
- Ensure seamless integration of Architecture, Structure, MEP, Landscape, and specialist disciplines.
- Eliminate coordination issues before construction.
- Champion constructability and buildability across all projects.
5. First-Time-Right (FTR)
- Develop methodologies, reviews, and construction strategies that minimise rework in design and construction.
- Conduct buildability reviews, construction sequencing workshops, and contractor orientation programmes.
- Promote execution practices that achieve FTR.
6. Statutory Approvals
- Oversee statutory approvals through appointed liaison consultants.
- Ensure timely approvals and compliance with all applicable regulations and statutory requirements.
7. Value Engineering
- Drive value engineering initiatives that improve cost, maintainability, and constructability without compromising product intent.
- Ensure all proposals strengthen the four quadrants of Product Excellence (4Q).
8. Risk Management
- Establish proactive systems for identifying, assessing, and mitigating design and execution risks.
- Maintain oversight of project-wide design risk registers.
9. Digital Transformation
- Champion BIM, Digital Twins, AI-assisted design reviews, and data-driven project management.
- Ensure accurate digital records, as-built information, and project MIS.
10. Project Close-Out
- Lead design support through commissioning, HOTO, and Occupancy Certificate.
- Ensure lessons learned are documented and communicated to Business Development / PDS for future product evolution.
Key Performance Indicators
- Product Fidelity Index
- First-Time-Right (FTR) performance
- Authority approval timelines
- Consultant performance
- Design coordination efficiency
- Reduction in RFIs and rework
- Value engineering outcomes
- Digital Twin completeness
- HOTO readiness
- Customer experience and design quality
RBO Framework: Skills, Mindset & Competencies
As a Managing Business role with a Principal SME designation, the Head of Design Management is assessed across the following dimensions:
| SKILLS | MINDSET | COMPETENCIES |
| Construction methodology & systems thinking | Custodian mindset – protects product fidelity without ego | Cross-functional influence (Delivery, Planning, QS, Procurement, Construction) |
| Design integration & coordination | Proactive – anticipates and resolves issues before construction | Change leadership – embeds FTR and 4Q discipline in execution |
| Statutory & regulatory compliance | Accountable – owns outcomes across consultants and teams | Consultant leadership & performance management |
| Consultant & contract leadership | Detail-oriented without losing sight of product intent | Risk management under multi-project complexity |
| Value engineering & cost-quality trade-offs | Adaptable – manages multiple concurrent projects | Digital engineering & BIM/Digital Twin ownership |
| Risk identification & mitigation | Generosity in capability-building across the department | Operational excellence in design coordination |
| Digital engineering, BIM & AI-assisted review | Long-term impact thinking alongside immediate delivery | Stakeholder management across internal and external parties |
| OKR setting & outcomes accountability | | |
SME Track: Principal SME Designation
Alongside the Managing Business responsibilities, this role carries a Principal SME designation in Design Management & Construction Integration. At the Principal SME level, Organo expects:
- Strategic alignment: connecting deep design coordination and construction expertise to Organo's FTR and Product Fidelity goals across all active projects.
- Platform ownership: building FTR methodologies, buildability review processes, and digital engineering standards as scalable, teachable, and replicable systems — not just personal expertise.
- Knowledge transfer: active mentoring of the Design Management department and sharing of coordination and construction-readiness frameworks with cross-functional stakeholders.
- Industry representation: visibility through publications, presentations, or peer forums that build Organo's execution credibility externally.
- Influence through expertise: shaping decisions at the business level through the authority of construction and design-coordination knowledge, not just hierarchy.
Key Working Relationships
- Head – Delivery: for department strategy, resourcing, and priority decisions.
- Product Design Studio (PDS): to receive the approved Product Package and safeguard design intent through execution.
- Planning, QS & Procurement: to align design coordination with programme, cost, and procurement schedules.
- Construction / Site Teams: to support buildability, sequencing, and on-site design governance.
- Consultants & Sub-Consultants: to brief, appoint, review, and hold accountable for quality, coordination, and programme.
- Statutory Liaison Consultants: to oversee timely authority approvals and regulatory compliance.
- Design Management Department: to build capability, set coordination standards, and mentor Design Managers and specialist leads.
Profile: What We Are Looking For
Essential
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Architecture, Civil Engineering, or a related discipline.
- 18–25 years of experience in design management or project delivery, with proven leadership across large mixed-use, township, or residential developments.
- Strong understanding of statutory approvals, consultant management, and multidisciplinary execution.
- Demonstrated ability to lead a department of managers and specialist leads across MEP, Landscape, and Digital Engineering functions.
- Track record of driving First-Time-Right outcomes and reducing rework through proactive design coordination.
Strongly Preferred
- Familiarity with BIM, Digital Twins, AI-enabled project management, and construction technologies.
- Experience with value engineering initiatives that balance cost, maintainability, and constructability.
- Exposure to Organo's 4Q framework or an equivalent design-quality system applied at execution scale.
- Experience managing consultant ecosystems spanning local and international expertise.
Mindset Non-Negotiables
- Custodian, not author: protects and faithfully executes the approved product without diluting design intent.
- Proactive systems thinker: resolves coordination issues before they reach the construction site.
- Generous with expertise: builds departmental capability and shares FTR and coordination frameworks freely.
- Outcome-oriented: comfortable being held to OKRs, FTR metrics, and delivery timelines.
- AI-enabled by default: active daily use of digital engineering and AI-assisted review tools — not aspirational.
Growth Path at Organo
Within the RBO framework, the Head of Design Management can grow along two parallel tracks:
- Managing Enterprise: as Organo scales its project portfolio, this role can evolve into an organisation-wide Delivery leadership position responsible for execution excellence across all geographies.
- Distinguished SME: for those who wish to remain on the SME track, the Distinguished SME level offers platform ownership at an industry level — publishing, speaking, and shaping national discourse on construction integration and FTR methodology.
Growth at Organo is driven by demonstrated capability, delivered outcomes, and active development through IDP (Individual Development Plan) and OKR co-creation with the Head – Delivery.
