Customs Bureau
Senior Associate
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
About Customs Bureau
Customs Bureau is a design-led interiors studio creating distinctive hospitality and lifestyle experiences around the world. Our work is conceptually driven and rooted in narrative, place and brand, with a particular focus on atmosphere, materiality, custom furniture and the details that shape how a space feels. Led by Founder and Creative Director Shida Salehi, Customs Bureau works as a close-knit studio where ideas are developed collaboratively and senior designers remain deeply involved from the first sketch through to delivery.
Customs Bureau is part of the wider 7C network, giving the studio access to international resources and expertise while retaining the intimacy and creative involvement of a boutique practice.
About The Role
The role is accountable for the successful delivery of projects from concept through completion and plays an active role in supporting the growth of Customs Bureau. In addition to leading design delivery, the Senior Associate is responsible for contributing to business development efforts, including the preparation of proposals and responses to RFPs. Operating with a high degree of autonomy and sound judgement, the role leads projects with a solutions-oriented mindset, proactively identifying risks, developing options, and making clear recommendations before escalating issues to senior leadership. The Senior Associate is expected to remain composed and effective when managing demanding programmes, changing client requirements, and complex stakeholder relationships. This role bridges creative leadership, client management, team coordination, and commercial awareness while protecting and championing the Customs Bureau design ethos and standards.
Key Responsibilities
Concept:
- Lead the development of concept design and narrative in alignment with Customs Bureau’s design ethos.
- Translate client and operator ambitions into a clear design direction.
- Oversee planning, sketching, rendering, and early spatial thinking.
- Direct the selection of key reference imagery, material direction, and experiential cues.
- Guide Designers through concept development.
- Review and align concept direction with Founder and Leadership Team.
- Present concept work to clients and stakeholders with confidence and clarity.
- This role owns the concept once approved, not just reviews it.
Schematic:
- Lead schematic design development across layouts, finishes, and furniture strategy.
- Oversee sample acquisition and coordination with vendors.
- Direct the formulation of furniture and finish boards.
- Ensure consistency between concept intent and schematic output.
- Manage internal reviews and coordinate feedback across leadership.
- Maintain client communication and approvals during this phase.
Design Development:
- Lead the translation of approved design into coordinated, buildable design packages.
- Oversee Senior Designers in refining drawings, details, and specialty finishes.
- Coordinate directly with Specification Department to ensure alignment on FF&E, finishes, hardware, and fixtures.
- Manage and coordinate external consultants including lighting, MEP, structural, signage, kitchen, and specialist consultants.
- Ensure design intent is protected across all technical coordination.
- Lead design development reviews with Founder and Leadership Team.
- The Project Leader is the final internal decision maker before escalation.
- Proactively resolves coordination issues directly with the relevant internal and external teams before escalating.
- Understands the programme implications of design decisions, consultant requirements and changing client requests.
- Identifies risks early and develops practical options for resolution.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Construction Documentation:
- Oversee the development of complete and coordinated drawing packages in line with Customs Bureau standards.
- Review and guide detailed millwork, custom furniture, and specialty items.
- Ensure FF&E information is complete and ready for specification and procurement.
- Coordinate ongoing consultant input and integration.
- Manage internal quality control for design accuracy and completeness.
- Review documentation prior to leadership sign off.
Construction Administration:
- Act as primary design point of contact during construction.
- Support Project Management with budget inputs and value discussions where required.
- Review shop drawings, submittals, and samples for design compliance.
- Respond to contractor and vendor queries with clarity and authority.
- Attend site visits as required and issue design clarifications.
- Escalate critical design or scope issues to Founder when necessary.
- Resolves day to day project issues independently and escalates only critical design, contractual, commercial or scope matters when necessary.
- Maintains clear records of decisions, actions and outstanding responsibilities.
Business Development and Proposals:
- Lead and coordinate the preparation of proposals and RFP responses.
- Translate client briefs, RFP requirements, and fee structures into clear, compelling proposal content.
- Work closely with the Founder and Leadership Team on positioning, scope definition, and design narrative.
- Coordinate internal inputs including design approach, team structure, programme, and relevant experience.
- Manage proposal schedules and deadlines.
- Ensure proposals are aligned with Customs Bureau’s brand voice, visual standards, and strategic positioning.
Team Leadership and Mentorship:
- Lead and mentor Senior Designers, Designers, and Graduate Designers.
- Delegate tasks clearly and manage workload across the project team.
- Review team output for design quality, technical rigor, and consistency.
- Foster a culture of accountability, curiosity, and design excellence.
- Support talent development and performance feedback in collaboration with leadership.
Client and Consultant Interface:
- Build trusted relationships with clients, operators, and consultants.
- Lead design presentations, workshops, and coordination meetings.
- Manage expectations while protecting the Customs Bureau design position.
- Navigate feedback with strategic judgment rather than reactive changes.
Project Leadership and Management:
- Takes ownership of the day-to-day leadership and progression of assigned projects.
- Establishes clear priorities, responsibilities, milestones and deliverables across the project team.
- Anticipates potential problems and acts before they become critical.
- Manages competing deadlines and changing requirements without losing sight of overall project priorities.
- Approaches project challenges by investigating the issue, identifying options and recommending a course of action.
- Recognises when additional client requests or programme changes may require revised scope, fee, resources or timing and raises these proactively.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Team Leadership and Mentorship:
- Gives clear direction and creates clarity around decisions, responsibilities and next actions.
- Delegates effectively without transferring uncertainty upward through the team.
Client and Consultant Interface:
- Communicates complex project matters clearly and concisely, ensuring stakeholders understand decisions, dependencies, risks and next actions.
- Remains professional and solutions focused when working with direct, demanding or challenging stakeholders.
- Knows when to accommodate, when to challenge and when to escalate.
About You
We are looking for an exceptional Senior Associate to join our London studio. The role is suited to a confident and experienced design leader with a strong point of view, a sophisticated understanding of luxury hospitality, and the judgement and technical ability to lead complex projects from concept through completion.
We Are Looking For:
- Bachelor’s degree or international equivalent in Interior Design, Architecture, or related design field.
- 10+ years post graduate professional experience.
- Proven experience leading hospitality or complex interior projects.
- Excellent project leadership, organisation and prioritisation skill.
- Strong commercial awareness and an understanding of the relationship between scope, programme, resources and fee.
- Ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy and sound judgement.
- Ability to remain composed and make clear decisions under pressure.
- A solutions-oriented approach to problems, with the ability to develop options and make clear recommendations.
- Excellent written communication, with the ability to structure complex information clearly and concisely.
- Strong understanding of full project lifecycle from concept to site.
- High proficiency in Revit, AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, Rhino, SketchUp, and hand sketching.
- Strong verbal, written, and presentation skills.
- Demonstrated leadership capability and client facing confidence.
Life at Customs Bureau
Customs Bureau combines the intimacy and creative involvement of a boutique design studio with access to the resources and global reach of the wider 7C network. Our team works closely together, and designers are given genuine exposure to clients, collaborators and projects across international hospitality and lifestyle markets. Benefits include private healthcare and dental cover, pension, discretionary bonus, professional development and flexible working options.
How to Apply
Please send your resume with a link to your portfolio via this LinkedIn job post. Applications will be treated in the strictest confidence. We do not accept unsolicited resumes or names from agencies. Mandatory requirement: It is an essential requirement that at the time of applying for this position applicants must have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location