Places Planning and Design Manager

~ At Herman Miller, our unique culture represents the collective attitudes, ideas, and experiences of the people who work here. ~

We focus on protecting the environment, impacting our communities, exceeding the expectations of our customers through high quality products, and championing diversity in all areas of the business, and together we are on a journey toward a better world. We support the well-being of our employees in and outside of work by providing a variety of opportunities including award-winning work-life integration resources, development programs, complex health and wellness offerings, and much more.

Herman Miller is a globally recognized provider of furnishings and related technologies and services. Headquartered in West Michigan, we have relied on innovative design for over 100 years to solve problems for people wherever they work, live, learn, and heal.

Position Overview

As a Places Planning and Design Manager, you'll be responsible for developing and managing the Herman Miller facility strategy, including facility improvement programs, participating in the development and design of site master plans, and prioritizing projects and people moves to support the long-term direction.

You will develop design solutions to enhance the employee and customer experience, focusing on innovation, quality, responsiveness, and financial accountability. You'll also be responsible for partnering with internal and external business partners to build, maintain, and grow a positive overall Living Office experience for our employees, visitors, and clients at the Design Yard.

Responsibilities

You'll have opportunities to speak up, solve problems, lead others, and be an owner every day as you...

• Arrange bi-annual meetings with key business leaders to understand business initiatives and impacts to people, location, facilities, and budgets.
• Assist with defining workplace strategy, master planning, life-cycle planning, sustainable design, and solution implementation for Herman Miller offices. You will focus on master planning, furniture strategy, design strategy, emerging technologies, and efficient work processes.
• Attend professional conferences or other selected means to gain workplace knowledge and define new practices of excellence.
• Balance the needs of employees in the Front Door showroom environment with non-customer facing spaces, incorporating everyone’s voice regardless of location.
• Define leading practices to improve performance of facilities, internal resources, and external service providers.
• Deliver innovative workplaces and services to continually enhance the employee experience with measurable results of customer satisfaction and defined targets for improvement.
• Ensure all workplace solutions support corporate workplace environmental and design initiatives.
• Ensure the overall business objectives and core purpose of the Design Yard and manage areas where community and culture overlap.
• Establish and manage annual facility budgets by site to deliver equity and optimal facility performance. You will prepare accurate project budgets/schedules and deliver accordingly.
• Improve performance through process re-engineering, development, and utilization of appropriate technology and/or work tools and effective communications.
• Leverage Herman Miller workplace knowledge and research to deliver leading workplace environments.
• Manage the Design Yard communities (Front Door showroom environment and non-customer facing spaces), and effectively monitor and communicate the need for added cooperation in the customer facing areas.
• Optimize shared knowledge, reduce cycle time, and measure performance using Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) and other workplace technologies.
• Provide reports, dashboards, and updates as necessary. You will also ensure the proper financial reporting of facility assets (capital and expense).
• Research and gain understanding of workplace trends and benchmarking from internal and external organizations to define corporate workplace strategy.
• Take responsibility for designing and implementing the annual Workplace Refreshment Program to deliver equity in workplace quality for all West Michigan facilities (approximately three million square feet).
• Review employee feedback and provide suggestions on how to best implement the solution.
• Share leading workplace knowledge and practices with external customers through presentations to external customers and professional organizations (e.g., IFMA, USGBC).
• Perform additional responsibilities as requested to achieve business objectives.

Qualifications

You might be just who we’re looking for if you have...

• A Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Design, Interior Design, or Facility Management.
• 10 years of experience working in a professional business environment, with 6 - 8 years of experience in an architecture, interior design, construction, or facilities management role(s).
• A solid understanding of the Herman Miller design standards and product and a good understanding of the design and workflow of all West Michigan spaces.
• Excellent leadership skills with the ability to effectively facilitate meetings.
• A demonstrated passion for customer service.
• Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and a proven ability to produce feedback and relay it appropriately.
• A proven ability to handle conflict resolution and the enforcement of policies/processes with confidence, poise, tact, and decisiveness.
• Demonstrated software knowledge of the following: Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Lotus Notes, Excel, Microsoft Project, and FM Systems (or other facilities-related programs- AutoCAD, Archibus, or FM Systems).
• The ability to perform all essential job functions of the position with or without accommodations.

Compensation: You can make a salary. Or you can make a difference. Or you can work as a Places Planning and Design Manager at Herman Miller and make both.