Architecture recruitment works best when it is honest about the person, the role and the market. A strong move is not only about finding a job title that sounds right. It is about whether the experience, timing and direction actually line up.
In this Architecture Social conversation, Stephen Glands from Macdonald & Company shares the kind of market judgement that matters for senior appointments, design and development careers, and people moving outside mainstream studio design.
Listen: architecture recruitment and senior career moves
The full audio conversation covers Stephen Glands’s view of recruitment, senior appointments, strategic hires and career routes outside mainstream design.
What good recruitment advice should cover
Good advice does not dress up a weak match. It helps candidates and employers understand what is realistic, what is attractive and what might create problems later.
- The level of responsibility behind the job title.
- The sectors, clients and project stages that matter most.
- Whether the person wants design, delivery, development, client-side or leadership work.
- The salary and market context around the move.
- The evidence that proves someone can operate at the expected level.
Why senior and strategic hires are different
At senior level, hiring is rarely just a vacancy-fill exercise. The person may change client relationships, team structure, project confidence and commercial direction. That means the brief needs more thought than a generic job advert.
Career routes outside mainstream design
Stephen Glands also talks about roles that sit around architecture rather than inside a classic design studio. Design management, technical management, head of design, client-side and developer-side roles can suit people who like architecture but want to be closer to delivery, risk, business or decision-making.
More Architecture Social video context
Watch: related Architecture Social video
This Architecture Social video adds useful context before the practical guidance below.
Common mistakes
- Chasing a title without checking the actual responsibility.
- Assuming a senior move is only about salary.
- Ignoring whether the candidate wants design authorship or strategic influence.
- Writing a job brief that hides the hard parts of the role.
- Using recruitment advice that sounds polished but avoids the difficult truth.
Architecture Social view
Stephen’s recruiter view is that the useful conversation is often the honest one. Candidates need to understand where their evidence is strong, and employers need to be clear about what problem the hire is meant to solve.
Check the real hiring problem first
Before opening a senior architecture search, define the commercial and team problem behind the vacancy.
- What will this person be trusted to change?
- Which clients, sectors or teams will they influence?
- What evidence proves they can do it?
- What would make the move attractive enough for the right person?
Next step
Listen to the episode, then use Architecture Social jobs, resources or employer support depending on whether you are exploring a move, benchmarking the market or hiring into a senior role.
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