Senior Vice President, Design & Construction (Washington)

Senior Vice President, Design& Construction

Company Overview

DiamondRock Hospitality Company (“DRHC”) is a Washington, DC area based self-advised REIT that owns a high-quality, geographically diversified portfolio of 34 premium hotels and resorts comprising approximately 9,400 rooms across premier gateway and destination markets in the United States. The portfolio is strategically focused on unique lifestyle properties, luxury resorts, and assets affiliated with leading global hospitality brands.

The Company’s strategy centers on disciplined capital allocation, active asset management, and maintaining a strong balance sheet to drive long-term shareholder value through sustainable dividends and capital appreciation. Since 2010, DRHC has transformed its portfolio through nearly $3 billion of acquisitions and over $1 billion of dispositions, increasing its focus on high-growth leisure and lifestyle destinations such as Sedona, Lake Tahoe, Sonoma, Key West, and Charleston.

Today, more than 60% of the portfolio is comprised of leisure-oriented destination resorts and urban lifestyle hotels, with approximately 95% of properties independently managed, providing enhanced operational flexibility and opportunities for value creation. DRHC is positioned to benefit from continued demand for experiential travel while maintaining a disciplined approach to investment and portfolio management.

Position Overview

Reporting to the President, the Senior Vice President of Design & Construction (“SVP D&C”) serves in a strategic leadership role critical to preserving and enhancing asset value across the Company’s portfolio. Collaborating with other senior leaders across asset management, finance, and operations, the SVP D&C is responsible for leading all aspects of capital improvement, renovations, and repositioning/property transformation initiatives across the Company’s operating portfolio.

This leadership role will oversee design budgeting, scheduling, procurement, construction execution, and project delivery while ensuring projects align with brand standards, operational goals, guest experience/expectations, while meeting and/or exceeding investment objectives.

Key Responsibilities & Duties

Leadership & Strategy

• Lead and oversee the company’s design, construction, renovation, and capital project functions across the hotel portfolio.
• Collaborate with senior leadership team in developing and executing annualized and multi-year capital improvement strategies aligned with ownership/asset management objectives.
• Establish department standards, project controls, reporting systems, and construction governance processes.
• Build and mentor high-performing internal project management and construction teams.
• Drive innovation in project delivery, sustainability initiatives, construction technology, and cost management practices.

Design & Construction Execution/Oversight

• Oversee selection, hiring, and oversight of all general contractors, subcontractors, owner’s representatives, architects, engineers, and procurement firms.
• By ensuring all projects align with brand standards, oversee all phases of hotel design including concept development, schematic design, design development, construction documentation, and FF&E coordination.
• Direct, approve and enforce architectural, interior design, engineering, and consultant deliverables (drawings, bid documents, etc.) Lead value engineering efforts while maintaining design intent and asset positioning goals.
• Meet with city officials, contractors, architects, engineers, and consultants to present the project status and anticipate issues.
• Proactively manage all project schedules, budgets, procurement, contracts, permitting, and construction administration.
• Review contractor and vendor on site activities to verify they are in contractual compliance with design specifications, schedules, and workmanship standards.

Capital Planning & Financial Oversight

• Collaborate with finance and asset management teams to provide underwriting support for ongoing and new renovation & redevelopment opportunities.
• Diligently track project financial performance, change order, and ROI metrics. Prepare and interpret project budgets, cash flow forecasts, contingency analysis, and executive reporting packages.

Key Qualifications & Attributes

• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, architecture, interior design, engineering, or related technical concentration. Master’s degree/graduate degree preferred.
• Minimum of 15 years of design & construction leadership experience within the commercial real estate industry. Strong preference for current/prior experience within an owner/operator, developer, or owner’s rep firms.
• Proven experience leading complicated repositioning, renovation, and/or major capital improvement projects/programs within multi-million square foot operating portfolios. Exposure to the hospitality space highly preferred.
• Proven experience managing, mentoring, and developing strong (internal) staff/teams.
• Exceptional time management/project management skills with proven experience overseeing higher volume project team environments.
• Extraordinary communication skills, both oral and written, with the ability to communicate with people at various experience levels, inside and outside of the organization. Exceptional business judgement with the ability to gain consensus and alignment among people/departments.
• Very strong business/financial acumen with deep understanding of how financial and operational metrics impact project successes.
• Must be willing to relocate to the Washington, DC area.