Architecture, Engineering, Design, Construction, Consulting

Client Leader, Sports

Overland Park, KSOnsiteFull TimePosted 9 days agoVisa sponsorship available

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Required skills

Sports Client Leader
Kansas City studio
business development
client relationships
contract negotiations
project manager
financial success
project lifecycle
client contact
collaborative

Nice to have

Professional licensure

Role summary

DLR Group's Sports team is seeking a Sports Client Leader in Kansas City. This role involves business development, managing client relationships, and leading contract negotiations for sports facility design projects. The Client Leader will educate clients on the design process, collaborate with project managers on financial success, and maintain client contact throughout the project lifecycle. Responsibilities include managing project execution, tracking milestones, facilitating meetings, supporting business development, and overseeing invoicing. A Bachelor's degree in Architecture (professional licensure preferred) and at least 10 years of AEC industry experience, including 5 years in a client-facing role for Professional Sports projects, are required. Strong understanding of business management, customer service, design techniques, and construction methods is essential.

DLR Group is an integrated design firm with a promise to elevate the human experience through design. This fuels the work we do around the world and inspires our mission to improve the lives of our clients, our communities, and our planet. If this sparks your interest, you’re in the right place.

DLR Group's Sports team is seeking a Sports Client Leader in our Kansas City studio.

About Sports at DLR Group

The DLR Group Sports practice designs facilities that inspire athletes, engage fans, and strengthen communities. Our teams create environments where performance, culture, and experience come together—spaces that attract top talent, energize programs, and celebrate the spirit of competition. As part of the Sports Studio, you’ll collaborate with passionate designers and clients to shape venues that elevate every athlete, coach, and fan to a championship level.

Position Summary

As a Client Leader, you will play a key role in business development, managing client relationships and leading contract negotiations. You will educate clients on our design process while collaborating with the project manager to ensure the financial success of each project. Throughout the project lifecycle, you will maintain consistent client contact, foster a collaborative and innovative work environment, and ensure that both client and DLR Group goals are met.

What you will do:

Manage project execution, ensuring alignment with budget, schedule, and scope while maintaining client expectations

Collaborate with the Project Manager on staffing, responsibilities, and performance feedback for project team members

Track project milestones and deliverables, ensuring adherence to quality standards and preparing regular status reports

Facilitate and document meetings with staff and clients, coordinating project personnel, vendors, and consultants

Participate in client contract negotiations, manage change requests, and approve project plan modifications

Support business development initiatives by contributing to RFP responses and participating in client interviews

Oversee project invoicing, ensuring accuracy and alignment with work deliverables, and manage account receivables

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Architecture (Professional licensure preferred)

At least 10 years of professional experience in the AEC industry, inclusive of at least 5 years in a client-facing role leading Professional Sports projects

Strong understanding of business management principles, including strategic planning, resource allocation, and leadership

Knowledge of customer service principles, including needs assessment, quality standards, and customer satisfaction

Expertise in design techniques and tools for producing technical plans, drawings, and models

Familiarity with building methods, materials, and systems for construction and renovation projects

Strong critical thinking, time management, and communication skills, both verbal and written

Ability to actively listen, understand others' perspectives, and respond thoughtfully in conversations

*TO BE CONSIDERED, PLEASE SUBMIT CURRENT PORTFOLIO/WORK SAMPLES IN PDF FORMAT*

#LI-DNI

DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new builds, renovations, and adaptive reuse projects.

We are 100% employee-owned: every employee is literally invested in our clients’ success. At the core of our firm are interdisciplinary teams engaged in every step of project lifecycles. Our teams champion true collaboration, open information sharing, shared risk and reward, value-based decision making, and proficient use of technology to deliver exceptional design. We are pursuing the goals of the 2030 Challenge, the ME2040, and the SE2050, and are an initial signatory of the China Accord and the AIA 2030 Commitment.

Through our values – commitment, creativity, environmental stewardship, fun, integrity, ownership, sharing, teamwork – we elevate the human experience through design, together.DLR Group follows a four-day in-office work model, with employees having the flexibility to work somewhere other than the office on Fridays.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/M/F/Veteran/Disabled employer.

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Client Leader, Sports

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Required skills

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