Interior & Furniture Design Education Lead // Tashkeel

About the role:

Department: Studio & Workshops

Working Days: Saturday–Wednesday

Weekend: Thursday & Friday
Working Hours: 8 hours per day, with flexibility according to workshops, programmes, residencies and events.

Role Overview

Tashkeel is seeking an experienced Interior & Furniture Design Education Lead to develop and lead its design education programme, from junior and introductory learning through to advanced workshops, visiting design residencies and professional mentorship.

This is a leadership, educational and practical role. The successful candidate will shape Tashkeel's annual design learning programme while building a network of designers, craftspeople, makers, educators and technical specialists who can contribute their methods and expertise. They are not expected to personally teach every workshop but must ensure the programme remains relevant, diverse, commercially viable and delivered to a high educational standard.

The role requires strong design education experience combined with practical knowledge of materials, fabrication and production. A key responsibility is working with the Design Supervisor on Tanween by Tashkeel, mentoring emerging designers from research and concept development through prototyping and final production.

Design Education & Annual Programming

• Develop and manage Tashkeel's annual design education programme, with a clear progression from junior and introductory learning to advanced and professional-level programmes. 
• Develop and manage the Tanween by Tashkeel programme, coordinating with mentors and participants, scheduling in-house studio time, mentorship sessions and critiques, and ensuring agreed milestones and final outcomes are delivered on time.
• Lead the written design content for the annual Tanween by Tashkeel catalogue, working with participants to gather the necessary research, concepts, material and production information and writing clear, accurate texts that communicate each designer's process, development and final outcome.
• Regularly review and adapt existing programmes to reflect current design practice, industry needs, materials, technologies and methods of making.
• Develop programming across interior, furniture, product, materials, craftsmanship and contemporary design practice.
  Recruit designers, craftspeople, makers, educators and technical specialists to deliver workshops, demonstrations and masterclasses throughout the year, ensuring the programme provides access to a
  diverse range of professional methods and technical skills.
• Build and maintain a strong network of UAE-based, regional and international practitioners who can contribute specialist knowledge to Tashkeel's programmes, residencies and mentorship activities.
• Teach directly where appropriate, while taking primary responsibility for curating, coordinating and maintaining the quality and relevance of the overall programme.
• Ensure educators are appropriately selected, briefed and supported, and that programmes are planned around Tashkeel's facilities, technical capabilities and available resources.

Visiting Designer Residencies

• Develop Tashkeel's design residency programme by identifying and communicating with relevant designers, craftspeople and specialist practitioners nationally and internationally.
• Create a suggested list to the Director of Tashkeel of practitioners to invite whose expertise can contribute meaningfully to Tashkeel's education, mentorship and wider design programmes.
• Develop a clear programme for each visiting designer before their arrival in Dubai, defining how their time and expertise will be utilised across workshops, mentorship, talks, critiques, demonstrations and other relevant activities.
• Work with the Admin Coordinator to organise the practical requirements of each residency, including travel, accommodation, scheduling and other arrangements related to the designer's visit.
• Ensure the complete residency schedule is confirmed and communicated before the visiting designer arrives.
• Develop workshops, masterclasses or other paid educational activities around the visiting practitioner's specialist knowledge and methods.
• Coordinate with the relevant marketing team sufficiently in advance so residency programmes and workshops are promoted before arrival, allowing adequate time to generate awareness, registrations and paid participation.
• Integrate visiting designers into Tanween by Tashkeel and other mentorship activities where their expertise can strengthen participating designers' work.
• Ensure each residency has clear educational objectives and makes effective use of the visiting practitioner's time, knowledge and presence in Dubai.
• Develop ongoing relationships with successful visiting practitioners for future programmes, collaborations and international exchange.

Workshops, Outreach & External Programmes

• Develop commercially viable workshops and educational activations for delivery at Tashkeel and off-site.
• Create programmes for art and design fairs, exhibitions, festivals, universities, cultural institutions, corporate programmes and other external platforms.
• Research relevant UAE and international design fairs, festivals, conferences and cultural programmes where Tashkeel should strategically position its educational offering.
• Maintain an annual calendar of relevant external opportunities so participation can be proposed and planned well in advance.
• Build relationships with institutions, universities, fair organisers and design platforms to expand Tashkeel's educational reach.
• Select suitable educators from Tashkeel's practitioner network including the Tanween by Tashkeel alumnae for external workshops and activations.
• Evaluate opportunities according to educational relevance, audience, visibility, revenue potential and strategic value.

Tanween by Tashkeel – Design Mentorship

• Work closely with the Design Supervisor on the planning, mentorship and development of Tanween by Tashkeel.
• Guide participating designers from research and concept development through material exploration, prototyping, technical refinement and final production.
• Establish development milestones and conduct structured critiques throughout the programme.
• Evaluate projects from conceptual, aesthetic, functional, material and production perspectives.
• Strengthen the relationship between concept, form, function, material and fabrication while ensuring designers retain authorship of their work.
• Work with and alongside the Design & Production Lead to help participants understand material behaviour, construction, production feasibility, costs and opportunities for refinement.
• Connect participants with relevant visiting designers, craftspeople, manufacturers, material experts and technical specialists where their expertise can strengthen a project.
• Work towards tangible programme outcomes, ensuring projects progress from ideas into high-quality prototypes and professionally resolved products suitable for exhibition and, where appropriate,
  commercial opportunities.

Talent Identification & Retail Opportunities

• Identify skilled and commercially promising designers and makers through Tashkeel's workshops, residencies and mentorship programmes.
• Recommend suitable designers and products to the Art and Design Consultant for evaluation and potential representation through the Shop, exhibitions, consignment, product development and other
  retail or commercial opportunities.
• Create pathways for strong participants to remain engaged with Tashkeel beyond a single workshop or programme.
• Support the development of Tashkeel's wider design ecosystem by connecting education and mentorship with professional, exhibition and commercial opportunities.

Materials, Innovation & Design Research

• Research emerging materials, fabrication techniques, craftsmanship and manufacturing developments relevant to furniture, interiors and product design.
• Explore sustainable and circular approaches including bio-materials, agricultural waste, recycled materials, plant-based alternatives, composites and innovative applications of existing materials.
• Introduce relevant material research, experimentation and specialist practitioners into workshops, residencies and mentorship programmes.
• Maintain awareness of contemporary designers, studios, manufacturers and international developments and translate relevant developments into Tashkeel's programming.
• Encourage original design thinking and critically evaluate proportion, ergonomics, materials, construction, detailing, finishes and production quality.
• Build relationships with material researchers, manufacturers, suppliers and craftspeople who can contribute specialist knowledge to Tashkeel.

Collaboration & Programme Management

• Collaborate with Tashkeel's production specialists, technicians and relevant Studio & Workshops team members.
• Coordinate programme requirements including educators, materials, equipment, fabrication and technical resources.
• Ensure programmes, residencies and workshops are planned sufficiently in advance for operational and marketing teams to prepare effectively.
• Monitor programme schedules, educator requirements, budgets and delivery against agreed plans.
• Participate in relevant critiques, presentations, exhibitions and design events.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Performance will be assessed across educational quality, programme growth, commercial performance and designer development, including:
• Revenue and appropriate margins generated through workshops, masterclasses, residencies and external educational programmes.
• Workshop registrations, capacity utilisation, repeat participation and participant satisfaction.
• Successful delivery of a balanced annual programme across junior, introductory, advanced and professional design education.
• Continuous development and adaptation of Tashkeel's existing programme to remain relevant to contemporary design practice and audience needs.
• Growth and quality of Tashkeel's network of designers, educators, craftspeople, makers and technical specialists. 
• Successful planning and delivery of visiting design residencies, with schedules, educational activities and marketing completed before each practitioner's arrival.
• Strong participation and revenue performance for workshops and programmes developed around visiting designers.
• Quality and timely progression of Tanween by Tashkeel projects from concept and prototype through to professionally resolved finished products.
• Demonstrable improvement in the design quality, material understanding, technical resolution and production readiness of Tanween by Tashkeel outcomes.
• Effective collaboration with the Design Supervisor to maintain Tanween by Tashkeel milestones and mentorship standards.
• Identification of high-potential designers and qualified recommendations to the Art and Design Consultant for Shop, retail, exhibition or other commercial opportunities.
• Development of new institutional partnerships, off-site workshops and participation in relevant art and design fairs, festivals and cultural programmes.
• Introduction of relevant new materials, processes, craftsmanship and specialist knowledge into Tashkeel's educational programme.
• Delivery of programmes and residencies within agreed schedules and budgets.

Qualifications & Experience

Essential

• Master's degree in Interior Design, Furniture Design, Product Design, Industrial Design or a closely related discipline.
• Proven experience teaching design at university level in a practical, studio-based environment, with hands-on experience guiding students through concept development, materials, prototyping, fabrication
  and finished design outcomes.
• Strong professional experience in interior, furniture and/or product design.
• Demonstrated understanding of the complete design process from concept through prototyping, technical development and production.
• Strong knowledge of materials, furniture construction and fabrication processes.
• Experience mentoring, critiquing and supporting the development of emerging designers.
• Experience developing design curricula, workshops, residencies or practitioner-led educational programmes.
• Ability to identify, recruit and work with designers, educators, craftspeople, makers and technical specialists.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to plan programmes, visiting practitioners and educational schedules well in advance.
• Ability to provide clear, constructive and intellectually rigorous design criticism.
• Strong awareness of contemporary design practice and international developments.

Highly Preferred

• PhD or doctorate in a relevant design discipline.
• Experience managing annual design education or residency programmes.
• Knowledge of sustainable, circular and experimental materials.
• Established professional networks across design, craftsmanship, universities, manufacturing and material research, locally and internationally.
• Fluency in Arabic and English.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is both an experienced design educator and practitioner who can curate knowledge, identify talent and bring the right people together.

They should understand that a strong design education programme is not built around one person's expertise.
Their role is to continually introduce Tashkeel's audiences to different designers, craftspeople, methods, materials and ways of making through workshops, mentorship and visiting residencies.

They should be equally comfortable discussing the thinking behind a design and examining how it will actually be made. They must be able to critique and guide designers without designing on their behalf, while recognising
promising talent that could progress into professional, exhibition or commercial opportunities.

Above all, the Interior & Furniture Design Education Lead is responsible for keeping Tashkeel's design education relevant and progressive, generating sustainable programme revenue, strengthening Tanween by Tashkeel outcomes, developing meaningful design residencies and expanding Tashkeel's network of designers, educators and specialist practitioners.