Client experience and studio manager

Pencil and Brick is looking for a client experience and studio manager to join its team in London. This is a full-time, hybrid role, predominantly studio-based, working Monday to Friday, 40 hours per week from 9:00am to 6:00pm with one hour for lunch. The salary ranges from £38k to £42k.

Who we are

Pencil and Brick is an ambitious architecture and construction practice that believes great buildings begin with great relationships. By bringing architecture, construction and client experience together under one roof, we’re creating a different kind of business, one where collaboration comes naturally, decisions are made quickly and everyone shares the same goal of delivering exceptional outcomes for our clients. We’re growing because we’re not afraid to challenge the way things have always been done. We believe in building trust, taking ownership, paying attention to the details and continually looking for better ways of working.

The role

The client experience and studio manager is the person who helps keep Pencil and Brick building. You’ll play an important role in the experience we give our clients, working closely with the head of brand and client experience, head of design and head of build to ensure communication is joined up and our clients feel looked after. Alongside that, you’ll be the friendly, organised and reliable presence in the studio looking after the day-to-day running of the studio, supporting the team, helping new people settle in and making sure the practical details don’t get forgotten. It’s a varied role for someone who likes being at the heart of things, enjoys helping people and naturally spots what needs doing.

Client experience

You’ll become an important part of the client experience. Working closely with the head of brand and client experience, you’ll help ensure our clients feel informed, supported and looked after throughout their journey with Pencil and Brick. You’ll be involved in:

• Being a consistent point of contact for clients from the agreed handover point through design, build and into the agreed aftercare period.
• Keeping close to live projects so clients know what’s happening and what to expect next.
• Helping coordinate milestone updates, communications and thoughtful client touchpoints.
• Working alongside the Head of Build and Head of Design, handling the client communication that sits around their technical work.
• Joining the weekly project review and flagging anything that could quietly become a problem.
• Making sure client-facing information reaches the right client at the right time.
• Spotting opportunities to improve the client journey and bringing your ideas forward.

The role will continue to evolve as we grow, and we’re looking for someone who brings their own thinking to it. If you see a better way of looking after our people, our studio or our clients, we want to hear it.

Studio and team

Alongside that, you’ll take ownership of the day-to-day running of the studio and help create an environment where our team can do their best work. You’ll be involved in:

• Keeping the studio organised, welcoming and properly equipped.
• Managing studio supplies, refreshments, stationery and general replenishments.
• Supporting purchasing and other project-related tasks when needed.
• Coordinating suppliers and practical services relating to the studio.
• Supporting recruitment, interviews and making sure new people feel welcomed, settled and have everything they need.
• Supporting the team with day-to-day practical needs and helping organise team activities.
• Keeping internal systems, documentation and processes organised.
• Being the person who notices when something needs doing and takes ownership of getting it sorted.
• Simply looking for better and smarter ways of doing things as we grow.

About you

You’ll enjoy this role if you:

• Enjoy working with people and genuinely care about their experience.
• Are practical, resourceful and good at solving problems.
• Love bringing organisation and structure to busy environments.
• Naturally take ownership without waiting to be asked.
• Notice things that could work better and enjoy improving them.
• Build trust quickly with colleagues, clients and suppliers.
• Have a natural eye for detail.
• Like variety more than routine.
• Are comfortable being the person who gets things done.
• Can work independently but know when to ask for help.
• Have had a minimum of five years in a client-facing role, onboarding and going through their journey with them.
• Are tech-savvy and confident learning new systems and tools.
• Have a good working knowledge of Google Workspace, particularly Google Docs, would be a distinct advantage.
• Want to grow alongside an ambitious business.
• Experience working in an architecture, construction, design or other professional studio environment would be a real advantage.

Why Pencil and Brick?

Because you’ll never be "just" our client experience and studio manager. You’ll be an important brick in a business that’s continually evolving, with a genuine opportunity to shape how our studio works, how our people experience the business and how our clients experience us. Your ideas will be listened to. You’ll be trusted to make decisions. You’ll be encouraged to spot things that could be better and do something about them. If you’re the sort of person who likes being at the heart of things, enjoys making other people’s lives easier and takes genuine pride in getting the details right, we’d love to hear from you.