Development Manager

Purpose of role

Reporting to the Senior Development Manager, the role of the Development Manager (DM) is both to execute existing projects and to source new opportunities to help grow the company’s development activities in the Washington, D.C. region.

Key responsibilities

To perform this role successfully, an individual must be able to perform each key responsibility satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or ability needed. This includes the following; other duties may be assigned as needed within skill sets or if additional responsibilities are added.

The candidate must be able to effectively manage the development process to produce returns that meet or exceed established targets. The “development process” consists all phases of a project lifecycle, which include (but may not be limited to):

• Identify development opportunities and evaluate feasibility of projects by establishing highest and best use, identify zoning issues and negotiate acquisition.
• Undertake feasibility studies, determine zoning issues relating to development, and negotiate to acquire development rights.
• Negotiate with public entities, where applicable, to define development agreements, public subsidies, etc. Responsible for the securing entitlements, financial analysis, design and project schedule.
• Preparation of internal project reports for SVP, Development and external monthly and quarterly reporting (both written and numerical) for all on-going developments and prospective acquisitions.
• Coordinate zoning, planning, construction and development budgets. Establish and monitor development budgets, assemble and coordinate development team, oversees construction.
• Negotiating legal documents for approval by Senior Management.
• Meet with community and business groups to obtain community support for development.
• Collaborate and manage development partners and consultants. Select, lead, and motivate (third party) development/consultant teams in the zoning, design and implementation of projects.
• Manage projects in accordance with construction drawings, obtain development, re-zoning, and building permits.
• Oversee project design team and marketing team as part of complete development process.
• Along with Project Manager, manages construction of project and makes sure the original vision, budget and schedule are upheld.
• Manage Marketing teams to create and execute marketing and sales/leasing programs.
• Coordinate with Portfolio and Marketing teams to meet property leasing objectives (when applicable).
• Coordinate with Property/Asset Managers to transfer rental projects into asset portfolios.

Key requirements

• Experience: A development professional with proven experience managing development projects from acquisition phase through to completion. Ideally the candidate has experience with challenging urban infill sites – which should include either leading or managing site acquisition, entitlements and/or construction. Financial background underwriting real estate development projects is of great benefit. Two to five years of real estate development experience is a positive.

• Expertise: Project management skills successfully implementing development and construction schedules, budgets and plans in accordance with project requirements and vision. Understanding of local municipal planning and development guidelines and policies. Strong design sensibilities at both an urban and architectural level. Able to balance multiple and sometimes conflicting priorities and timelines. Local market knowledge (markets, public agency relationships, consulting contacts) desirable but not essential. Excel-based financial modeling and analysis is required.  Candidate needs a working knowledge of MS Word, MS Project, MS Power Point and Adobe Photoshop.

• Financial Acumen: Financial and budgeting skills with ability to prepare/review development proformas. Demonstrated ability to understand the broader strategic and operational issues facing a business; can analyze potential issues and their impact on the project and the business.

• Leadership: Ability to lead and coordinate diverse teams in a highly collaborative environment. Must be able to manage a large multidisciplinary consultant team and coordinate each of their contributions into one cohesive project vision. An effective influencer of people.

• Relationship Skills: A strong communicator, both oral and written, who is able to articulately convey messages to internal groups and external stakeholders (architects, legal counsel, members of the public). Can foster excellent relationships with consultants, municipal staff, the public and other interest groups.

• Education: Ideally, a post-secondary degree in real estate or a development related field (i.e. business, architecture, planning, urban land economics, or engineering).

At Grosvenor, we seek to recruit and develop people who share our values – Integrity, Respect and Trust – and have the skills and ambition to help us implement our strategy. We stick to our promises, build lasting relationships with partners and work closely and responsibly with local communities.

Working conditions and physical requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• The employee is often required to sit for long periods and use their hands and fingers to operate office equipment and to manipulate keys on a keyboard.
• The employee is required to talk and hear.
• The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, reach with arms and hands, lift, climb or balance, and to stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl.
• Vision abilities required by this job include close vision.
• An office environment with a noise level that is usually quiet to moderate.

Job description revision

This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, efforts or working conditions associated with this job.  While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed when circumstances change.  This job description replaces all previous descriptions for this position.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Grosvenor provides equal employment opportunities without regard to age, ancestry, color, creed, mental or physical disability, marital status, medical condition, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws.