Family Office Real Estate Development Manager

About the opportunity

An established single family office is hiring its first dedicated real estate development professional. This is a greenfield seat: you will own new real estate projects end to end — a rare chance to shape how the family office approaches new projects. The focus is new development, not management of the existing portfolio. The role reports to the head of the family office.

This is a high-end program, and we are looking for a strong performer to match — someone who has done excellent work at a leading real estate developer or a top development-focused family office, brings genuine excitement for the craft, a strong work ethic, and the tenacity to drive complex projects through to completion.

Role

• Run the family office's new real estate projects end to end — with a focus on design, permitting, and construction
• Projects are primarily high-end residential, with some commercial / light commercial
• Act as the principal's single point of accountability and owner's representative against all external parties on each project

Responsibilities — across the project lifecycle

Budget ownership and owner's-representative oversight (Build & control) run continuously across every phase.

Source

• Support the principal and family office team on which new projects to pursue
• Source opportunities through brokers and personal network; build and maintain deal flow

Acquire

• Support the acquisition process alongside the principal and family office team — comps and valuation, underwriting, negotiation, and close
• Interact with lawyers throughout the deal process; manage diligence and documentation

Permit

• Run permitting and entitlements — coordinating lawyers, land-use consultants, and architects
• Drive variances, approvals, and local-authority timelines so projects do not stall

Design

• Work closely with the principal and family to manage architectural plans, designers, and consultants — translating their vision into deliverable plans
• Manage the distribution and reinforcement of NDAs

Build & control (ongoing across every project)

• Own the budget — set it, keep tabs on it, and review and challenge vendor invoices and change orders before payment; this budget discipline applies across all projects at all times
• Oversee project execution; manage general contractors and consultants to schedule, scope, and quality
• Act as owner's representative on every project, reporting consolidated status to the principal in one line

Requirements

• Roughly 5 years of experience in real estate development, owner's representation, or acquisitions — ideally with hands-on involvement across the project lifecycle
• A track record as a strong performer at a leading real estate developer or a top development-focused family office; institutional development discipline combined with high-end residential delivery
• Demonstrated experience working directly with architects and design consultants; ability to read and work in DWG / CAD files a plus (this is not an architect role, but comfort with design files is valued)
• Willing to get hands dirty and roll up your sleeves — this is a hands-on, do-it-yourself role, not a delegate-and-oversee seat
• Tenacious and resilient — able to hold contractors, consultants, architects, and counsel accountable, push back hard on budgets and timelines, and stay composed under principal-level scrutiny
• Generalist breadth: able to move across acquisitions, entitlements, design, and construction without losing the thread
• Experience with acquisitions (comps, negotiation, diligence) and owner representation (budgets, schedules, contracts, change-order control)
• International capability and willingness to travel; cross-border project experience a plus. ~20% travel expected
• Discretion, judgment, and a trusted-advisor temperament
• In-person in New York City. Experience in the Manhattan real estate market is beneficial but not required

Base salary $150,000–$200,000, plus a discretionary annual bonus of $35,000–$75,000 depending on performance.