Senior Real Estate Manager

The Senior Real Estate Manager is responsible for the strategic and operational management of Habitat Health’s real estate portfolio, ensuring assets are optimized for financial performance, operational efficiency, legal compliance, and alignment with broader business objectives.

Develop and execute the organization’s real estate strategy, including portfolio planning, site selection, expansion, consolidation, and exit strategies aligned with business growth and cost objectives.

• Lead site selection for new locations, including partnering with brokers to source properties, participating in site visits, and comprehensively evaluating candidate properties against business criteria.
• Manage the full lifecycle of leasing activity: negotiating new leases, renewals, rent reviews, subleases, and lease terminations across the portfolio.
• Oversee acquisitions and disposals of owned property, including due diligence, valuation review, negotiation, and coordination with legal counsel through to closing.
• Lead landlord, tenant, and broker relationships, serving as the primary point of contact and escalation for lease and property-related matters.
• Ensure all properties comply with applicable zoning, building codes, health and safety regulations, environmental requirements, and lease covenants.
• Analyze market trends, comparable transactions, and portfolio performance data to inform space planning, rent benchmarking, and investment decisions.
• Coordinate with Finance, Legal, HR, and Operations on space planning, occupancy cost allocation, workplace strategy, and business continuity planning.
• Prepare and present business cases and strategic recommendations to senior leadership and, where relevant, the Board.
• Develop and maintain lease abstracts, critical date trackers, and portfolio documentation to ensure timely action on options, renewals, and expirations.
• Benchmark occupancy costs, service charges, and utility spend against market data to identify savings opportunities.
• Manage relationships with local authorities, planning bodies, and utility providers as required for permits, approvals, and site works.
• Support workplace change initiatives, including office relocations, fit-outs, and space utilization studies.

Required Qualifications:

• A minimum of 5 years of real estate development experience.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including lease economics and capital planning.
• Excellent negotiation, contract management, and stakeholder influencing skills.
• Strategic thinking balanced with hands-on operational problem-solving.
• Effective project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple sites and priorities simultaneously.
• Working knowledge of real estate law, lease structures, and regulatory/compliance requirements.
• Understanding of local and regional real estate markets, valuation methods, and transaction structures.
• Knowledge of building codes, health and safety regulations, and environmental compliance standards.
• Awareness of risk management principles, including insurance, liability, and disaster recovery planning as applied to real estate.

Nice to Have:

• A Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, real estate, or a related field (or equivalent experience).