Director, Real Estate Development & Planning

BASIC FUNCTION: Reporting to the SVP for Real Estate and Planning, the Director will lead multiple real estate development projects from the planning stage through financial close. The Director will also assist the department in producing and overseeing Requests for Proposals for property dispositions and financial models and analyses.  The ideal candidate has a strong understanding of real estate finance, urban planning and design principles, and project management, and has experience managing real estate transactions against tight deadlines, ideally involving public-private partnerships and interdisciplinary teams.

 

WORK PERFORMED:

• Manage complex real estate transactions involving the planning and disposition of State-owned properties for economic development purposes, including:
• Drafting Requests for Proposals, presentations, procurement documents and other briefings and communications
• Preparing pro-forma and cash-flow analyses to support internal valuations of assets, and reviewing and analyzing developers’ financial models
• Conducting project research on planning and design, property values, rents, taxes, construction costs, environmental and historic features, zoning, etc.
• Procuring project due diligence consultants such as appraisers, engineers, and surveyors
• Preparing and updating project timelines, organizational charts, and other project management documents
• Leading meetings of and helping manage interdisciplinary teams throughout the public approvals and land disposition process. These parties may include landlords/landowners, developers, architects, urban planners, financial consultants, engineers, appraisers, title abstract companies, attorneys, environmental consultants, State and municipal agencies, and others.
• Assist in due diligence related to development companies, urban planning efforts and various real estate development projects, including compiling information on properties in the State of New York’s real estate portfolio.
• Build and maintain relationships with governmental and quasi-governmental entities; real estate and business groups; civic & community organizations; cultural and professional organizations; and advocacy groups.

 

EDUCATION & REQUIREMENTS:

Education Level Required: Bachelor’s degree; Master’s degree in Real Estate, Finance, Business Administration, Law, Public Policy, Urban Planning or related field preferred

Experience Required: 5+ years of work experience in urban or regional economic and/or real estate development, finance or related field, in a demanding analytic environment

Knowledge required: Demonstrated interest or experience in economic development, real estate, and/or public policy; strong quantitative skills and financial modeling, Excel proficiency preferred

License: Must have valid driver’s license

Competencies:

• Effective communication: demonstrates superior written and oral communications and presentation skills; communicates clearly and succinctly to experts and non experts; summarizes key points efficiently and clearly; prepares professionally written materials suitable for dissemination
• Collaboration: builds supportive, trusting relationships with agency colleagues; cultivates network of diverse colleagues from which to solicit information, feedback and resources; seeks to understand needs of colleagues and proactively identifies opportunities and offers support
• Attention to detail: carefully reviews work products before advancing to colleagues and external stakeholders to submit work that is context appropriate, clear and error free
• Multi-tasking: Comfortable juggling multiple complex and fast-moving projects and working under different supervisors on a variety of projects
• Active listening: listens and identifies potential issues and sensitivities
• Problem-­solving: breaks down complex problems into manageable components; willing to question and revisit the status quo; able to navigate bureaucratic impediments to achieve pragmatic results

Big-picture thinking: quickly gets up to speed on complex government bureaucracies, programs and policies; employs systems­ level thinking to understand goals and interdependencies across agency; considers the impact of a decision both internally and externally, short- and long-­term.