Development Manager

Job Brief

The Development Manager (DM) will be responsible for managing the development activities and achieving financial goals of a portfolio of projects mostly of residential type, spread around Abu Dhabi that are ongoing or those planned to start in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The project will be mostly of residential type with some mixed-use projects.

The DM’s main objective is responsible for the development of defined projects from concept creation to financing, construction, development, marketing, sales/leasing, and disposition on upcoming projects. Also, the DM shall be responsible for supporting the Management in the sourcing of new business opportunities.

Successful candidates will demonstrate leadership skills, project Management capability, knowledge of project economics and commercial finance and a long-term career within a similar setup.

The candidate must be an Arabic speaker with good communication skills.

Primary Duties:

Administrative Tasks

1. Organize, facilitate, and participate in meetings with project stakeholders.
2. Handle all authority approvals related to the projects development.
3. Ensure that all pertinent agreements are properly documented and administered.
4. Liaise with client(s), sub-consultants, financial institutions, service providers, government authorities and other authorities with due jurisdiction.

Design and Engineering Tasks

1. Responsible for the preparation of a concept and vision for the project.
2. Responsible for providing general directives for new projects and preparing design briefs.
3. Participate in the presentation of the different design files and stages to Management and investors.
4. Responsible for the review and issuing of the scope of services and contract documents to consultants and contractors.
5. Responsible for preparing project organization, in-house teams, budgets, time, and consulting group.
6. Lead functional teams to execute project objectives within approved schedules and budgets.
7. Support the oversight of design parameters and support the supervision of value engineering, bidding, and contracting strategy.
8. Responsible for following up of project execution until handover.
9. Responsible for the units handover to respective clients and support all related coordination with site team and authorities.
10. Monitor the production of visualization, and other marketing material be it models, 3D Animations, brochures, social media content, etc.
11. Participate in project financing including the preparation of a finance memorandum, negotiations with banks and lawyers and subsequent closing of loan agreements and collaterals.
12. Provide general guidance on budgeting, scheduling.
13. Participate in negotiating project terms, costs, and budgets; in resolving issues and achieving consensus, and determining appropriate actions to be taken.
14. Responsible for monitoring project budgets and schedules for significant variances and participating in review of contractor payments.
15. Responsible to in preparation and Management of the project budget plus capital improvement project projections.

Commercial Tasks

1. Responsible for the determination of project goals, schedule and budget based on development requirements, company objectives, market dynamics, construction timing and resource requirements.
2. Responsible for the project risk assessment as part of the project planning function; manage risk along with budget and schedule.
3. Responsible for the design and implementation of a market plan, and the marketing of projects to investors.
4. Participate in the sales/leasing/disposition of the properties.
5. Develop a constant awareness of market opportunities. Participate in bringing new market opportunities for consideration.
6. Develop and enhance CRM solution based on the company’s needs.
7. Responsible to in the marketing operation and liaise between internal and external service providers.

Desired Candidate Profile

1. Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, or Architecture from an accredited university.
2. Master of Business Administration or a Master of Science in Real Estate Degree from a well-recognized institution is a plus.
3. Experience in project development, design Management and possibly construction Management.
4. Ability to read and interpret detailed construction drawings and specifications plus communicate with the team professionals.
5. Ability to determine time, place and sequence of operations or action to be taken based on analysis of data; execute and/or report on events.
6. Experience with project budgeting and pro-formas and commercial documents is a plus.
7. Ability to manage simultaneous complex activities, consultants and contractors, clear status reporting, tracking of deadlines and critical path activities, ability to identify and mitigate upcoming conflicts and/or delays.
8. Ability to mediate disputes and interpret the intent of the contract documents.
9. Ability to maintain calm demeanor in emergency situations.
10. Interprets a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagrammatic or schedule forms.
11. Able to work and interact with clients, consultants, local governmental agencies, landowners and other.
12. Excellent verbal communication, writing and presentation skills in English and Arabic.
13. Computer expertise in MS office, familiarity with Microsoft Project, AutoCAD, and other widely used software is a plus.
14. Ability to work with no supervision.
15. Act as a team member with all company staff.
16. Comply with all company policies and procedures.

Experience

Minimal 10 years of work experience with a professional Real Estate Development Company, Architecture or Engineering Firms, or Contracting Companies.

Employment Type: Full Time

Company Industry: Facilities Management

Department / Functional Area: Product Development, Product Management

Keywords: Development Manager, Project Development, Construction Management, Market Analysis, Project Execution