Director, Real Estate

·       Assists in preparing strategic growth plans.

·       Delivers sites to fill the real estate pipeline with the desired number of deals and at the desired timeframes with the overall objective of growing the Portillo’s brand successfully.

·       Builds relationships and manages external brokerage network.

·       Vets potential sites against strategic plans, Forum sales analytics and Portillo’s site parameters.

·       Coordinates site layouts with landlords and in-house architect to ensure potential sites meet the Company’s parameters for access, parking, visibility, stacking, circulation and traffic flow.

·       Drafts and negotiates letters-of-intent for lease or purchase of proposed sites.

·       Orders and reviews Site Investigation Reports (SIR’s) to determine and resolve material issues affecting Portillo’s development of the site.

·       Obtains VP of Real Estate approval for site and proposed deal terms before RESAC.

·       Prepares RESAC packages with assistance of Real Estate Coordinator by sourcing information from landlords, brokers, municipalities and consultants.

·       Verifies RESAC package information for completeness and accuracy. 

·       Presents RESAC packages to Six Pack (Executive Committee)/Board for approval.

·       Negotiates leases/purchase contracts with assistance and guidance from outside counsel ensuring that the Company’s interests are protected and that agreed upon terms meet the organization’s standards.

·       Facilitates turnover of signed deals to the Construction Department, outside architects and consultants to ensure a smooth and timely development of restaurants.  Answer questions and resolves issues with landlords post-turnover.

·       Assist in lease management of existing restaurants as needed, resolving issues such as: parking restrictions, maintenance obligations, interpretation of various leases issues, lease renewals and lease amendments.

ORGANIZATION RELATIONSHIPS

The Director of Real Estate will grow the Portillo’s brand by developing effective relationships with people in various internal disciplines such as: the Construction, Operations, Legal, Financial Planning and Analysis, the Case Executive Team and outside of the organization with consultants, brokers, municipality representatives, developers and landlords.  

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge, skills & abilities

·       Strong understanding of and significant experience in the site acquisition and lease negotiation process, lease concepts and executing a nationwide roll out of a concept

·       Broad general knowledge of the development process for building restaurants or retail locations 

·       Demonstrated persuasive, persistent and creative negotiating skills.

·       Experience developing and executing a strategic development plan for the nationwide rollout of a retail or restaurant concept.

·       Proven track record of developing and maintaining excellent relationships with landlords, developers and the brokerage community

·       Strong analytical abilities

·       Excellent verbal and written communication skills

·       Ability to interpret lease provisions.

·       Ability to interface with multiple internal and external partners at the Senior Management level

·       Experience with financial analysis, ground lease negotiations and lease management.

·       Experience managing a brokerage nationwide brokerage network.

·       Must be a problem solver, decisive and results oriented leader with a high sense of urgency

·       Ability to evaluate business trends and develop and successfully implement new business programs and strategies that enhance business performance.

·       Proficient software skills: MS Office, Excel, Word and Powerpoint.

Minimum Educational Level/Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in real estate, finance, business or related discipline.

Minimum Work Experience and Qualifications

·       5 years' experience in retail or restaurant site acquisition

Physical Demands/ Environmental Conditions

• Extensive travel requirement

Travel Requirement

• 40-50%

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Educational Level/Certifications

·       Member of International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

Work Experience and Qualification

·       7+ years’ experience in retail or restaurant site acquisition. 

Disclaimers

DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by incumbents assigned to this job.  This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all the responsibilities, duties and skills required.  The incumbent may be expected to perform other duties as assigned. This job may be reviewed as duties and responsibilities change with business necessity.