Head of Real Estate & Property Management

Strategic Contribution

• Participate and contribute to the development and refinement of Business Support’s short and long-term strategy and ensure it is properly translated into operational plans for the Real Estate Property Management
• Lead the development of the Real Estate and Property Management department’s strategy by ensuring that Panda’s relevant long and short-term plans are effectively converted into the appropriate functional objectives.
• Ensure proper implementation of the functional strategy by managing the day-to-day operations of the Real Estate and Property Management department, providing guidance, encouraging teamwork, and facilitating delivery of work processes to achieve high performance standards.

Leadership

• Lead the effective achievement of the Real Estate and Property Management department objectives by setting individual objectives, managing performance, developing, and motivating employees in order to maximize individual and functional performance.
• Coordinate the activities of the team to ensure that all work is carried out efficiently, in line with the annual business plans, policies and procedures.

Budgeting and Financial Performance

• Guide the development and monitoring of the Real Estate and Property Management department business plans and annual budget, in line with the company objectives.
• Control expenditure against approved divisional budget on a regular basis and investigate and reconcile any significant variances to ensure effective cost control.

Real Estate

• Oversee and manage Panda’s real estate strategy and portfolio (e.g. stores, warehouses, compounds, regional offices, branches, lands, DCs, etc.) as well as monitor the activities throughout the overall property lifecycle.
• Liaise with internal and external stakeholders to identify the optimum location for new properties to develop, rent or lease (e.g. branches, regional offices, warehouses, etc.) and drive the necessary actions for the execution of the relevant decisions.
• Establish partnerships with local and international developers, property management companies, landlords etc. and engage in the contractual negotiation processes.
• Lead the development and implementation of building new or improving/renovating/modifying existing stores of Panda stores kingdom-wide, by coordinating internal and external stakeholders, to ensure the delivery of all capital projects is within the defined quality standards, defined budgets and timeline.
• Manage the analysis and approve recommendations on the best approach for remodeling, relocating, expanding and modifying existing properties.
• Manage regular update of the performance of the real estate portfolio based on the market research reports market drivers and trends, statistics, demographic analysis, competitive set analysis, scenario analysis, supply and demand drivers, risks, etc., highlighting critical issues, recommending actions and appropriate measures.
• Establish the potential synergies between projects and participate in the development of action plans to ensure those synergies.

Reporting

• Ensure that all divisional reports are prepared timely and accurately and meet Panda’s organizational requirements, in adherence to the company’s policies and quality standards.
• Present annual and periodic reports at the senior management meetings.
• Enhance and implement all required information dashboards (financial and non-financial) and update systems available to different management levels, ensuring the stability and reliability of the data sources in order to enable stakeholders to make data driven decisions.

Continuous Improvement  

• Contribute to the identification of opportunities for continuous improvement of the Real Estate Property Management and Capital Projects department systems, processes, and practices considering international best practices, improvement of business processes and cost optimization.

Health, Safety and Environment

Ensure compliance to all relevant quality, health, safety, and environmental management policies, procedures, and controls across the Real Estate Property Management and Capital Projects to guarantee employee and assets safety, legislative compliance, and a responsible environmental attitude.

Experience, Skills & Competencies

• Minimum of 12 years of relevant retail/commercial experience, including at least 5 years of senior position
• Arabic language desired (working knowledge)
• English language required (advanced) 
• Knowledge of Contractor / real estate management, Vendor Management, Negotiation Principles & Strategy, risk management, Compliance, etc.
• Presentation, communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills
• Team building and effective people management.