Senior Director, Asset Management, Eastern Canada

Manulife Investment Management (“MIM”) is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. Manulife Investment Management's global real estate platform provides investment solutions globally as part of its comprehensive private markets capabilities, offering core, core-plus, and value-add strategies.

The global real estate team leverages its global platform and regional market knowledge to identify opportunities and drive results for its clients. As of June 30, 2024, its sustainably operated platform includes 90.5 million square feet of office, industrial, retail, and multifamily assets located across Canada, the United States, and the Asia Pacific region. The team is expanding its capabilities to meet evolving market opportunities, building a strong and diverse global culture as an entrepreneurial investment manager.

General Accountability:

The Senior Director, Asset Management is generally responsible for maximizing value of a portfolio by developing and executing asset-level strategies. The successful candidate will be responsible for delivering asset-level performance, with accountability for property management, leasing, capital expenditures, development, tenant relations, and oversight of other asset management team members.

Reporting to the Head of Real Estate Asset Management, the Senior Director, Asset Management’s focus will primarily be on the Quebec market, and assets will include a mix of office, industrial, and multi-family properties.

Responsibilities:

Develop and execute asset-level strategies.

• Maintain strong relationships within the real estate industry to ascertain market and asset trends. Source and analyze market research.
• Identify and communicate each asset’s competitive position relative to its peer set. Develop strategies that best position each asset to outperform competitors.
• Identify value-add opportunities and lead the execution of value-add initiatives including renovations, repositioning, and the oversight of select ground-up developments to maximize total return for each assigned asset.
• Provide pre-acquisition and disposition input and assistance in due diligence process, including thorough research on select properties/markets and review of financial and operational assumptions.
• Regularly communicate market-level insights and contribute to regular asset management reports for Portfolio Managers and Senior Management.

Execute asset-level business plans and maximize NOI.

• Coordinate, produce and present annual business plans to Senior Management and Portfolio Managers.
• Lead property management teams, leasing teams/agents, project managers, development managers and other stakeholders to execute business plans. Lead negotiation of leases and third-party contracts.
• Target improvements in tenant satisfaction ratings. Target utility cost savings and improvements in sustainable building standard scores.
• Recommend approvals for budgets, forecasts and reforecasts, new leases and renewals. As required, present the case for approval recommendations to Senior Management and Portfolio Managers.
• Review and approve Yardi quarterly financials/operating statements and variance reports. Understand cash flow requirements and distribution analysis.

Oversee asset-level financial performance and maximize total return.

• Maintain internal Argus model for each assigned asset from acquisition closing through disposition. Review and update quarterly.
• Analyze and communicate the strategic and financial impacts of prospective tenant leases and capital improvement projects on building valuations.
• Work with internal teams to review and provide feedback on drafts of quarterly external appraisals.
• Monitor investment performance and provide feedback on and insights into quarterly MSCI performance results for each asset.
• Prepare and present asset-level information for external investors as needed. Identify opportunities to improve quality and content of investor reporting.

Knowledge/Skills/Competencies/Education:

• CFA designation, MBA and/or graduate degree in finance/real estate preferred. Completion of real estate related designations (brokerage license, Chartered Realty Investor, CRE, etc.) desirable.
• Minimum of 10-12 years of asset-level experience, preferably working for a third-party fund management company.
• Network of industry contacts (investment and leasing brokers, investment manager competitors, investment bankers, institutional and non-institutional landlords).
• Strong leadership and team member training capabilities to serve as a leader to US Asset Management Analysts and Boston-based Global Real Estate Group team members.
• Knowledge and applied professional understanding of the principles and practices of institutional real estate investment management, capital markets, and portfolio analysis. Knowledge of commercial real estate trends.
• Strong analytical skills (both quantitative and qualitative). Strong risk assessment skills. Ability to compile, monitor, examine, and audit various financial, performance, and/or data reports for accuracy, integrity, and conformance to performance benchmarks. Strong organizational and prioritization skills.
• Ability to develop investment strategies and provide recommendations for changes or enhancements to improve investment objectives. Ability to integrate top-down and bottom-up perspectives into investment recommendations.
• Ability to draw conclusions and prepare written findings and presentations. Ability to evaluate and determine property valuations and asset performance under a variety of scenarios. Excellent verbal and written communications skills in order to present to and work with senior management and external clients.
• Ability to juggle competing priorities and work under pressure to meet demanding response times, all while paying strict attention to detail.
• Focused and self-motivated team player who balances independent thinking with the execution capabilities and core competencies of the rest of the organization.
• Superior proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Argus Enterprise. Yardi experience a plus.
• The successful candidate will be required to communicate in English and French to support clients from various provinces outside of Québec.

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html.

Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law.

It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact recruitment@manulife.com.

Salary range is expected to be between

If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact recruitment@manulife.com for the salary range for your location. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance.

Manulife offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits, including health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage, adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits, and employee/family assistance plans. We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in Canada includes holidays, vacation, personal, and sick days, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence. If you are applying for this role in the U.S., please contact recruitment@manulife.com for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.