Corp Asset Management - VP, Asset Management - Commercial at Harbor Group Management in New York, New York

Job Description:

THE POSITION: Vice President, Asset Management - Commercial

REPORTS TO: Managing Director, Asset Management - Head of Direct Equity Investments

LOCATION: New York, NY

THE ORGANIZATION:

Harbor Group International, LLC ("HGI") is a private real estate investment and management firm which controls a portfolio of worldwide assets valued in excess of $19 billion. HGI is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia and has offices in New York, Baltimore, and Tel Aviv. The company's real estate holdings currently include approximately 55,000 apartment units and approximately 5 million square feet of commercial space, in addition to the company's mezzanine loan, preferred equity, whole loan, and real estate securities investment holdings.

HGI specializes in core plus and value-added real estate investments in the multifamily and commercial sectors, where our proactive asset management strategies can add value throughout the investment process. In the commercial sector, HGI focuses on the acquisition of office, retail, and industrial properties across the U.S. and in the U.K. and Israel. Within the multifamily sector, company focuses on the acquisition of quality properties in primary and secondary markets across the U.S.

In addition to its direct equity platform, HGI is an active originator and investor in mezzanine debt, preferred equity, whole loans, and securitized B notes.

HGI reviews hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of opportunities each month to acquire the assets that are most consistent with our investment objectives and has a robust pipeline of potential acquisitions.

The continuation of HGI's successful growth is predicated upon identifying, evaluating, and retaining the industry's best professionals with an additional emphasis placed on hiring people who ascribe the same value to honesty, integrity and transparency that the company does. For more information, please visit www.harborgroupint.com .

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Vice President, Asset Management - Commercial is part of the Harbor Group International's Asset Management Group, which manages all of the company's direct equity, preferred equity, and debt portfolio investments. The position will interact with all of the company's various functional areas within the commercial portfolio with particular emphasis on New York City office leasing. The asset manager will be responsible for a portfolio of commercial properties in New York and elsewhere and over time may absorb responsibilities in additional markets and product types. The position enjoys high visibility with the executive management team.

The successful candidate must have in depth knowledge of strategic planning in a commercial real estate context, commercial asset management, finance, accounting, real estate transactions, macroeconomics, and marketing with a strong emphasis commercial leasing. This individual will be working in a rapidly growing, dynamic, and collaborative environment with responsibility for continually representing the owners' financial interest through the entire investment cycle.

The VP, Asset Management is responsible for managing all phases of the asset management process for an assigned portfolio of properties. Over the entire life cycle for each investment, the asset manager will work closely with Harbor Group's Property Management team, third party agents and consultants to ensure that each asset meets acquisition proforma objectives, key business plan elements, capital improvement deadlines, and overall investor goals.

It is anticipated that the asset manager will oversee individual properties and may oversee portfolios that consist of multiple properties. The asset manager will also be asked to assist with and/or lead projects to enhance performance across HGI's commercial property portfolio.

Among the position's responsibilities, the VP, Asset Management - Commercial will also work closely with HGI's Transactions team on due diligence and the formulation of business plans for new investments, assist the Transactions team with asset dispositions, and manage complex real estate issues for HGI's portfolio as they arise (i.e., real estate tax appeals, counter-party negotiations under various easement, condominium and association agreements, periodic entitlement or zoning issues with public agencies, complex environmental close-out negotiations, etc.).

Specific responsibilities include the following:

§ Manage leasing process including negotiation of LOIs and leases in conjunction with third party leasing agents, attorneys, and Property Management staff; and work with property management and construction teams to ensure terms of executed leases are being met including any TI or landlord work requirements.

§ Leverage relationships with outside tenant brokers to identify and secure prospective tenants.

§ Support third party agents by meeting with prospects, tenant brokers, and attending tours.

§ Track leasing/absorption to ensure leasing objectives are being met as outlined in the business plan.

§ Stay abreast of micro, local, and regional market trends and meet or exceed market-based performance benchmarks.

§ Provide strategic oversight of capital improvement programs related to building lobby, amenities, marketing center, whitebox/prebuilt programs, and property capital programs to support expense savings and ESG initiatives.

§ Oversee real estate tax appeal issues.

§ Monitor, review, and evaluate financial operating results and work with Property Management to implement changes as needed to enhance asset value, cash flow, and profitability. Utilizing property data including leasing reports, property financial statements, construction progress reports, and aged delinquencies, etc., and work with Property Management and third-party agents to improve operational performance. Identify and troubleshoot issues relating to commercial leasing, occupancy and turnover, opportunities to improve rents and implement other income initiatives, and controlling expenses.

§ Actively monitor and manage working capital, liquidity and operating cash flow. Manage capital improvement and other reserve balances and coordinate "fund up" draws from loans where applicable. Ensure that quarterly and annual cash distribution targets to investors are met.

§ Conduct site visits on a regular basis and meet with Property Management and third-party agents to review and assess operations, leasing, capital improvement programs, and property physical condition.

§ Manage the annual budget review and approval process for the assigned portfolio and for new acquisitions.

§ Ensure regulatory and lender compliance requirements, working with Property Management and the finance team, implement initiatives as needed to ensure compliance.

§ Work collaboratively with the Transactions, Property Management, and Investor Relation teams on new acquisitions. Participate directly in development of strategic business plans for new investments and be responsible for the asset management elements of the acquisition process including vetting and signoff on all operating and capital improvement underwriting assumptions, developing scope of work for renovation and capital improvement projects, establishing target rent and operating expense levels, finalizing operational and capital budgets, documenting operational plans and investment goals/objectives, and on-boarding new acquisitions into the portfolio.

§ Support the Transactions team on dispositions and refinancings. Participate in sell/hold/refinance decision making, assist with review of broker BOVs and capital transaction analysis, and monitor/address operations during the sale/refinancing process to ensure a successful outcome.

§ Effectively present information to and respond to questions from groups of executives, investors, lenders, and partners.

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

Education: The successful candidate will have a strong academic background with a college degree. An MBA or a Master's in Real Estate or other relevant postgraduate studies is strongly preferred.

Experience: A minimum of 7 to 10 years of experience in relevant redevelopment, asset management, commercial leasing/brokerage, and/or acquisition work experience in the real estate industry. Commercial real estate experience is required, though other sector experience is appreciated.

Requirements:

The ideal candidate is a leader and will possess the following skills/attributes:

§ A minimum of 5 years of direct commercial asset management experience, with demonstrated experience asset-managing office assets in Manhattan.

§ Direct experience managing commercial leasing initiatives including oversight of third-party brokers and negotiating letters of intent and leases for office, retail, and industrial properties.

§ Extensive working knowledge of commercial real estate concepts including lease analysis, CAM reconciliations, and Argus modeling.

§ Exceptional knowledge of real estate markets.

§ Superior analytical and problem-solving skills, with a demonstrated track record of providing creative and innovative solutions to real-time challenges.

§ An investment mindset with a thorough understanding of financial calculations/metrics and analytical skills. Must be well-versed in project proformas and understanding deals, and able to articulate, both orally and in written form, the case for a specific project. Should have both an intuitive and a detailed sense of the dynamics, risks, and financing/capital structure of each transaction.

§ Proficiency with Word, Excel, Argus, and MRI a plus.

§ Strong presentation, negotiation and communication skills.

§ Sound decision making ability with the experience to balance consensus against authority as appropriate.

§ A team player with strong leadership skills who can operate effectively within a matrix management environment.

§ Excellent organizational and time management skills. Ability to provide clear direction and balance competing priorities. Able to work with time sensitive, detail-oriented material and meet multiple deadlines across various markets. Experience managing multiple projects successfully through constantly changing priorities.

§ The ability to travel frequently, i.e., 30%-50% travel.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

Position will be located in HGI's New York, New York office.