Real Estate & Workplace Manager

The Real Estate & Workplace Manager is responsible for planning, establishing and managing the real-estate and workplace arrangements required for ECE. The organization is evolving. While no final decisions have been taken, Nokia is planning to divest the PB ECE unit towards 1H 2027 and this role is planned to be moving to Aurelius as part of a stand-alone business. Nokia to sell Enterprise Campus Edge business to AURELIUS

The role leads and coordinates requirements for office, lab, storage, demo-centre and other operational premises across multiple countries, translating business, headcount and operational needs into fit-for-purpose, cost-effective and operationally efficient solutions. This includes coordinating site selection, lease planning and negotiations, approvals, possible transitions from existing Nokia arrangements and implementation with business stakeholders, Legal, Finance, landlords, brokers and external service providers.

The position currently benefits from Nokia’s standard employment terms and benefits. Subject to completion of the contemplated transaction and the role’s transfer to the acquiring company, it is expected that broadly comparable employment terms and benefits will be maintained post‑closing.
 

A successful candidate would demonstrate experience in managing complex real-estate and workplace requirements across multiple locations or countries, including lease negotiations, external providers, budgets and implementation of new or changed premises arrangements.

Experience

• Solid professional experience in corporate real estate, workplace management, facilities management or a closely related field, preferably in an international/multi-country environment.
• Demonstrated experience in lease negotiations and real-estate transactions, including working with landlords, brokers, legal advisers and other external partners.
• Experience translating business, headcount, technical and operational requirements into office, laboratory, storage or other specialised premises solutions.
• Experience managing real-estate/workplace projects, including budgets, schedules, approvals, fit-outs, relocations and site transitions.
• Experience working across multiple countries and coordinating local requirements with global or regional business needs.
• Experience in a business separation, carve-out, integration, new-company set-up or other major transformation would be a strong advantage.

Skills and competencies

• Strong knowledge of commercial leasing and corporate real-estate principles, with the ability to understand commercial, operational and contractual implications of different premises solutions.
• Strong negotiation and supplier-management skills, particularly in dealing with landlords, brokers and real-estate/service providers.
• Good financial and commercial understanding, including business cases, budgets, lease costs and cost optimisation.
• Strong project and programme management skills with the ability to manage multiple countries, locations, dependencies and timelines simultaneously.
• Ability to work effectively with Legal, Finance, Procurement, Security, IT, business teams and country stakeholders.
• Ability to convert sometimes incomplete or changing business requirements into practical solutions and drive them through to implementation.
• Strong stakeholder-management, communication and influencing skills in an international environment.
• High degree of independence, ownership and hands-on execution capability, particularly during the transition from Nokia to stand-alone operations.

Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in real estate, business, engineering, facilities management, construction/project management or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant professional experience.

• Plan and coordinate ECE’s real-estate and workplace requirements across its portfolio of countries and locations.
• Establish the office, lab, storage, demo-centre and other premises required for ECE to operate as a stand-alone company following its planned separation from Nokia.
• Translate business, headcount, technical and operational requirements into country- and location-specific premises plans.
• Assess existing Nokia occupancy arrangements and coordinate their transfer, replacement, continuation or exit, as applicable.
• Lead or coordinate site identification, evaluation and selection together with relevant business stakeholders and external advisers.
• Plan and manage co-working, serviced office and flexible desk solutions across locations, including provider selection, commercial arrangements and ongoing workplace requirements.
• Plan and coordinate lease negotiations, renewals, amendments, exits and other real-estate transactions, working with Legal, Finance, Procurement and appropriate country stakeholders.
• Develop real-estate business cases, budgets, schedules and approval materials and ensure that required decisions are obtained.
• Plan and manage the logistics of lab relocations together with the IT carve out team, including the transfer of lab equipment and other assets between locations, coordinating internal stakeholders, specialist logistics providers and site readiness to ensure an orderly transition and minimise disruption to operations.
• Coordinate office and lab space planning, fit-outs, relocations, expansions, reductions and other workplace changes.
• Manage interfaces with landlords, brokers, facility-management providers, architects, contractors and other real-estate suppliers.
• Coordinate country-specific requirements relating to premises, leases, security, health and safety, sustainability and operational readiness.
• Monitor occupancy, space utilisation, lease commitments, costs, timelines and other relevant portfolio metrics and identify optimisation opportunities.
• Manage real-estate and workplace projects, dependencies and risks to support business continuity during ECE’s planned transition to stand-alone operations.
• Act as an interface between ECE and Nokia real-estate organisations during the planned separation and transition period.
• Establish appropriate real-estate and workplace governance, processes, documentation and supplier interfaces for the new company.