Associate - Portfolio and Space Management

The Associate of Portfolio & Space Management will play a pivotal role in the Vanderbilt University Real Estate office (“VURE”). This role will be a key member of the Real Estate team responsible for ensuring good stewardship of the VURE portfolio of properties, aligning trans-institutional space needs with facilities, and supporting strategic real estate projects, all in a manner that contributes to Vanderbilt’s  mission of research and education. This role will support the Assistant Director in oversight of the portfolio of properties, facilitating university space needs, and serving as a conduit between internal and external partners. The ideal candidate in this role should have strong interpersonal skills, ability to understand mission and strategy and apply to all decisions, and be a self-starter who is eager to learn and grow professionally. 

Reporting directly to the Assistant Director of Portfolio and Space Management, this role will work closely with other Real Estate team members, external property management teams, and other internal departments to advance the goals of the Real Estate organization. 

About Vanderbilt University:

Vanderbilt is a renowned private institution founded in 1873 located a little more than a mile from downtown Nashville, TN. The university’s students, faculty, staff and visitors frequently cite Nashville as one of the perks of Vanderbilt. VU is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. It is a place where your diversity is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. 

About the Work Unit:

Vanderbilt University Real Estate (VURE) is responsible for a portfolio of 41 buildings consisting of ~1 million gross rentable square feet, 760,000 square feet of commercial space, 305 apartment units, University ground leases, 425,000 square feet of leased space, the Vanderbilt Legends Club golf course and facilities, and the Holiday Inn Nashville. The Real Estate department supports the university in all real estate related matters including facilities management, acquisitions and dispositions, tenant and department space planning, leases with 3^rd parties, and strategic initiatives. 

As part of a small but busy team, this role will have ability to experience all aspects of the organization and has opportunity for career development and growth. Each team member is expected to be a self-starter and proactively manage their responsibilities while working collaboratively with the VURE team and related stakeholders. 

VURE is part of the Vanderbilt University Facilities organization, which works collaboratively to build, maintain, manage and operate campus infrastructure in a sustainable and cost-efficient manner to support the overarching academic mission and goals of the university.

Key Functions and Expected Performance:

Serve as the liaison between VURE, its third-party management companies (commercial and residential), its tenants, and other Vanderbilt stakeholders. 

• Collaborate with Assistant Director, property management companies, and the VURE team on day-to-day operations and escalating issues. 

• Collaborate with property management companies and internal departments on VU-sponsored initiatives (i.e. utilizing apartments for student housing, turning a vacant lot into a childcare play area).

• Work with Assistant Director, property managers, and VURE finance team to manage and track facility renewal (capital) plans, and support internal approvals process for facility renewal projects. 

• With property management companies, track key performance indicators for property management services. 

• Conduct building walk throughs and tenant satisfaction surveys. Work with Assistant Director to make operational recommendations and/or determine areas for improvement based on KPI tracking. 

• Manage reports and records related to property management, such as property deeds, key logs, and property lists. 

• Represent Vanderbilt tenants and build relationships with property managers and tenants at 3^rd party leased buildings.

• Manage lease administration tasks such as drafting lease abstracts, reviewing lease terms, and managing lease database software.

Coordination, and planning for physical space needs across the university

• Support Assistant Director in space planning efforts with departments across the university that have a need for new or alternative space. 

• Manage active database of space needs and available spaces. Track future potential space needs due to growth, construction displacement, and demolition of buildings. Collaborate with other Facilities departments, Academic Affairs, and schools to accurately track and project these needs. 

• In coordination with information services and data analyst, evaluate occupancy and utilization of existing spaces on campus. If underutilized, provide recommendations and strategy on potential alternative uses. 

• Conduct space tours for potential tenants and evaluate available spaces. 

• Conduct research, analysis, reports, and recommendations related to space planning initiatives and other strategic initiatives on an as needed basis. 

• Coordinate and manage projects to keep workflow moving forward by tracking and delegating next steps, scheduling meetings, coordinating with multiple internal departments, anticipating needs, providing feedback and guidance on draft reports and presentations.

Manage ongoing real estate reports and records relevant to areas of responsibility. 

Skills Required:

• Strong organizational skills to meet deadlines, keep projects on track, self-monitor and report status of responsibilities and tasks. 

• Strong interpersonal skills to serve as a “connector” between VURE and campus departments, external partners, and VURE tenants (internal and external). 

• Verbal and written communication skills to draft executive memos and presentations, contribute to meetings for various projects, and report out on various responsibilities and initiatives. 

• Proven ability to think critically, problem solve, make recommendations, and manage a variety of priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Ability to transfer knowledge from one situation to the next.

Education and Experience: 

• Bachelor’s Degree is required.

• 2+ years of experience in either higher education, real estate, or a field related to facilities and the built environment is required.

• Experience in both higher education and facilities or space management is preferred.

• Intermediate-level Excel and Powerpoint skills are required.