Manager

Description:

Zendesk is looking for a stellar planner to support our real estate operations and strategy function! To make an immediate impact, you will need to be highly collaborative, a relationship-builder, an excellent planner, a problem solver, and quick on your feet.

The pandemic has shown us that flexible/hybrid work is here to stay and that we must approach the development and use of our offices in a much different way than before. Gone are the days of desk-heavy office space and cube farms. We are evolving our thinking and the purpose of the office is for in-person collaboration. Onsite work is intentional and in-office attendance is flexible and voluntary for most employees. Over the past few years, our real estate portfolio has evolved to reflect these core beliefs. There is plenty of work to be done to support this new way of working. 

Reporting to the Director of Real Estate & Workplace, this person will be an important partner to the Global Real Estate, Capital Projects team. We are searching for a candidate who is adept at managing a global portfolio of leases and can assist with executing strategies for a mature organization that is continuously growing. This role will also focus on providing day-to-day support for the real estate portfolio, anticipating key events, and ensuring that we have safeguarded our contracts for the future. 

We don’t believe in doing things a certain way just because that’s how they’ve always been done. We want someone who will come to Zendesk with fresh ideas in a post-pandemic environment and new ways to engage our employees around the world.

Lead account management of the global direct lease and coworking, flex office accounts which includes the following: 

Negotiate new lease contracts and renewal agreements including expansions and relocations. 
Familiarity with coworking, serviced office, and enterprise account negotiations. 
Support life cycle planning with the reopening of numerous coworking spaces by collaborating with local office leaders and regional workplace teams. 
Track utilization of our Global FlexOffice program and serviced offices globally. 

Support the Global Real Estate team and deal desk with the following: 

Document and track the real estate PMO strategy to ensure that goals and objectives are met. Develop slides and presentations for approval of real estate investments from our Steerco advisors. 
Participate in regular real estate and operations strategy discussions internally and externally. 
Build and manage a transaction tracker and dashboard of ongoing transactions. 
Forecast / Reforecast annual rent schedules for long-range plans.
Contribute to annual real estate LRP planning and analysis. 
Process 3rd party broker contracts and representation agreements for the acquisition and disposition of properties. 
Review and redline various types of lease contracts, and route them to in-house and external legal counsel for review. 
Anticipate document execution processes and legal entity requirements in partnership with the legal and finance departments. 
Gather data & analytics to validate location strategies; and zip reports, compile demographic information, issue location surveys, track headcount projections, and more. 
Partner with lease accounting and finance teams to track leases, and security deposit refunds, manage rent schedules, issue POs, change orders, and approve invoices for rent, CAM, operating expenses, reconciliations, property taxes, etc. 

Capital Planning And Forecasting

Work with local brokers and project managers to develop multi-year capital plans and forecasts for the development, design, and construction of new office projects globally. 
Track YOY inflation, and benchmark the design, construction, and fixed assets costs to ensure accurate forecasting of turnkey construction and consulting costs. 
Develop 3-year capital plans related to real estate strategies for CFO approval. 

Own The Lease Administration Function With The Following

Responsible for database management of 3rd party lease administration tool. 
Review monthly event reports and initiate discussions on strategy. 
Conduct quarterly audits of the database and resolve bug issues. 
Record signed LOIs, lease agreements, commencement docs, estoppels, SNDAs, TIA agreements, and reimbursements to lease administration. 

Requirements

Full ownership of administrative processes associated with POs, change orders, procurement tickets, and invoice approval for real estate transaction management process. 
Commercial real estate and leasing experience managing domestic and international transactions. 
Experience managing coworking portfolios globally and exposure to a network of serviced office operators. 
Experience drafting and issuing RFPs for brokerage services and other related real estate contracts. 
Knowledge of real estate finance, FASB lease accounting principles, and life cycle planning. 
Experience with lease administration software and database management. 
Experience developing rent rolls, tracking annual escalations, analyzing rent invoices, and annual operating expense reconciliations.