Leasing Manager – Food & Beverage

LEASING MANAGER — SELECTION CRITERIA FFSU | Reports to: Country Manager | Dubai, UAE 1. EXPERIENCE — MANDATORY Total commercial real estate / leasing experience: minimum 8 years Restaurant, QSR or F&B leasing specifically: minimum 5 years, of which at least 3 within the last 5 years At Leasing Manager level or equivalent (own portfolio, own negotiation authority, not supporting someone else's): minimum 3 years Current or most recent role tenure: minimum 2 years — under 18 months in each of the last two roles is a stability flag to probe Portfolio personally managed: minimum 25 active leases at any one time New restaurant sites personally secured and opened: minimum 8 sites in the last 3 years Franchisor / corporate approval files (RFS or equivalent) personally compiled through to approval: minimum 10 files 2. MARKET — MANDATORY UAE market experience: minimum 4 years continuous, currently UAE-resident Occupier-side experience required — landlord-side or agency-side only does not qualify Trade-area knowledge: active working knowledge of Dubai and Sharjah as a minimum; Northern Emirates and Oman preferred Landlord and developer relationships: must be able to name specific individuals and organisations, not just describe the market 3. SECTOR — MANDATORY, AND THE PRIMARY SCREEN-OUT Direct restaurant / QSR / F&B portfolio experience, operator-side or franchisee-side Retail-only, mall-leasing-only, office or residential backgrounds are disqualified — this is the exact profile mismatch behind the current vacancy, and two referred candidates have already been rejected by the Country Manager on this ground Multi-brand portfolio experience preferred (3+ brands managed simultaneously) Franchisee-side QSR environment preferred (3+ years) 4. DEMONSTRATED CAPABILITY — PROOF REQUIRED, NO NUMBER SET Candidate must be able to evidence each of the following with named sites, dates and outcomes. What matters at screening is that the capability is proven, not the size of the figure — scale is calibrated to their previous portfolio, not to ours. Rent reduction / lease restructuring — has personally led and closed rent reductions or restructured terms on existing leases. Must give the site, the opening position, the closing position, and what was conceded. Site acquisition — has personally taken restaurant sites from identification through to signed lease and opening Approval file delivery — has driven franchisor or corporate approval files to completion, and can explain a past rejection and how it was fixed Renewal management — can evidence a clean record: no lapsed renewals, no fines, no default notices in their portfolio Closures and relocations — has executed these end-to-end (preferred, minimum 5) 5. EDUCATION & CERTIFICATION Bachelor degree in Real Estate, Business Administration, Finance, Engineering or a related discipline — mandatory RICS / MRICS or equivalent professional accreditation — preferred, not required UAE Broker Card / RERA registration — preferred, not required, but indicates active market participation Postgraduate qualification — not required and should not be weighted 6. TECHNICAL SKILLS Lease commercial analysis — must be able to calculate effective rent, rent-free amortisation, turnover rent breakpoint, and total occupancy cost as a percentage of sales. Test this live with a term sheet. Financial modelling — builds own rent comparison and NPV models in Excel Structured site selection methodology — catchment, footfall, co-tenancy, access, visibility, competitor proximity Portfolio administration — maintains a lease expiry calendar with renewal trigger dates 7. PERSONAL REQUIREMENTS Business English — fluent, written and spoken Arabic — preferred, not mandatory UAE driving licence and own vehicle — mandatory, site visits are a daily requirement Notice period — maximum 60 days 8. DISQUALIFIERS — REJECT AT CV STAGE Retail-only, office or residential background with no restaurant portfolio Landlord-side or agency-side only, no occupier-side experience Fewer than 8 restaurant sites delivered in the last 3 years Notice period exceeding 60 days No UAE driving licence Apply now!