Associate Director - Retail Leasing

Dubai Holding Asset Management; Dubai; On-site; AED 350,000 - 550,000; Full time

Job summary

Dubai Holding Asset Management is seeking an experienced Leasings & Commercial Operations leader to develop and grow client relationships, achieve 100% occupancy, and maximize leasing revenue. The role emphasizes strategic leasing planning, budget alignment, and ensuring compliant, well-documented tenancy agreements across the mall and retail portfolio.

The ideal candidate will have 10–11 years in retail leasing, Middle East experience, and strong financial acumen, with a track record in driving

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing/Business Administration or related field.
• RERA certification preferred.
• 10–11 years of experience in retail leasing/sales, with 5+ years in a managerial role.
• Experience in the Middle East preferred.
• Thorough knowledge of RERA regulations.

Responsibilities

• Support leasing strategy and planning to identify opportunities and achieve annual objectives.
• Manage leasing services to maximize occupancy rate and revenue for the retail portfolio.
• Acquire, negotiate and conclude lease agreements with new and existing brands.
• Develop tenancy contracts templates and ensure standardized leasing documents with legal.
• Coordinate renewals, documents, and payments through Leasing Admin (AXS) and platforms like YARDI.
• Provide market research and recommendations on prospective tenants based on financial strength and ROI.
• Identify business opportunities, negotiate leases, and analyze lease rents against market trends.
• Maintain long-term relationships with key brands and partners to ensure revenue targets.

Skills

Client relationship management

Negotiation

Financial analysis

Strategic leasing planning

People leadership

Customer service excellence

Networking skills

Analytical thinking

Interpersonal skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing / Business Administration

Job description

The role holder is responsible for leading, developing and growing relationships with clients to achieve 100% occupancy of the retail portfolio, in order to maximize leasing revenue and retain existing customers. The role holder ensures that the deals are documented and executed within the company policies / budgets whilst providing seamless customer service to improve customer satisfaction and customer retention.

Core Responsibilities

Support Leasing Strategy and Plan, Policies

• Provide input to the development of leasing strategy and business plan in order to identify new leasing opportunities in local markets and achieve the annual leasing objectives.
• Support in the development of leasing plans, policies, procedures and practices that ensure adequate safety for the business and provide sustainable service to the clients.
• Develop and implement an attainable leasing plan and budget to ensure the Leasing strategy is translated to practical operational action & projects which contribute to the achievement of ROI and business objectives.
• Manage the Implementation of leasing policies, systems, processes, procedures and forms to ensure the consistent and systematic application of leasing practices.

Budgetary Support

• Support the ED – Retail and Head – Retail Leasing to prepare, consolidate, and forecast the commercial budget and monitor financial performance versus the budget so that the business is aware of anticipated costs/revenues; areas of unsatisfactory performance are identified, and potential performance improvement opportunities are capitalized upon in line with the forecasts and assuring budget accuracy.

Commercial Operations

• Manage leasing services for all DHAM retail portfolio and ensure proper planning and execution of activities to maximize occupancy rate and ensure the highest revenue return on the assets.
• Meet revenue and occupancy targets and ensure all pipelines and deals are closed.
• Acquire, negotiate and conclude lease agreements with new and existing brands in line with tenancy mix and budget.
• Ensure development of tenancy contracts templates and forms of high quality by working with legal that ensures standardization of leasing documents and provide safety to business and tenants in line with rules and regulation of the country.
• Ensure that the retailers are in compliance with all documentaries, financial and design submission criteria, and timeframes.
• Ensure documents are accurately prepared to allow administration and execution of lease agreements and efficient co-ordination with internal departments.
• Research, analyze and make recommendations concerning prospective tenants for Malls / Retail Destinations / Community Centers based on client financial strength, tenant mix, and return on investment. Provide recommendations to the Retail Tenant Selection Committee & Asset Management committee on proposals submitted.
• Pursue local and international tenants within the targeted use categories via regular and systematic canvassing, cold calling, and networking.
• Provide support in identifying potential business opportunities and negotiate new leases, acquire new business opportunities based on prevailing market rates, evaluation of properties, lease rents, and available properties in order to achieve the revenue targets. Understand and recommend the Lease rent trends, and their viability for different retailer categories.
• Introduce new retail partners to DHAM retail portfolio and nurture and strengthen long term relationships with key brands.
• Develop overall market research on brands that are not present in the UAE and or high / unique brands to attract and connect with them and introduce them to DHAM for leasing.
• Coordinate with the lease admin (AXS) team to ensure renewals, leasing documents and payments are issued and received in a timely manner.
• Ensure all leasing activities are incorporated through YARDI or other available platforms.
• Contribute to the development of pricing modelling in conjunction with Corporate Strategy and Finance to recommend competitive pricing of product offerings that maximizes the IRR.
• Understand and recommend the lease rent trends, and their viability for different retailer categories and provide suggestions to the Research & Product Development team.
• Support the Head in developing monthly leasing report to ensure financial targets are being met. Recommend corrective actions based on the reports to monitor and review the performance against targets in order to highlight any variances to Management for corrective action.

Key Relationship Management

• Manage client relationships and relationships with key commercial contacts, key market players within retail and seek expansion opportunities, ensuring the team conducts regular client visits to achieve assigned revenue and customer satisfaction targets.
• Drive the development and maintenance of effective key business relationships with all relevant external/internal entities with the highest standards of business ethics, whilst promptly attending to all critical issues in order to ensure the services required by the organization are delivered most effectively.

Customer Experience Management

• Drive the customer experience management model to maximize and enhance the customer acquisition and retention rate.
• Review the customer satisfaction survey results to undertake appropriate corrective actions within the stipulated time as per the agreed priorities.
• Bachelors’ degree in Marketing / Business Administration or any related field.
• RERA certification preferred.

Experience

• Minimum 10-11 years of experience in retail leasing / sales with at least 5 years in a managerial level position.
• Middle East experience is preferred.
• Thorough knowledge of RERA regulations / rules.
• Strong financial management and business acumen.
• Adept in revenue and cost analysis.
• Advanced analytical skills.
• Thorough knowledge of retail market / trends / intelligence.
• Ability to manage the brokers / agents.
• Excellent customer relations and networking skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills with the ability to lead teams in achieving results.