Director of Development & Construction

Surrey City Development Corporation; Vancouver; Hybrid; CAD 175,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Life insurance

AD&D insurance

Bonus up to 15%

Job summary

Surrey City Development Corporation seeks a Director of Development & Construction to lead delivery of transformative civic projects in Surrey, BC. The role acts as Owner's Representative, coordinating design, planning, and commissioning with City staff, consultants, and operators to ensure on-time, on-budget outcomes.

Responsibilities include governance, procurement, risk management, and stakeholder engagement across multiple agreements, with remote-to-office transition and strong leadership

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field.
• Professional designations such as PMP, P.Eng., AIBC or MRICS are assets.
• Minimum 15 years of progressively responsible experience delivering complex capital projects.
• Experience leading major capital projects exceeding CAD 100 million.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary consultant teams and project management professionals.
• Strong governance, procurement, and contract administration experience.

Responsibilities

• Act as Owner's Representative and lead day-to-day project delivery from concept to occupancy.
• Coordinate City, consultants, contractors, operators, tenants, and other stakeholders.
• Lead project governance, reports, business cases, dashboards, and board communications.
• Oversee external project management teams and manage scope, schedule, budget, and risk.
• Establish and maintain project controls: master schedule, budget, risk log, decisions.
• Lead procurement and contract negotiations across multiple agreements.
• Support commissioning, occupancy readiness, and transition planning.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Strategic planning

Governance

Scheduling

Risk management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

PMP / P.Eng. / AIBC / MRICS or equivalent

Job description

TITLE: Director of Development & Construction

REPORTS TO: President & CEO

Surrey City Development Corporation (SCDC) is a value-add real estate development company owned by, but separate from, the City of Surrey. Reporting to an independent Board of Directors, the corporation has independent financial oversight, operations, and governance. In addition to deriving financial value from real estate, a key dimension of SCDC’s mandate is to help advance the City’s urban, economic, social, environmental and community objectives. SCDC is focused on accelerating Surrey’s growth into an even more complete community by delivering impactful “city building” projects that otherwise would not likely be developed by the private sector or government on their own.

SCDC is advancing a portfolio of transformative “city building” projects across Surrey. As these projects continue to gain momentum, SCDC is expanding its in house capabilities to support the delivery of increasingly complex developments, including the new City Centre Cultural and Sports Event Venue and Entertainment District (the “A&E Project”), a landmark civic project that will deliver a 10,000-seat arena and community plaza, and support the long-term growth of Surrey City Centre.

To support the initial priority delivery of the A&E Project and then subsequently other real estate development projects (collectively “SCDC Projects”), SCDC is seeking a Director of Development & Construction. Reporting to the President & CEO, the successful candidate will act as the Owner's Representative, leading project delivery from planning and design through to construction, commissioning, subdivision(s) and occupancy, while coordinating multidisciplinary teams, managing project governance, and working closely with the City of Surrey, consultants, contractors, future venue operator(s) and anchor tenant(s), to ensure SCDC Projects are delivered on time and on budget.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as the Owner's Representative and lead the day-to-day delivery of the SCDC Projects from concept through occupancy, working collaboratively with SCDC executives, officers, directors, managers and staff.
• Manage the overall SCDC Projects on behalf of SCDC, coordinating the City, external Project Management team, architects, consultants, constructors, operators, tenants, legal advisors, cost consultants, and other project participants, as applicable.
• Lead project governance, including preparation of reports, recommendations, business cases, dashboards, and decision requests for the Project Sponsor, Steering Committee, SCDC Board, and Surrey City Council.
• Oversee the performance of the external Project Management team (if applicable), ensuring effective management of project scope, schedule, budget, risk, quality, procurement, commissioning, and occupancy planning.
• Establish and maintain project controls, including the master schedule, project budget, risk register, issues log, decision register, change log, RAG Status Report Summary and action tracker.
• Lead commercial coordination between the Development Management Agreement, Project Management Agreement, Architect Agreement, Construction Agreement, Operator Agreement, Tenant Agreement, and other project contracts (as applicable) to ensure obligations are aligned and interface risks are managed.
• Coordinate design development to ensure SCDC Projects satisfy the City's objectives while meeting the operational requirements of the operator, tenant, and other user groups (as applicable).
• Lead procurement activities including consultant selection, contractor coordination, contract negotiations, evaluation processes, and contract administration.
• Manage project financial performance, including budget forecasting, cash flow monitoring, contingency management, cost reporting, and change management.
• Identify, assess, mitigate, and escalate project risks while ensuring timely resolution of project issues and decision making.
• Coordinate municipal approvals, permitting, utility servicing, land related matters, and stakeholder interfaces required to support project delivery.
• Build and maintain collaborative relationships with City departments, elected officials, external partners, consultants, contractors, operator representatives, tenant representatives, regulatory agencies, and community stakeholders.
• Support project commissioning, operational readiness, transition planning, occupancy, and project close out.
• Ensure all project activities are undertaken in accordance with approved governance frameworks, delegated authorities, and Board and/or Council direction.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Architecture, Construction Management, Real Estate Development, Urban Planning, Project Management, or a related discipline.
• Professional designation such as PMP, P.Eng., AIBC, MRICS, or equivalent is considered an asset.
• Minimum 15 years of progressively responsible experience delivering complex capital projects, including experience acting as an Owner's Representative, Development Manager or Project Manager.
• Demonstrated experience leading major capital projects exceeding $100 million, preferably public infrastructure, civic facilities, arenas, stadiums, convention centres, hospitals, airports, universities, or similarly complex developments.
• Demonstrated experience managing multidisciplinary consultant teams, construction managers, contractors, cost consultants, legal advisors, and external project management teams.
• Extensive experience administering and negotiating complex agreements, including Development Management Agreements, professional services agreements, CCDC contracts, construction management contracts, consultant agreements, operating agreements, commercial agreements, and procurement documents.
• Strong understanding of project governance, delegated authority frameworks, public sector procurement, municipal approvals, and decision-making processes.
• Demonstrated experience implementing project controls, including cost management, scheduling, earned value reporting, risk management, change management, contingency management, and executive reporting.
• Experience coordinating multiple commercial stakeholders with competing interests, including owners, operators, tenants, contractors, and consultants.
• Strong understanding of design development, constructability, commissioning, operational readiness, and project turnover.
• Experience preparing reports and presenting recommendations to executive leadership, Board of Directors, municipal councils, and senior government officials.
• Exceptional leadership, negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven ability to build consensus, resolve conflict, and make sound decisions within complex governance environments.
• Highly organized, strategic, collaborative, and capable of managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

LOCATION AND HOURS OF WORK

Location: This position may begin as a remote position and will soon become full-time in the office, as the company seeks to secure office space in Surrey, BC.

Hours of Work: Hours of operation are Monday – Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm. This is a full-time role, requiring 40 hours of work per week. Even though this position may be remote to start, once the office space is leased by SCDC, the successful candidate is expected to work from the office during the company’s regular business hours.

COMPENSATION

• Base Salary Range: $175,000 - $225,000, depending on experience
• Benefits: Extended Health Benefits (Health & Dental) in line with the City of Surrey’s benefits program, Life Insurance, AD&D Insurance
• Annual bonus of up to 15% of base salary

APPLICATION