Portfolio Account Director

CBRE; Toronto; On-site; CAD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A global real estate services leader is seeking a Portfolio Account Director in Toronto. This role requires overseeing client accounts, ensuring operational excellence, and driving business growth. Candidates should have extensive facilities maintenance experience and strong leadership skills. Join a company that values diverse perspectives and offers opportunities for career advancement.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 to 10 years in facilities maintenance management.
• Experience managing supervisors and skilled trade staff is an asset.
• Project management experience; ability to manage from design to hand over.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and guidance to account teams.
• Ensure financial and operational commitments are met.
• Communicate with clients regarding property profiles and plans.

Skills

Facilities maintenance management

Operational leadership

Strategic thinking

Communication skills

Financial management

Education

Post-secondary degree/diploma in Engineering or Facilities Management

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Overview

Portfolio Account Director

Job ID 243405

Posted 21-Oct-2025

Location: Toronto - Ontario - Canada

Service line: GWS Segment | Role type: Full-time

Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) Local is a hard services-led, tailored facility management solution. We self-perform hard services while partnering with best-in-class soft service providers to offer custom facility and project management solutions to our clients. We focus on empowering our team with a high-level of downstream accountability, resulting in an agile and efficient service delivery. In addition to our core facility and project management capabilities, our platform offers direct access to Best-in-Class services, including ESG, Security Consulting, Workplace Strategy, and Workplace Experience.

About the Role: As a Portfolio Account Director you would be accountable for providing leadership, management, and development of client accounts, ensuring both financial and operational commitments are met and exceeded. This leadership role is the single point of contact for all operational needs for customers account within GWS Local. The AD is responsible for delivering the full suite of FM services (hard FM) to key clients, working in partnership with all stakeholders to ensure exceptional service is delivered and maintained at all times.

What You’ll Do:

• General/Operations: Provide leadership, coaching and guidance to the account team, to ensure contractual commitments are met and exceeded.
• Identify and execute opportunities for the strategic development of the account, driving organic growth through the delivery of extra works and projects, and ensuring the account is retained upon renewal.
• Act as the single point of contact for overall account operations ensuring contractual compliance.
• Supervise, plan, and coordinate all aspects of operations, including preventative maintenance (PM), reactive maintenance, vendor management (where in scope), and extra works. Provide expertise in development/improvement of maintenance programs; apply planning/scheduling techniques and risk-mitigation strategies to ensure effective delivery of maintenance; ensure appropriate use/maintenance of CMMS.
• Ensure appropriate account review, audit and governance regimes exist to meet regulatory, policy and contractual commitments, and ensure all required elements of the Local Target Operating Model are in place.
• Ensure a customer focus within all areas of operational activities, and maintain effective relationships with key clients at various levels, including formal monthly, quarterly and annual reviews.
• Communicate to clients regarding property profiles, emergency preparedness plans, site inspections, facility audits, work order progress, and other related reports in line with contract requirements.
• Present written recommendations to clients including economic justifications, financial reports, and monthly summary reporting in line with agreed expectations. Generate a robust communication strategy and ensure accuracy of reporting and client submittals.
• Drive innovation and thought-leadership on the account, engaging with subject matter experts to provide a diverse offering of solutions to complex client problems.
• Collaborate with other operational leaders to support the development of the business, promote effective teamwork, and uphold the company’s RISE values.
• Support effective business communication internally and externally with clients, CBRE team members, vendor partners, tenants, landlords, and other stakeholders.
• Support the sales process through solution development, participating in presentations and consultation meetings, and hosting visits as necessary.
• Support account diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) objectives; promote and maintain CBRE culture throughout account.

People

• Accountable for all key hiring decisions; recruit, retain and develop talent for present delivery and future growth.
• Provide leadership, guidance and coaching to deliver service excellence and high levels of employee engagement; ensure effective performance management.
• Foster a learning environment with training and development planning across the account.
• Ensure optimum staffing structures operate across the account, balancing cost with service excellence; support peaks and troughs in workload, disaster recovery, and contractual commitments.
• Ensure training needs are delivered, employees are competent, and can reach their full potential.
• Ensure effective succession planning is completed account-wide.

Finance/Commercial

• Full responsibility for Profit & Loss including development of account financial plans for revenue and profit delivery, management of WIP, debt, cost control, and growth, ensuring targets are met or exceeded.
• Communicate and implement business policies and processes across the account.
• Drive commercial and financial governance through accurate reporting and checks and balances.
• Review purchase orders for financial, contractual, and commercial accuracy.
• Supply chain management, including supplier performance reviews, supplier negotiations, re-bidding, and identifying additional scope opportunities.
• Drive sustainable organic growth of the account, maximizing extra works and project opportunities.

QHSE

• Ensure a healthy and safe working environment on the account.
• Maintain client and CBRE health and safety policies and processes across all service lines, self-perform and vendor delivered.
• Develop environmental health and safety procedures for facilities, including emergency action plans, disaster recovery, and business continuity.
• Responsible for facility inspections for quality assurance; ensure procedures comply with local, state, and federal regulations.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Provide formal supervision to employees within a single functional/operational area.
• Approves subordinate staffing actions; recommends for next level management review.
• Plan and monitor staffing levels and labor utilization, including overtime.
• Prepare and deliver performance appraisals; mentor and coach team members.
• Lead by example and model behaviors aligned with the company values.

This is not a comprehensive list of job requirements; additional tasks may be included.

What You’ll Need

• Minimum 5 to 10 years of related/progressive facilities maintenance and operations management experience.
• Experience in managing supervisors and skilled trade staff is an asset.
• Post-secondary degree/diploma in a relevant field (e.g., Engineering, Facilities Management).
• Trades qualification as a journeyman (e.g., 309A/442A, 433A, Inter-Provincial Red Seal/Master Plumber), Electrician, Millwright or Plumber will be considered an asset.
• Professional designation as CET, or P.Eng, or combination of education/training/experience.
• Project management experience; ability to manage from design to hand over.
• Knowledge of Occupational Health & Safety Act, building/fire/other codes and standards for facilities maintenance.
• Ontario Electrical Code knowledge an asset.
• Strong communication/presentation skills; ability to excel in a team environment.
• Critical, logical and strategic thinking/analysis; ability to plan, organize, prioritize and implement.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Applicants must be authorized to work in Canada without visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Professional and Technical requirements

• Working knowledge of maintenance/operations equipment and related software.
• Demonstrated capabilities in innovation, accountability, judgment, decision-making and problem-solving.
• Ability to act in crisis management environments.
• Ability to develop/maintain rapport; lead/coach/manage staff, consultants and contractors.
• Ability to work under pressure with deadlines and changing priorities.
• Proven ability to conduct meetings/presentations and interact with clients, management and staff.
• Ability to plan and implement strategic business initiatives.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team; customer/client-focused.
• Active participation in industry associations; develop relationships to monitor trends.
• Possesses leadership attributes: integrity, trustworthiness, results focus, high standards, ethical values.
• Proven ability to foster/develop/maintain relationships with internal/external partners; expand network of external service providers.
• Guided by general management objectives, develop solutions using proactive/innovative thinking.

Why CBRE?

CBRE is a global leader in commercial real estate services and investment. We value diverse perspectives and provide opportunities to chart your own course. We welcome all applicants.

Applicant AI Use Disclosure

We value human interaction to understand each candidate's experience, skills and aspirations. We do not use AI tools to make hiring decisions, and we ask candidates to disclose any AI use in the application and interview process.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement: CBRE is an equal opportunity employer welcoming applicants regardless of race, creed, ancestry, national or ethnic origin, colour, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, family status, gender identity or expression, disability or any other status protected by law.

Candidate Accommodations: CBRE provides reasonable accommodations in job application procedures for individuals with disabilities. If you require assistance, please email [e-mail] or call [phone] (Canada) or [phone] (U.S.).

CBRE GWS — CBRE Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) delivers client-centric real estate solutions and dedicated account management.

Find out more (https://www.cbre.com/real-estate-services/directory/global-workplace-solutions)