Director of Development Owners Representative

Mai Placement; New York (NY); On-site; USD 300,000 - 400,000; Full time

Job summary

Mai Placement in Brooklyn, NY, is seeking a Director of Development to lead real estate projects from acquisition to completion. You will be responsible for managing internal development processes while ensuring projects stay aligned with ownership's vision and budget.

This role requires extensive experience in NYC development, strong leadership abilities, and a proven track record of overseeing multifamily or mixed-use projects efficiently.

This is a unique opportunity for high-impact leadership with long-term growth potential as the company's development platform expands.

Qualifications

• Has personally led real estate development projects from acquisition through completion.
• Deep knowledge of NYC development, zoning, permitting, and approvals.
• Experience managing architects, engineers, consultants, expediters, attorneys, and contractors.

Responsibilities

• Lead projects from post-acquisition through completion.
• Drive due diligence, zoning, entitlement, permitting, consultant coordination, and pre-construction execution.
• Maintain full visibility into project budgets, schedules, risks, and critical milestones.

Skills

Real estate development

Zoning knowledge

Budget management

Construction knowledge

Team leadership

Job description

Overview

Director of Development & Owner's Representative

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Compensation: $300,000-$400,000 (Plus Growth Opportunity)

Business Problem

The company is growing rapidly and can no longer rely on outsourced Owner's Representatives to manage critical development projects. Ownership needs a senior operator who can take full control of development execution from post-acquisition through completion. This person will become the internal owner of the development process, ensuring projects move forward, consultants perform, approvals get secured, budgets stay controlled, and execution remains aligned with ownership's vision. The cost of failure is expensive delays, poor accountability, missed opportunities, and increased reliance on third-party operators.

You Own Development Execution

From the moment a deal is signed until the project is completed, you are responsible for making sure every moving part progresses. You are the person ownership calls when they want to know:

• Where the project stands
• What’s at risk
• What decision needs to be made
• How the issue will be solved

You will operate as ownership's right hand and become the central point of accountability across multiple active developments.

Responsibilities

Own The Development Process

• Lead projects from post-acquisition through completion.
• Drive due diligence, zoning, entitlement, permitting, consultant coordination, and pre-construction execution.
• Ensure projects become shovel-ready efficiently and without unnecessary delays.

Lead All External Stakeholders

• Hire, manage, and hold accountable architects, engineers, consultants, expediters, attorneys, and contractors.
• Ensure every stakeholder delivers on time and at the expected standard.
• Escalate issues early and drive solutions before they impact project outcomes.

Control Budget, Schedule, and Execution

• Maintain full visibility into project budgets, schedules, risks, and critical milestones.
• Identify bottlenecks and remove them quickly.
• Ensure projects remain aligned with ownership's financial and operational objectives.

Build Development Infrastructure

• Help transition development execution from outsourced management to an internal platform.
• Create systems, accountability, and processes that support future growth.
• Play a key role in building the development organization as the portfolio expands.

Success In This Role Looks Like

• Projects move from acquisition through construction without unnecessary delays.
• Entitlements, permits, and approvals are secured efficiently.
• Consultants and contractors are held accountable to deadlines and deliverables.
• Ownership has complete visibility into project status, risks, and next steps.
• Multiple developments are executed simultaneously without loss of control.
• Reliance on outsourced Owner's Representatives is substantially reduced.

Must-Haves

• Has personally led real estate development projects from acquisition through completion.
• Deep knowledge of NYC development, zoning, permitting, and approvals.
• Experience managing architects, engineers, consultants, expediters, attorneys, and contractors.
• Strong development and construction knowledge.
• Experience overseeing multifamily, mixed-use, or residential development projects.
• Proven ownership of budgets, schedules, and project execution.
• Able to operate independently with minimal direction.

Ideal Backgrounds

• Owner's Representative
• Director of Development
• Senior Development Manager
• Development Executive
• Development Director
• Real Estate Development Operator
• Project Executive with substantial development-side experience

Why This Role Is Different

This is not an acquisitions role.

This is not an underwriting role.

This is not a project manager role.

Why This Opportunity

This is a rare opportunity to step into a high-impact leadership role with direct ownership exposure, significant influence over project outcomes, and long-term upside as the company continues to expand its development platform.