Director of Leasing

High Country Search Group; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

High Country: Private Equity Search seeks a Director of Retail Leasing to lead leasing across Austin and Central Texas for an expanding institutional-quality retail platform. The role reports to Senior VP of Retail Leasing and offers autonomy to drive occupancy, rental growth, and asset value.

The ideal candidate has 8–12+ years in retail leasing with strong retailer relationships and proven negotiation skills, able to collaborate with asset management, acquisitions, and development teams while

Qualifications

• 8–12+ years of progressive commercial real estate experience with significant exposure to retail leasing and direct transaction execution.
• Experience leasing shopping centers, lifestyle centers, power centers, or mixed-use developments.
• Established relationships with national and regional retailers, restaurant operators, and brokers.

Responsibilities

• Lead retail leasing across Austin and Central Texas portfolio.
• Develop and execute property-level leasing strategies to maximize occupancy and NOI.
• Source, negotiate, and execute leases (new, renewals, expansions, relocations).
• Manage third-party brokers and oversee leasing pipelines.
• Develop tenant merchandising strategies to enhance property positioning.
• Collaborate with asset management, development, and investment teams on repositioning and capital plans.
• Prepare leasing forecasts, pipelines, and performance reports for senior leadership.
• Represent the firm at industry events to identify opportunities.

Skills

Retail leasing

Negotiation

Relationship management

Financial acumen

Market knowledge

Strategic leasing

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Finance, Business

Job description

High Country: Private Equity Search has been retained to identify a Director of Retail Leasing for an established, vertically integrated real estate investment firm with a growing national retail platform.

The company specializes in acquiring, redeveloping, repositioning, and managing high-quality commercial real estate assets, with a focus on creating value through strategic leasing, active asset management, and targeted capital improvements.

The firm's retail portfolio includes shopping centers, lifestyle destinations, and mixed-use properties across major U.S. markets. As the platform continues to expand, the company is seeking an experienced leasing professional to oversee its retail leasing activities throughout Austin and the broader Central Texas region.

The ideal candidate will bring significant retail leasing experience, established relationships with national and regional retailers, and a demonstrated ability to negotiate transactions, develop merchandising strategies, and improve property-level performance. This individual should have a strong understanding of the Austin retail market and be comfortable independently driving leasing activity while collaborating closely with senior leadership, asset management, acquisitions, and development teams.

Position:

This is a senior-level position responsible for developing and executing leasing strategies across a portfolio of retail assets throughout Austin and Central Texas. Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President of Retail Leasing, based in either Dallas or New York, the Director will play an important role in driving occupancy, rental growth, tenant quality, and long-term asset value.

The individual will oversee leasing initiatives across existing properties while supporting new acquisitions, redevelopment opportunities, and broader portfolio growth. Responsibilities will include sourcing and negotiating transactions, cultivating retailer relationships, managing third-party brokers, and developing property-specific leasing strategies aligned with investment objectives.

The position offers meaningful autonomy, direct exposure to senior leadership, and the opportunity to contribute to the continued expansion of an institutional-quality retail investment platform in one of Texas's key growth markets.

Responsibilities:

• Lead retail leasing activities across an assigned portfolio of shopping centers, lifestyle destinations, and mixed-use properties throughout Austin and the broader Central Texas region.
• Develop and execute property-level leasing strategies focused on maximizing occupancy, rental growth, tenant quality, and net operating income.
• Independently source, negotiate, and execute retail lease transactions, including new leases, renewals, expansions, relocations, and restructurings.
• Build and maintain relationships with national and regional retailers, restaurant operators, tenant representatives, and brokerage firms to generate leasing opportunities.
• Develop merchandising and tenant-mix strategies that enhance property positioning, strengthen consumer appeal, and support long-term investment performance.
• Negotiate key lease economics, including rental rates, tenant improvement allowances, landlord obligations, co-tenancy provisions, and other material business terms.
• Partner with asset management and development teams to support retail repositioning, redevelopment initiatives, and capital improvement strategies.
• Oversee third-party leasing brokers, establish leasing priorities, and monitor transaction pipelines and execution timelines.
• Evaluate local market conditions, competitive retail properties, tenant demand, and emerging retail concepts to identify opportunities for value creation.
• Support acquisition due diligence and underwriting by providing market rent assumptions, tenant demand assessments, leasing cost estimates, and property-level leasing strategies.
• Analyze the financial impact of leasing transactions, including occupancy, rental growth, leasing costs, and overall property-level investment returns.
• Collaborate with internal investment, legal, construction, and property management teams to facilitate lease execution and tenant delivery.
• Prepare leasing forecasts, pipeline updates, and property-level performance reports for senior leadership.
• Represent the firm at industry conferences, retailer meetings, and relevant networking events to strengthen relationships and identify new leasing opportunities.

Qualifications:

• Ideally 8–12+ years of progressive commercial real estate experience, with significant exposure to retail leasing and direct transaction execution.
• Demonstrated experience leasing shopping centers, lifestyle centers, power centers, mixed-use developments, or other institutional-quality retail properties.
• Strong knowledge of the Austin and broader Central Texas retail markets, including established relationships with retailers and industry professionals throughout the region.
• Established relationships with national and regional retailers, restaurant operators, tenant representatives, and commercial real estate brokerage firms.
• Proven ability to independently originate, negotiate, and execute complex retail lease transactions.
• Experience developing tenant merchandising strategies, improving occupancy, and supporting retail repositioning or redevelopment initiatives.
• Strong financial acumen, including an understanding of leasing economics, net operating income, tenant improvement costs, and property-level investment performance.
• Experience working with institutional real estate owners, private equity investment firms, retail developers, or established commercial real estate platforms preferred.
• Ability to manage multiple leasing initiatives while collaborating effectively with investment, asset management, development, and operating teams.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship management skills, with the ability to work effectively with senior leadership and external stakeholders.
• Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Finance, Business, Economics, or a related field preferred.
• Willingness to travel throughout the assigned region as needed.