Director Real Estate, Americas

CHEP USA; United States; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

CHEP is seeking an experienced Head of Real Estate, Americas to lead real estate strategy and portfolio management across the region. This role partners with senior leaders and external service providers to optimize the real estate footprint, support growth, and drive value across leased facilities.

The candidate will bring deep CRE expertise, strong leadership, and the ability to influence stakeholders. The position requires extensive multi-country CRE experience, strategic thinking, and a

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in commercial real estate.
• Experience managing multi-country real estate portfolios across multiple countries.
• Strong track record of leading lease negotiations and real estate transactions.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead real estate strategy and portfolio management across the Americas.
• Negotiate leases, renewals, relocations, expansions, and site exits.
• Partner with Operations, Finance, Legal, and executive leadership to align real estate decisions with business needs.
• Develop and execute portfolio strategies to optimize occupancy costs and risk.

Skills

Category Strategy

Coaching

Contract Management

Cost Management

Cross-Functional Work

Market Analysis

Strategic Thinking

Leadership

Supplier Management

Prioritization

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or related advanced degree

Job description

CHEP helps move more goods to more people, in more places than any other organization on earth via our 347 million pallets, crates and containers. We employ approximately 13,000 people and operate in 60 countries. Through our pioneering and sustainable share-and-reuse business model, the world’s biggest brands trust us to help them transport their goods more efficiently, safely and with less environmental impact. What does that mean for you? You’ll join an international organization big enough to take you anywhere, and small enough to get you there sooner. You’ll help change how goods get to market and contribute to global sustainability. You’ll be empowered to bring your authentic self to work and be surrounded by diverse and driven professionals. And you can maximize your work-life balance and flexibility through our Hybrid Work Model.

Job Description

Are you a strategic real estate leader looking for an opportunity to shape the future of a large, multi-country portfolio across the Americas? We're partnering with a global industry leader to identify a Head of Real Estate, Americas who will play a critical role in driving real estate strategy, portfolio optimization, and operational growth across the region. This is a highly visible leadership position that offers the opportunity to influence key business decisions while partnering closely with executive leadership, operations, supply chain, finance, and legal stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the execution of procurement strategies for the region/function, integrating global initiatives into regional and functional contexts.
• Design, manage, and continuously improve procurement strategies, ensuring they are aligned with the organization's goals and the external market environment.
• Develop, mentor, and lead a high-performing procurement team, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Champion the development of procurement professionals and drive the function towards "best-in-class" standards.
• Oversee the execution of the high value and strategic supplier relationship management.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with key suppliers to ensure consistent value delivery, compliance, and innovation.
• Identify, unlock, and deliver cost savings opportunities across procurement categories.
• Drive initiatives for hard cost reduction, total cost of ownership (TCO) improvements, and process efficiencies that enhance procurement’s contribution to the business.
• Redesign and refresh category strategies, ensuring alignment with market trends and business needs.
• Develop and implement best-in-class sourcing approaches, including market analysis, supplier selection, negotiation, and contract management across all categories.
• Act as a strategic business partner to senior leadership teams, engaging with functional/regional leaders to understand operational needs, ensuring procurement initiatives meet or exceed business objectives.
• Ensure procurement processes adhere to corporate policies, ethical standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Develop risk mitigation strategies for procurement activities and ensure a robust compliance framework is in place.
• Establish and track procurement performance metrics, ensuring alignment with global procurement objectives.
• Regularly report on key performance indicators (KPIs), such as cost savings, supplier performance, contract compliance, and risk management.
• Lead real estate strategy and execution across the Americas region.
• Manage relationships with external real estate partners and brokers to ensure high-quality service delivery and alignment with business objectives.
• Lead lease negotiations, renewals, relocations, expansions, and site exit activities.
• Develop and execute short and long-term real estate portfolio strategies.
• Identify opportunities to optimize occupancy costs, improve flexibility, and mitigate risk.
• Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, and executive leadership teams on real estate decisions.
• Establish governance, reporting, and performance measures to support portfolio management and decision-making.
• Evaluate market trends and leverage commercial real estate intelligence to guide business strategy.
• Lead, mentor, and develop team members while fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Support business growth initiatives by aligning real estate solutions with operational and network requirements.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Head of Real Estate, Americas to lead real estate strategy and portfolio management across the Americas region. This role will partner closely with business leaders and external real estate service providers to optimize the company's real estate footprint, support operational growth, and drive value across a diverse portfolio of leased facilities. The successful candidate will bring deep commercial real estate expertise, strong leadership capabilities, and the ability to influence senior stakeholders while balancing operational requirements with long-term portfolio strategy.

Experience &Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA, Real Estate, Business, Finance, or related advanced degree preferred.
• Professional real estate certifications are considered an asset.
• Strong understanding of commercial real estate portfolio management, leasing, and market analysis.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in commercial real estate, corporate real estate, portfolio management, or related disciplines.
• Experience managing complex, multi-location real estate portfolios across multiple countries.
• Strong track record of leading lease negotiations and real estate transactions.
• Experience working within large, global, or multinational organizations.
• Demonstrated success influencing senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Experience managing external service providers and strategic vendor relationships.
• Previous leadership experience, including coaching and developing direct reports.

Preferred Languages

English required. Spanish preferred.

What You’ll Bring

• Passion for developing real estate strategies that support business objectives.
• Strong negotiation and relationship management skills.
• Ability to balance strategic planning with operational execution.
• Experience navigating complex environments and managing competing priorities.
• A collaborative approach and commitment to continuous improvement.

Remote Type Hybrid Remote

Skills to Succeed in the Role

• Category Strategy
• Coaching
• Contract Management
• Cost Management
• Cross-Functional Work
• Disruptive Thinking
• Emotional Intelligence
• Feedback
• Inclusive Leadership
• Influencing
• Leading Change
• Leading Customer Centric Teams
• Market Analysis
• Mentorship
• Prioritization
• Procurement Strategies
• Procurement Systems
• Responsible Sourcing
• Risk Management
• Strategic Sourcing
• Strategic Thinking
• Supplier Management
• Supplier Performance Management (PM)

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we are committed to developing a diverse workforce in which everyone is treated fairly, with respect, and has the opportunity to contribute to business success while realizing his or her potential. This means harnessing the unique skills and experience that each individual brings and we do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state, or local protected class.