Manager, Lease Audit & Recovery

Federal Realty Investment Trust; North Bethesda (MD); On-site; USD 120,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Job summary

Federal Realty Investment Trust in North Bethesda, MD seeks a Manager, Lease Audit & Recovery to own end-to-end disputes across CAM, real estate tax, insurance and other recoverable expenses.

You will lead Lease Administrators and a co-source team, interpret complex lease language, ensure timely resolution, and collaborate with Legal, Finance and Operations.

The role offers visibility in a respected real estate organization and opportunities to streamline processes and improve controls.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Real Estate, or related field.
• 5+ years in commercial CRE lease administration including CAM and tax reconciliations.
• Ability to interpret complex leases and apply conclusions to billing and recovery.
• Experience resolving tenant billing disputes and third‑party audits.
• Advanced Excel skills and familiarity with JD Edwards, Yardi, MRI, Salesforce.

Responsibilities

• Owner CAM, real estate tax, insurance, and other recoverable expense disputes from intake to closure.
• Ensure dispute handling complies with lease terms, policy, and internal controls.
• Prepare written responses, settlement proposals, and negotiate with tenants/auditors.
• Establish turnaround standards and response deadlines to preserve contractual position.
• Track root causes of disputes and drive corrective action to prevent recurrence.
• Lead the co-source lease administration partner, assign work and clarify requirements.
• Review co-source deliverables for accuracy and data entry.
• Provide lease-interpretation support to Lease Administrators and standardize treatment across the portfolio.
• Coordinate with Legal on audit-rights matters and settlement documentation.
• Advise on recovery implications and recommend language improvements.
• Participate in due diligence for acquisitions/dispositions related to recovery provisions.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes and improve controls.
• Build cross-functional relationships with Operations, Finance, Accounting, and Legal.

Skills

Lease administration

Real estate accounting

Data analysis

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Real Estate

Tools

JD Edwards

Yardi

MRI

Salesforce

Job description

Overview

Federal Realty is a best-in-class owner, operator, and redeveloper of retail real estate in some of the nation's most desirable markets. As a leading publicly traded REIT with a long-standing reputation for quality and performance, the company offers the stability of an established industry leader together with a collaborative, entrepreneurial culture where strong contributors can make a visible impact and build meaningful careers.

The Manager, Lease Audit & Recovery owns the end-to-end resolution of Common Area Maintenance (CAM), real estate tax, insurance, and other recoverable expense disputes across the portfolio. This role is the escalation point and process owner for tenant billing disputes - from intake and research through analysis, negotiation, settlement, and system correction - ensuring every dispute moves through a defined workflow with clear ownership, documented lease support, and timely closure.

Success in this role depends on strong lease interpretation of operating expense, exclusions, tax, gross‑up, exclusion, cap (cumulative, compounding, non‑cumulative), base year, administrative fee, and audit‑rights language to determine what is properly billable, and defends that position with tenants, tenant auditors, and internal stakeholders. The Manager also serves as the day‑to‑day operational lead for both the internal Lease Administrators and the co‑source lease administration team - setting priorities, providing technical guidance and lease‑interpretation support, reviewing quality across both groups as it relates to dispute resolution, and holding the vendor to agreed service levels.

This role offers the opportunity to lead a critical function within a respected real estate organization, influence key operational processes, and work closely with cross‑functional stakeholders across the business. It is well suited for a candidate who enjoys combining technical lease administration expertise with team leadership, process improvement, and business partnership.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary owner for CAM, real estate tax, insurance, and other recoverable expense disputes raised by tenants, tenant representatives, and third‑party lease auditors - managing the workflow from intake to closure.
• Ensure dispute handling and reconciliation practices comply with lease terms, company policy, and applicable accounting and internal control requirements.
• Prepare clear, well‑supported written responses, reconciliation backup, and settlement proposals; negotiate resolutions directly with tenants and their auditors within delegated authority.
• Establish and enforce turnaround standards and response deadlines, including lease‑mandated audit and dispute notice periods, so the company preserves its contractual position.
• Track root causes of disputes - lease abstraction errors, expense pool misclassification, gross‑up methodology, pro‑rata share calculations, cap and base‑year application, exclusions - and drive corrective action to prevent recurrence.
• Act as the day‑to‑day operational lead for the co‑source lease administration partner, assigning work, setting priorities, and clarifying requirements and expected outputs.
• Review co‑source deliverables for accuracy and completeness, including lease abstracts, dispute research packages, reconciliation backup, and system data entry.
• Provide technical guidance and lease‑interpretation support to Lease Administrators, resolving questions on ambiguous or non‑standard language and setting consistent treatment across the portfolio.
• Coordinate with Legal on lease interpretation questions, default and audit‑rights matters, and settlement documentation.
• Advise Leasing and Asset Management on the recovery implications of proposed lease language, and recommend standard language improvements based on dispute history.
• Participate in due diligence and system onboarding for acquisitions and dispositions as it relates to recovery provisions and open disputes.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, improve controls, and implement best practices that enhance team effectiveness.
• Build strong cross‑functional relationships and collaborate effectively with Operations, Finance, Accounting, and Legal.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required, Accounting, Real Estate, Business Administration or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years of progressive commercial real estate lease administration, property accounting, or lease audit experience, including direct responsibility for CAM and real estate tax reconciliations and disputes.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret complex commercial lease documents and apply that interpretation to billing and recovery outcomes.
• Hands‑on experience resolving tenant billing disputes and responding to third‑party lease audits.
• Strong Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups, large data sets) and experience with lease administration or property management systems (e.g., JD Edwards, Yardi, MRI, Salesforce, or comparable).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical lease and expense positions clearly to tenants, auditors, and non‑technical internal partners.
• Proven organizational skills and the ability to manage a high volume of concurrent matters against deadlines.

Salary Range:The typical pay range is $120,000-$135,000 a year plus bonus. Salary is determined by job‑related skills, experience, and relevant education, training, and/or certifications.

Federal Realty Investment Trust is an Equal Opportunity / AffW???

Federal values a diverse workforce and is committed to providing equal employment and advancement opportunities to all employees and applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity or expression, genetics, or protected Veteran status.

Federal Realty Investment Trust does not accept unsolicited resumes through or from search firms or staffing agencies. All unsolicited resumes will be considered the property of Federal Realty Investment Trust and Federal Realty Investment Trust will not be obligated to pay a placement fee.