Principal Property Development Officer

BART; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 149,000 - 181,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Paid time off

CalPERS retirement

Job summary

San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) seeks a Principal Property Development Officer to lead TOD and joint development projects. You will oversee major development initiatives from planning through execution, coordinating with engineering, legal, and executive teams to align with long-term district goals.

This senior role requires strong negotiation, stakeholder engagement, and financial analysis skills to maximize public value of BART properties while balancing operations,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in urban planning, business administration, public administration, property development, or a closely related field.
• Four (4) years of verifiable professional experience in land development or related experience.
• Additional professional experience may substitute for education; a bachelor’s degree is preferred.
• Knowledge of public sector real estate development and land use planning.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex TOD projects from pre-solicitation planning to implementation.
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders (engineering, legal, leadership) to advance TOD objectives.
• Maximize public benefit of BART-owned property while balancing operations and sustainability.
• Prepare and negotiate contracts, agreements, and transactions with private partners.
• Engage with local jurisdictions and community stakeholders to support TOD outcomes.

Skills

Transit-oriented development

Negotiation

Public sector real estate

Stakeholder engagement

Financial analysis

Policy interpretation

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in urban planning, business administration, public administration, property development

Job description

Marketing Statement

Ride BART to a satisfying career that lets you both: 1) make a difference to Bay Area residents, and 2) enjoy excellent pay, benefits, and employment stability. BART is looking for people who like to be challenged, work in a fast-paced environment, and have a passion for connecting riders to work, school and other places they need to go. BART offers a competitive salary, comprehensive health benefits, paid time off, and the CalPERS retirement program.

Job Summary

San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit is looking to fill two Principal Property Development Officer positions. The Principal Property Development Officer will serve as a senior member within BART’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) team, leading complex joint development projects across the District’s system.

Pay Rate

AFSCME Pay Grade A19

Step 1: $148,844.80/Annually - Step 5: $180,939.20/ Annually

Note: Initial salary offer will be commensurate with education and experience.

Reports To

Group Manager, Transit Oriented Development or designee

Days Off

Saturday/Sunday

Who May Apply

All current BART employees and Future BART employees

Current Assignment

San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit is looking to fill two Principal Property Development Officer positions. The Principal Property Development Officer will serve as a senior member within BART’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) team, leading complex joint development projects across the District’s system.

The incumbent will manage major development projects from pre-solicitation planning through implementation. This role coordinates closely with internal BART stakeholders including engineering, maintenance, customer access, legal counsel, and executive leadership to advance projects aligned with BART’s long-term strategic objectives developers. The position leads on communication and coordination with local jurisdictions and other public agencies and community stakeholders associated with any assigned TOD project.

This role will lead efforts to maximize the value and public benefit of BART-owned property while balancing operational needs, financial stewardship, sustainability goals, development principles, and community engagement.

Assignments May Include Public Private Partnerships To Advance Mixed-use Development And Affordable Or Mixed-income Residential Projects. Example Assignments Include, But Are Not Limited To

• Pre-solicitation planning and developer solicitation for sites prioritized in BART’s 2024 TOD Work Plan
• Deal term negotiations with developers
• Oversight of approved TOD projects that are in construction
• Coordination with internal capital project leads and funding strategists and development partners on external grants (AHSC, TIRCP, etc.) to support TOD access infrastructure

The Most Qualified Candidates For This Position Will Have Highly Developed Competencies In The Following Area, Which Will Be Reinforced With Related Work Experience And Will Be Clearly Articulated During The Selection Process

• Transit-oriented development and joint development strategy
• Complex negotiation and partnership management
• Public sector real estate development and land use planning
• Stakeholder engagement and community relationship building
• Financial analysis and development feasibility evaluation
• Coordination of development activities within active transit environments
• Policy interpretation and regulatory navigation
• Executive communication and strategic leadership

Application & Selection Process

The selection process for this position may include one or more of the following: a skills or performance demonstration, written examination, and/or panel or individual interview.

All applications will be reviewed by the Talent Acquisition Division to determine whether applicants meet the established Minimum Qualifications (MQs). Applicants who meet the MQs may be referred to the hiring department for further evaluation as part of the selection process.

The selected candidate must demonstrate a work history reflecting reliability and dependability and may be required to provide copies of certificates, diplomas, or other documentation required by law, including proof of authorization to work in the United States.

Pre-employment processing will include a background check. This requirement does not apply to current full-time District employees unless the position requires additional evaluations or clearances.

Examples of Duties

• Leads the most complex real estate transactions undertaken by the Transit-Oriented Development department including the long-term lease of the District’s real property assets to the private sector and local land use jurisdictions in keeping with the District’s Transit-Oriented Development Policy.
• Provides direction to subordinate staff, consultants and contractors in assessing the viability of potential land use transactions, securing private sector entities to develop the District’s real property assets, assisting in securing entitlement from local land use jurisdictions, and negotiating real property transactions with the private sector.
• Maintains control of implementation of Transit-Oriented Development projects throughout the BART organization to ensure TOD Policies and Board-adopted actions are fulfilled; interacting and working with various departments (e.g. Transportation, Infrastructure Delivery, District Architect, Maintenance and Engineering, Police, Customer Access, and Transit System Development) to advance TOD projects to completion.
• Contributes to the development of policy and procedures for handling District assets; administers programs; monitors legislative changes; makes changes as needed to policies and procedures; promotes application of public and private partnerships throughout all District activity.
• Prepares contracts and agreements for requests for developer qualifications and/or development proposals; evaluates responses; makes recommendations and prepares information, memos, and presentations for Executive staff and the Board’s consideration; completes negotiations; and executes transactions.
• Identifies modifications to existing BART policy to improve fulfillment of division goals and objectives; effectuates policy modifications as needed. Identifies Division needs in real property disposition activity; conducts research on tracking needs; coordinates market studies to determine rental and/or disposition values and cost analyses of property BART leases from others and of BART-owned property.
• Coordinates legal aspects of projects with District internal legal department and outside legal counsel, as appropriate.
• Coordinates the work of consultants and interns; oversees consultant work, provides feedback and advice to consultants and interns on an ongoing basis; evaluates results and performance.
• Represents the District in front of design review boards, planning commissions, city councils, other public bodies, and with staff from relevant local and state agencies to provide expertise and support regarding policies that advance transit-oriented development adjacent to the District’s rapid transit facilities; testifies in all land use forums in support of transit-oriented development.
• Coordinates with internal departments and development partners to identify and pursue external funding to support access infrastructure in support of TOD projects.
• May participate in the selection of assigned staff; coordinates staff training; works with employees to correct deficiencies; assists in the completion of performance appraisals; implements counseling and discipline procedures.

Education

Minimum Qualifications: A Bachelor’s degree in urban planning, business administration, public administration, property development or a closely related field from an accredited college or university.

Experience

Four (4) years of (full-time equivalent) verifiable professional experience in the area of land development or related experience.

Substitution

Additional professional experience as outlined above may be substituted for the education on a year-for-year basis. A Bachelor’s degree is preferred.

Knowledge And Skills

• Operations, services and activities of a public property disposition or joint development program.
• Methods and techniques of property management, and appraisal.
• Methods and techniques of land use development of all categories of land use.
• Principles and practices of land use planning.
• Basic principles and practices of construction engineering.
• Basic principles and practices of budget preparation and management.
• Current office procedures, methods and equipment including computers.
• Methods and techniques of legal documentation of real estate and real estate transactions.
• Related Federal, State, and local codes, laws, and regulations.
• Principles of supervision, training and performance evaluation.
• Best practices in transit-oriented development and joint development.
• Best practices in community engagement

Skill In

• Independently performing property disposition and acquisition duties.
• Interpreting, explaining, and enforcing property development divisions policies and procedures.
• Evaluating technical analyses/reports from consultants, developers, or relevant subject matter experts including surveys, appraisals, pro formas, market analysis, environmental assessments, etc.
• Negotiating joint development projects and associated agreements with private sector partners.
• Negotiating real property dispositions with local land use jurisdictions.
• Drafting and reviewing real estate related documentation.
• Reading basic engineering plans, maps and related materials.
• Operating office equipment including computers and supporting word processing and spreadsheet applications.
• Working independently in the absence of supervision.
• Understanding and following oral and written instructions.
• Communicating clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, including for public audiences.
• Presenting in front of elected/appointed boards and commissions.
• Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 and above), religion, national origin (including language use restrictions), disability (mental and physical, including HIV and AIDS), ancestry, marital status, military status, veteran status, medical condition (cancer/genetic characteristics and information), or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.

The BART Human Resources Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination process to accommodate persons with disabilities or for religious reasons. Please advise the Human Resources Department of any special needs in advance of the examination by emailing at least 5 days before your examination date at [e-mail] .

Qualified veterans may be eligible to obtain additional veteran's credit in the selection process for this recruitment (effective Jan. 1, 2013). To obtain the credit, veterans must attach to the application a DD214 discharge document or proof of disability and complete/submit the Veteran's Preference Application no later than the closing date of the posting. For more information about this credit please go to the Veteran's Preference Policy and Application link at www.bart.gov/jobs .