Project Coordinator, Real Estate Expansion

NEFCO; East Hartford (CT); Remote; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

NEFCO, headquartered in East Hartford, CT, seeks a Project Coordinator to keep new branch openings on schedule—from signed lease to go-live. You will track leases, permits and launch readiness across multiple sites, coordinating with Real Estate, Facilities, Operations, IT, Finance and our turnkey construction partner.

Ideal candidates bring 2–4 years of branch expansion or lease coordination experience, proficiency with Smartsheet and Excel, and a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.

Qualifications

• 2–4 years in branch expansion, site/store development, construction coordination, or lease/permit admin.
• Has launched new branches/sites, ideally 10+ concurrent locations.
• Working knowledge of commercial leases, tenant improvements, permit and occupancy processes.
• Proficiency in Smartsheet or similar tool, plus Excel.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Track lease critical dates, landlord improvements and consent packages for active sites.
• Research and administer site permits (building, fire, occupancy) and expedite stalled items.
• Confirm jurisdiction requirements before business license filing and maintain a jurisdiction log.
• Maintain launch schedules in Smartsheet from lease execution through post-launch stabilization.
• Manage the turnkey construction partner day to day: schedule reviews, milestones, deliverables.
• Prepare and run weekly execution and planning forums; drive action items to close.
• Drive internal readiness with IT, Operations, Sales, Finance, HR and Safety; branch handoffs.
• Lead go-live readiness reviews and handoffs to branch operations.
• Escalate contract, cost and schedule risks early with options and a recommendation.

Skills

Precise follow-through

Vendor management

Stakeholder communication

Clear status updates

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Smartsheet

Excel

Job description

Description
Department: PMO, Real Estate Expansion
Location: Remote with travel to branch sites
Reports to: Project Manager - Real Estate Expansion
Travel: Up to 25% travel
About NEFCO: NEFCO is a specialty construction supply distributor serving professional contractors from 85+ locations nationwide, headquartered in East Hartford, CT. We are growing fast through a hub-and-spoke network, with a number of new branches, fulfillment centers and relocations planned for 2027.
Job summary: The Project Coordinator keeps new branch openings on schedule, from signed lease through go-live. You will track leases, permits and launch readiness across multiple concurrent sites working with Real Estate, Facilities, Operations, IT, Finance and our turnkey construction partner.

Responsibilities

• Track lease critical dates, landlord tenant improvement work, and consent packages for every active site.
• Research & administer permits per site (building, racking, fire, certificate of occupancy) and expedite stalled items early.
• Research & confirm jurisdiction requirements before business license filing, and maintain a jurisdiction log per dept.
• Maintain launch schedules in Smartsheet from lease execution through post-launch stabilization.
• Manage the turnkey construction partner day to day: schedule reviews, milestone tracking and deliverable checks.
• Prepare and run the weekly execution and planning forums, and drive action items to close.
• Drive internal readiness with IT, Operations, Sales, Finance, HR and Safety, including branch setup handoffs.
• Lead go-live readiness reviews and the handoff to branch operations.
• Escalate contract, cost and schedule risks early, with options and a recommendation.

Requirements

Qualifications

• 2–4 years in branch expansion, site or store development, construction project coordination, or lease and permit administration.
• Has launched new branches, stores or sites, ideally 10 or more concurrent locations.
• Working knowledge of commercial leases, tenant improvements, and the permit and certificate of occupancy process.
• Proficiency in Smartsheet or a similar tool, plus Excel.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Preferred

• Branch expansion experience at a building products or industrial distributor.
• Retail or commercial interiors construction experience.
• Warehouse, industrial or distribution facility experience.

Key Skills

• Precise follow-through: dates, documents and open items get closed, not just logged.
• Comfortable calling landlords, municipalities and vendors directly.
• Holds a vendor to dates while keeping the working relationship productive.
• Clear, short written updates, and escalates early.