Director/Principal - Place Advisory

Our small Canadian-born business was founded in 1978 and has become a global organization that now spans 120 locations across 20 countries. Our expansion has been rapid, but what matters most is the common belief that drives all 5,000 of our people to be a different type of real estate organization. We believe that the places in which we live, work and play have the power to make us happier and healthier, and we are united by a shared sense of purpose, to have a positive impact on people’s lives. In short, we are a global commercial real estate advisory firm with a simple aim: for real estate to play a leading role in creating vibrant buildings, cities and places that deliver long-lasting social value and economic impact.

We believe that our industry is changing, and we want our business to be a melting pot of curious minds, passionate hearts and strategic intelligence. Your gender, religion and race are all highly respected, but are less important to us than your ability to step up and change the game. We provide you with a place where you can do just that, with like-minded people. Collaboration is embedded in the way we work – our people have the autonomy to collaborate on client relationships, engage teams across the business, lead operations, work collectively on projects, participate in strategy and are ultimately responsible for our growth. Our distinctive Principal-led, privately-owned model puts us in the enviable position of being able to offer every employee the opportunity to own a share of our business and inspires and allows anyone to become a Principal. This role carries voting rights, so our people have a very real say in the future direction and operation of our business. This means that we are able to attract, engage and retain the best talent from the industry.

Overall purpose of the job: We are seeking an experienced and commercially astute Director to join our Place Advisory Team in London. The Director will lead our London Place Strategy offer within the Advisory Team – focused on unlocking complex issues faced by our clients and delivering market informed and deliverable place-based strategy and regeneration advice to public and private sector clients. The Place Advisory Service Line is a growth area of our business and advises on some of London’s most significant projects, working across a range of public and private clients. It is structured into four key areas of focus: Place Strategy, Development Consultancy, Business and Asset Strategy, and Funding and Finance.

Responsibilities:

• Delivering against agreed fee and profitability targets at individual and team level.
• Leading client targeting and pitches to win new business and agreeing on the scope of instructions and fees.
• Nurturing the talent within the London Place Strategy and wider Place Strategy Team.
• Leading the provision of high-level consultancy advice on master planning, place-based strategy and feasibility studies to both private and public sector clients.
• Offering strategic advice to public and private sector clients shaping land use, development and delivery strategy.
• Acting as the primary point of contact for key clients, maintaining regular communication, and ensuring client satisfaction.
• Liaising with internal departments and external collaborators to ensure seamless project execution.
• Keeping abreast of industry news and market developments on both local and international levels.
• Supporting and conducting thought leadership, analysing data, and presenting complex information clearly.

Qualifications:

• A proven track record in development and regeneration and its broader benefits, coupled with a solutions-focused mindset, within the London and South East market.
• The candidate should be passionate, enthusiastic, patient, and capable of long-term strategic thinking while maintaining a focus on optimising results for our clients.
• Ability to cater to varying client requirements at different stages of the development process.
• Proven experience in managing complex, long-term projects requiring cross-team support, including collaboration with sector-specific or specialist teams within Avison Young and external consultants.
• The candidate should excel in building and maintaining strong relationships both internally and externally, with the ability to seek out and win new business.
• A market facing outlook, who understands and can articulate delivery challenges and commercial context, and create opportunities for specialist inputs from colleagues to unlock development and investment.

Desired Skills And Experience:

• Over 10 years of meaningful and relevant project experience, with an established profile within the regeneration sector.
• Extensive experience of leading multi-disciplinary masterplans and place-based strategy.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong verbal, presentational, analytical, numerical, and report writing skills (including proficiency across Microsoft Office).
• Strategic problem-solving abilities.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• A collaborative team player who quickly establishes trust and credibility.
• Highly motivated, displaying energy, drive, curiosity, and commitment.
• A passion for delivering high standards of work and avoiding complacency.
• An understanding of how Government policy and macro-economic trends impact the market.
• An entrepreneurial outlook with a focus on enhancing client service.
• An understanding of commercial issues in regeneration and development and the factors which drive viability and deliverability of development.
• Knowledge of emerging global and sector trends such as ESG, mobility, and design, awareness of how these impact clients and the ability to advise accordingly.
• Experience of land assembly and CPO strategy (ideal, not required).
• Experience of public sector funding strategy and business case preparation (ideal, not required).
• Experience of economic strategy and evidence base development (ideal, not required).
• Experience at EiP / planning inquiry (ideal, not required).

At Avison Young, we’ve always put people at the heart of what we do. In the last few years, we’ve increased the diversity at our board, leadership and Principal levels. Avison Young stands out for our commitment to empowering women. In addition to increasing the number of women on our board and in our leadership ranks, our internal Women’s Network of more than 500 members come together for networking and learning, and advise the business on strategies for promoting access, opportunity and inclusion in our industry. Our global DEI steering committee shapes our strategy to continue to increase industry access for underrepresented groups and accelerating initiatives led by our employee resource groups, including our Women’s Network, Black Professionals and LGBTQ+ groups. Our culture is underpinned by our approach to diversity, inclusion, and well-being. We are committed to building an inclusive culture that empowers all our employees to thrive, reflect all backgrounds and talents, allows individuals to be successful and feel a sense of belonging, and foster a workplace that is supported, inclusive and has a strong sense of community between colleagues.

Avison Young is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to treating all its employees and job applicants equitably. This includes implementing deliberate strategies that advance underrepresented communities in commercial real estate careers. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to removing any obstacles to inclusion. If you need any adjustments to support your application or any part of the recruitment process, please contact us and we will do everything we can to help. We are committed to inclusion in our hiring processes, and we want to give everyone a chance to show what they can bring to our organisation. If you are not sure that you have all the skills in the person specification, please still apply. Some of our roles may be remote and some roles may be specific to our offices, but you will need to confirm you have the right to work in the UK.