At a Glance
- Tasks: Drive occupancy and leasing performance while shaping strategies for our expanding portfolio.
- Company: Join Colby River Student Living, a growing leader in student accommodation.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, performance bonuses, and career development opportunities.
- Other info: Be part of an exciting growth phase and influence leasing strategies nationwide.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on student living experiences and drive commercial success.
- Qualifications: Experience in PBSA or similar environments with strong analytical and coaching skills.
The predicted salary is between 51750 - 63250 £ per year.
Colby River Student Living is growing, and we’re looking for an experienced Student Living Leasing Manager to help drive the commercial performance of our expanding UK portfolio. This is a national, high-impact role for someone who understands that successful leasing is about much more than filling rooms. You’ll combine commercial instinct, data and market insight to drive occupancy, optimise revenue and make sure our properties are positioned to perform.
Reporting to the Head of Leasing, you’ll influence leasing strategy across the portfolio, take ownership of pricing and availability controls, develop key partnerships and work directly with our site teams to turn enquiries into bookings. If you know PBSA, understand what drives students to book and enjoy turning data into action, we want to hear from you.
What You'll Be Doing
- Drive occupancy and leasing performance
- Lead portfolio-wide rebooker, direct booking and tactical leasing campaigns
- Monitor booking pace, availability and room-type performance
- Identify occupancy gaps and put clear recovery plans in place
- Track conversion throughout the customer journey
- Improve enquiry, viewing, follow-up and booking performance
- Balance occupancy with rate integrity and long-term commercial value
You’ll make sure everyone understands where we are, where we need to be and what we're doing to get there.
Own pricing and revenue performance
This is a commercially focused role where you'll have real influence over how we maximise the value of our portfolio. You’ll analyse booking pace, pick-up, conversion, cancellations, pricing and availability, using the data to identify opportunities and mitigate risks. Working with colleagues across Operations, Marketing and Finance, you'll help shape rent-setting, budgets and forecasts and recommend pricing changes, promotions and incentives that deliver the right commercial outcome. You’ll also maintain strong governance around rate cards, rent settings, discounts, availability, contract lengths and other commercial changes.
Turn insight into action
You’ll understand what's happening across our local PBSA markets – from competitor pricing and incentives to university demand, availability and changing student preferences. But gathering data isn't enough. You’ll turn that intelligence into clear recommendations on pricing, products, channels and campaigns that help us make better and faster commercial decisions.
Develop powerful partnerships
You’ll manage relationships with UK and international booking agents, brokers, referral partners, universities and educational representatives. You’ll understand which channels are delivering results, focus effort where it creates the most value and help develop nomination agreements, allocations and summer occupancy opportunities.
Make our site teams even better at leasing
You won't be sitting behind a spreadsheet all day. You’ll regularly visit our properties, working alongside General Managers and site teams to improve the way we sell. You'll review enquiry handling and customer sales journeys, coach teams on product knowledge and objection handling, help colleagues deliver better viewings, strengthen follow-up and closing techniques, share best practice across the portfolio, and build greater commercial confidence and accountability.
Work hand-in-hand with Marketing
You’ll work closely with our Marketing team to make sure campaigns are focused on the commercial priorities that matter most. Whether that's filling a particular room type, addressing an occupancy gap or targeting a specific student audience, you'll provide clear briefs and use lead quality, conversion and return to understand what's working – and what needs to change.
What We're Looking For
You’ll already have significant experience within PBSA, residential lettings, co-living, hospitality or a comparable multi-site sales environment, together with a track record of delivering occupancy, conversion and revenue results.
You’ll Bring
- Strong commercial judgement and an understanding of pricing and revenue optimisation
- Experience analysing booking pace, conversion and sales performance
- Strong analytical skills and confidence turning data into practical action
- Experience with property management, CRM or booking platforms
- Strong Excel skills and ideally experience with Power BI
- Experience managing relationships with agents, universities or other commercial partners
- The ability to coach and influence teams without relying on direct line-management authority
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
- A highly organised, proactive and solutions-focused approach
- A full UK driving licence and willingness to travel regularly across our portfolio
Experience with systems such as Yardi, StarRez, TCAS or Kinetic would be advantageous.
What makes you stand out
You're commercially curious and comfortable challenging assumptions when the data tells a different story. You move quickly, but with sound judgement. You're as comfortable discussing pricing and revenue with senior leaders as you are coaching a site team on how to convert more viewings into bookings. And while you're focused on the numbers, you never lose sight of the people behind them – our students and the experience we want them to have.
What's in it for you
You’ll be joining Colby River Student Living at an exciting stage of our growth, with the opportunity to genuinely influence how our leasing function develops.
- Competitive base salary
- Performance-related bonus
- Company mileage or travel allowance and business expenses
- Contributory pension
- Health cash plan
- Career development within a growing Commercial & Leasing function
- The opportunity to shape portfolio-wide leasing standards, systems and strategy
Come and shape our next stage of growth. This isn't simply about hitting an occupancy number. It's about understanding the market, spotting opportunities before others do, building commercially confident teams and creating a leasing strategy that delivers both strong performance and an outstanding student experience. If you're ready to take your PBSA leasing experience to a national portfolio, we'd love to hear from you.
Student Living Leasing Manager employer: Dandara
Dandara is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters collaboration and innovation within the Tunbridge Wells region. Employees benefit from comprehensive professional development opportunities, a supportive team environment, and the chance to make a significant impact in residential development projects. With a strong emphasis on work-life balance and employee well-being, Dandara stands out as a rewarding place to build a meaningful career.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Student Living Leasing Manager
✨Get Involved in Local Property Events
Dive into local property expos and networking events! Real estate thrives on connections, so attending these events helps us meet potential employers and industry leaders, plus it's a chance to show off your enthusiasm for the field.
✨Connect with Local Agents on Social Media
Follow and engage with local real estate agents and firms on platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn. Sharing their posts and commenting with your insights can put you on their radar and might even lead to job opportunities at companies like Dandara.
✨Don’t Underestimate the Power of Cold Outreach
Got your eye on a specific company like Dandara? Don't hesitate to send a direct message or an email expressing your interest. Personalise your approach, maybe mentioning a recent listing or project of theirs, and it could set you apart from other candidates.
✨Utilise Property Management Platforms
Check out property management platforms and job boards tailored for the real estate sector. They often have exclusive listings, especially for full-time roles. Don't forget to visit Dandara's careers page directly; we love seeing passionate candidates applying through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Student Living Leasing Manager
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Real-Estate Savvy:When crafting your CV and cover letter, make sure to highlight any relevant experience in the real estate sector. If you've done internships, assistant roles, or even relevant coursework, lay it out clearly. We want to see your familiarity with market trends, property management, or any sales experience you've got under your belt!
Quantify Your Achievements:In real estate, numbers speak volumes! When detailing your past roles, use concrete figures to demonstrate your achievements. For example, mention how many properties you sold, the percentage increase in client satisfaction, or any successful negotiations. These metrics can give your application that extra punch it needs!
Tailor Your Documents for the Job:Every application should feel personal. When applying for the Student Living Leasing Manager role at Dandara, tweak your CV to focus on aspects that are important to them. If they value client relationships, emphasise your interpersonal skills. We want to see you aligning your experiences with what they're looking for!
Keep It Professional Yet Approachable:While we want you to show off your expertise, don't forget to let your personality shine through in your cover letter. A touch of friendliness can set you apart, especially in real estate where client interaction is key. Show that you're ready not just to work with the property but also with people!
How to prepare for a job interview at Dandara
✨Know Your Market Trends
In real estate, it’s all about staying ahead of the curve. Make sure we brush up on the latest market trends in the area where Dandara operates. Being able to discuss local property values, demand, and upcoming developments will show that we’re not just interested in the job, but genuinely invested in the industry.
✨Prepare for Scenario Questions
Expect some scenario-based questions during the interview. We might get asked how we’d handle different client situations or property evaluations. Preparing our responses for common real estate scenarios not only demonstrates our problem-solving skills but also shows that we can think on our feet in a client-facing role.
✨Showcase Your Connections
In full-time real estate, networking is key! Let’s think about our connections in the industry and what we can bring to Dandara. Whether it’s insights on prospective clients or relationships with local contractors, talking about these experiences can set us apart from other candidates.
✨Demonstrate Technical Savvy
Familiarity with different real estate software tools is a big plus. We should be ready to discuss any platforms we've used, whether it's for property management, CRM, or data analysis. Being comfortable with technology not only makes us more efficient, but also shows that we’re adaptable to the tools used at Dandara.
