Director, Operations

Cushman & Wakefield • Chicago, IL

21h

About The Position

Responsible for managing local office operations for commercial services within the Chicago market, which also includes the corporate headquarters. This role will ensure that administrative and operational functions are provided to local offices in an efficient and effective manner. This role will directly manage operations staff, and will be responsible for service delivery through management of Operations Managers and a Facility Manager. The Director of Market Operations will provide management oversight for operations functions and staff throughout the sub-region, and will work closely with the Market Leader and supporting functions to implement strategic initiatives. As an operations leader, this individual will ensure there is sufficient front office support and act as a steward for operational excellence initiatives. Additionally, they will work with Regional Director of Operations and Finance team to develop the annual business plan and the annual budget.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, mentoring and supervision to the administrative and office operations staff
• Direct all financial management of local office and specified sub-region including monthly and annual operating budgets, forecasts and reporting as well as assessment of variances for the market and service lines.
• Responsible for approvals at local level for T&E, commission documentation, payables and resourcing needs.
• Responsible for facilities management including relocations and buildouts, managing leases, vendor relations, and overseeing compliance/record retention
• Implement and support all company initiatives
• Lead Market Operations
• Provide leadership, mentoring and supervision to Office Managers and Coordinators within the assigned sub- region
• Ensure profitability and product quality of the service delivery and back office resources within the sub- region
• Creatively solve problems to ensure the market’s offices operate in an efficient and effective manner
• Spearhead and coordinate training programs for salespersons and employees
• Collaborate with counterparts in other sub-regions to learn and utilize best operational practices
• Foster coordination and communication among the firm’s profit centers and work with the Market Leaders to develop and implement an annual plan for developing a collaborative work environment
• Support Market Leaders with the development of the annual business plan, budget and forecast
• Develop strategic planning across the different service lines within assigned sub-region and develop short- and long- range operating objectives, policies and programs
• Ensure overall achievement of budgeted financial targets and other standards set forth in approved business plans for the combined businesses/accounts within the sub-region
• Promote and ensure compliance with company policies and operating procedures
• Advocate, support and increase adoption of firm-wide initiatives
• Uphold the values, mission and standards of the company
• Encourage cross-service line and cross functional collaboration across the specified sub- region
• Demonstrate expertise with all facets of the company’s business, specifically services provided and customers served
• Support Sales and Transactions
• Oversee all marketing, research, and service delivery teams and work with teams on staffing, following leading practices across the firm, and creating content that is best in class
• In the absence of functional leadership, manage research, marketing, and service delivery staff to best serve fee-earners in delivery of material
• In the absence of functional leadership, work with fee-earners to deploy teams of research, marketing, and service delivery staff based on level of effort and expertise required for delivery of material
• Work with Market Leader to resolve any conflicts over ownership of opportunities
• Strategic Planning / Budgeting
• Support strategic planning processes across the various service lines within the assigned sub- region
• Draft and finalize budget (revenue and expenses)
• Solicit input from service line, fee earners and market leads at pre-budget meetings regarding recent wins, pipeline activity, anticipated recruiting and attrition, capital spend, etc.
• Pipeline Management, Revenue Reporting and Forecasting
• Help promote culture of compliance within market for fee-earners and project coordinators to routinely update CRM system
• Communicate and enforce guidelines on updating CRM system within Market
• Review pipeline report
• Follow up with fee-earners, project coordinators, commission accountant, Market Leader and Office Managers, as needed, to update pipeline information
• Communicate finalization of pipeline to Market and Service Line Leadership and answer questions as necessary
• Deal Documentation, Commissions Accounting, Invoice Processing/Coding
• Approve deal documentation and Revenue Summary Document to verify splits and other transaction details and work with fee-earners, as needed, to verify/update information and ensure adherence to policy
• Work with Market Leader to manage any conflicts over information recorded in deal documentation
• Work with Legal Counsel to determine if changes to standard contracts/agreements are
• Oversee all incoming invoices using Workday
• Understand expense policy for compliance and correct coding
• Work with Commission Accountants, Project Coordinators, and fee-earners, if necessary, to review all deal expenses associated with a closed deal
• Oversee tracking of expenses related to deals, working directly with Office Manager to track all deal expenses
• Review reports from Commission Accounting on outstanding receivables and work with Market Leader and fee-earners to determine strategy for collecting payments
• Approve write-offs or use of collection agency for outstanding receivables over certain limit
• Approve Expense Reports
• Review and approve all expense reports and determine if expenses are appropriate and in policy in Expense system
• Review business case for necessity of expenditure
• Vendor Management / Administration
• Oversee and manage the purchasing and maintenance of office supplies and office equipment (i.e. furniture, IT equipment, telephones, snack services, plants, etc.)
• Solicit and negotiate vendor bids, contracts, and pricing
• Work with Office Manager to ensure all vendors are included in Workday Vendor Management
• Recruiting/Hiring/On-boarding Staff
• Work with HR to develop job descriptions for identified opening
• Interview candidates for various positions
• Coordinate with HR, department head, Office Coordinator/Office Manager, IT/Telecomm to ensure all equipment is ordered, desk is set up and ready on Day 1
• Determine start date, department, manager, etc.
• Use WorkDay for all HR needs (ETS in Global HQ)
• Manage employees and delegate workflow
• Prepare and deliver annual performance reviews and KPI’s
• Work in conjunction with HR on performance issues
• Ensure compliance with record keeping and policy adherence
• Coordinate Events and Conferences
• Oversee any events and conference within the market in conjunction with Marketing and PR
• Manage firm brand, marketing, and PR
• Other Administrative Duties
• Work with Office Manager to track broker licenses, professional memberships, and educational requirements and follow up with fee-earners on any delinquencies or upcoming actions required
• Coordinate any move with Office Managers and Office Coordinator by designing seating plan
• Work in conjunction with IT, Telecomm, Real Estate on all moves
• Implement emergency preparedness plan
• Manage required adjacencies, anticipated recruiting and attrition
• Perform more administrative duties in the absence of Office Manager such as tracking broker licenses and professional memberships, manage onboarding of new hires, business continuity, coordinate moves, track vacancies and utilization

Benefits

• Cushman & Wakefield also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life, and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time away from work.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed