Portfolio Leasing Manager

Cardinal Group Companies•Wilmington, NC

4d•$76,900 - $92,200

About The Position

The Portfolio Leasing Manager (PLM) is a high-level sales strategist, data analyst, and performance driver responsible for maximizing leasing velocity and occupancy across an assigned portfolio of communities. Working in close partnership with assigned Portfolio Managers, the PLM ensures each community is strategically positioned to achieve established leasing goals. The PLM and Portfolio Managers maintain ongoing communication about leasing strategy, community and team performance, rate recommendations, and owner priorities. The PLM serves as the central owner of leasing execution, performance intelligence, and portfolio conversion. The role focuses on lead-to-lease conversion, sales team accountability, market analysis, and actionable pricing strategies, while integrating centralized leasing workflows and marketing support. The position also involves administering and training teams on Cardinal’s Sales Platform and Cardinal Way of Leasing, coaching onsite leasing staff, monitoring market and competitor conditions, recommending rates and concessions, and collaborating with marketing specialists to support pre-leasing targets.

Responsibilities

Use expertise in the sales journey and leasing cycle to identify opportunities to improve resident retention and leasing performance at each stage of the funnel.
Establish weekly, monthly, and long-term leasing goals and translate portfolio objectives into clear expectations and actions for onsite and centralized team members.
Manage and analyze leasing KPIs, including lead pipeline and volume, response quality, appointment scheduling, tour conversion, applications, conversions, lease execution, cancellations, and leasing velocity.
Diagnose performance gaps at lagging communities and develop and deploy targeted leasing strategies.
Combine competitor intelligence with leasing KPIs, pricing, seasonality, and historical trends to maximize occupancy and pre-leasing growth.
Communicate leasing performance to internal stakeholders and clients through concise, data-driven reporting that identifies drivers, contributing factors, recommended actions, and expected outcomes.
Partner with Portfolio Managers to align leasing strategy, portfolio operational efficiency, client expectations, and performance management, while staying informed about projects affecting marketing and leasing.
Maintain working knowledge of the Cardinal Platform, including AI tools, leasing systems, reporting tools, industry benchmarks, and SOPs.
Execute, train, and administer Cardinal’s Sales Platform, including the Cardinal Way of Leasing.
Partner with centralized leasing teams to align sales workflows, streamline lead handoffs, and optimize leasing support operations.
Coach onsite leasing teams on phone, virtual, and onsite lead-to-lease conversions through role-playing and performance audits.
Motivate onsite leasing team members and establish clear expectations and accountability for leasing KPIs.
Maintain comprehensive knowledge of assigned communities, including floor plans, unit and bed types, amenities, availability, rates, concessions, target markets, customer needs, value propositions, leasing challenges, and competitive advantages.
Track competitor rates, specials, concessions, availability, leasing velocity, product offerings, positioning, new supply, and other factors influencing demand.
Understand each market’s leasing cycle, customer behavior, demand drivers, university and local market dynamics, and seasonal trends.
Regularly review markets and communities to identify opportunities to strengthen competitive positioning and adapt strategies to changing conditions.
Partner with Community Managers, Portfolio Managers, and stakeholders to evaluate and recommend rates based on leasing velocity, availability, exposure, competitive positioning, demand, historical performance, and leasing goals.
Ensure the portfolio’s value propositions, rates, and availability are accurate across online channels in accordance with established processes and approved strategies.
Recommend and evaluate specials and concessions when needed to improve leasing velocity, while maintaining standards and tiers for efficient execution.
Ensure Annual and Monthly Marketing Plan activities generate the lead volume and conversion results required to meet pre-leasing targets.
Identify when leasing performance requires additional marketing support and establish performance objectives for the relevant marketing partner.
Partner with onsite leadership and the Portfolio Manager to address performance concerns consistently and account for operational or market factors.
Collaborate with Digital Marketing Strategists and Field Marketing & Brand Specialists on coordinated prospect-journey campaigns, sharing property intelligence, target demographic insights, and pipeline data.
Evaluate lead attribution and marketing analytics to measure direct impact on the leasing funnel while leaving execution ownership with marketing specialists.