Principal Associate, Project Manager – Market Planning

Capital One•McLean, VA

16d•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Principal Associate, Project Manager on the Market Planning & Real Estate team, you will serve as an operational backbone supporting market expansion, site selection, and strategic execution of our physical retail footprint. You will assist in driving key end-to-end processes across market planning, project intake, and deal governance—tracking every site from initial Market Identification all the way through to Customer Day 1. In this dynamic role, you will leverage your hands-on background in Real Estate and Construction to synthesize project data into compelling executive presentation decks and business cases. You will maintain master project schedules, facilitate critical cross-functional alignment, and oversee progress tracking using modern Project Management and tracking software tools.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree or Military experience
At least 3 Years Project and Process Management experience
At least 2 Years Process Engineering experience

Nice To Haves

Masters / MBA degree
2+ Years Experience in Real Estate, Construction, or Corporate Market Planning
Proven hands-on experience working directly with Construction and Real Estate processes
Advanced skills in executive slide deck building and data-driven storytelling
Strong track record of managing complex project intake pipelines and multi-site project rollout calendars
Demonstrated experience utilizing Project Management (PM) software and process tracking tools
PMP, Lean, Agile or Six Sigma certification

Responsibilities

Support and track multiple projects on the journey from initial market identification, site selection, and project intake through construction execution and customer day 1.
Partner with cross-functional teams to build, refine, and present comprehensive presentation decks and supporting documentation for executive review and deal approval.
Establish, update, and manage master project schedules, calendars, and pipeline tracking tools utilizing industry-standard Project Management (PM) and process tracking software.
Lead routine project check-ins, capture concise and actionable meeting minutes, maintain risk/issue logs, and hold cross-functional partners accountable to key project milestones.
Act as a primary operational link between Market Strategy, Retail Design, Construction, Finance, and Legal teams.
Partner with data and analytics teams to integrate modern productivity and AI-driven automation tools into existing program workflows, optimizing cycle times and reporting efficiency while maintaining risk controls.
Travel to target markets a few times per year to conduct site visits, support market planning sessions, and collaborate with regional stakeholders.