Project Manager, Real Estate Planning & Development

UL Standards & Engagement • Evanston, IL

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Project Manager, Real Estate Planning & Development supports planning, design coordination, owner requirements management, and workstream execution for complex capital projects within UL Research Institutes (ULRI) and UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE). The role manages day-to-day engagements among internal stakeholders, design and delivery partners, and program leadership to ensure requirements, decisions, risks, and deliverables are documented, coordinated, and advanced through programming, schematic design, design development, construction documents, procurement, construction, and closeout.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in real estate, architecture, engineering, construction management, facilities planning, or related field.
• A minimum of 8 years’ experience in real estate development, capital project delivery, owner’s representative services, design management, construction management, or related fields.
• Demonstrated ability to read and interpret architectural and engineering drawings, specifications, and construction documents.
• Experience coordinating owner requirements, design review cycles, comment resolution, document control, and PMIS-based project workflows.
• Working knowledge of programming, schematic design, design development, construction documents, procurement, construction administration, commissioning, and closeout.
• Ability to read and interpret architectural and engineering drawings, specifications, drawing organization, discipline coordination, and related technical design information.
• Ability to translate owner needs into requirements, track compliance, identify departures, and coordinate timely resolution across design and delivery phases.
• Ability to manage review cycles, comment registers, deliverable schedules, and day-to-day coordination with design and consultant teams.
• Working knowledge of PMIS workflows, document control principles, drawing version management, action logs, RFI/submittal logs, and project recordkeeping.
• Ability to distinguish between project-level issues and matters requiring higher-level escalation; frames issues clearly with recommendations.
• Ability to coordinate internal functions, end users, operations stakeholders, and external partners while maintaining alignment with program priorities.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills; able to prepare concise meeting records, status updates, decision summaries, and action logs.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent review cycles, priorities, deadlines, and stakeholders with initiative and professional independence.

Nice To Haves

• PMP certification preferred.
• Experience supporting technical, laboratory, research, higher education, healthcare, manufacturing, or similarly complex facilities preferred.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate project workstreams across planning, design, procurement, construction administration, commissioning, and closeout, ensuring alignment with program objectives and owner requirements.
• Manage day-to-day coordination with architects, engineers, consultants, contractors, internal functional leads, end users, and operations stakeholders to keep decisions, reviews, and deliverables moving on schedule.
• Support development, maintenance, and compliance tracking of Owner Project Requirements (OPR), including identification, documentation, escalation, and resolution of departures from owner requirements.
• Track design deliverables through programming, schematic design, design development, and construction documents; maintain comment registers and ensure owner review comments are documented and closed.
• Review architectural, engineering, and technical design documents to identify coordination issues, incomplete scope, constructability concerns, and potential impacts to scope, schedule, cost, risk, or operations.
• Prepare agendas, facilitate project and design review meetings, document decisions and action items, and follow up with responsible parties to drive timely closure.
• Use the program management information system (PMIS) and document control processes to maintain drawing registers, meeting records, action logs, RFI/submittal records, and project documentation in accordance with program standards.
• Coordinate owner-furnished equipment planning and procurement interfaces, including design accommodation requirements, delivery schedules, and construction or site sequencing impacts.
• Identify issues that can be resolved at the project level and escalate matters with clear framing, options, and recommendations.
• Support project reporting by providing accurate status updates on deliverables, risks, decisions, action items, budget, schedule, scope, and stakeholder inputs.
• Maintain productive relationships with design and delivery partners while enforcing owner requirements, review cycles, quality expectations, and agreed project processes.
• Perform other duties as directed.

Benefits

• Bonus compensation
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans
• Generous 401k matching structure of up to 5% of eligible pay
• Additional 4% into retirement saving fund after your first year of continuous employment
• Flexible working arrangements (may be available depending on role and manager discussion)
• Paid time off, including vacation, holiday, sick, and volunteer days

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior