Retail Portfolio Manager

JLL•Chicago, IL

8d•Onsite

About The Position

JLL is seeking an experienced and accomplished Retail Portfolio Manager to provide executive-level oversight of the day-to-day operations and long-term performance of a large, geographically diverse portfolio of grocery-anchored shopping centers. This is a senior leadership position requiring a seasoned professional with deep expertise in retail real estate management, operations, and financial oversight. The primary mandate of this role is leadership, developing, refining, and executing the operational and strategic framework through which the broader portfolio is managed. The right candidate will bring a rigorous analytical mindset, a strong accounting and financial background, and the operational command to elevate performance across a complex, multi-state retail portfolio. The ideal candidate will approach operational challenges with proactive problem-solving and a value-creation orientation, while also serving as a credible and professional point of contact for ownership, clients, and institutional partners.

Requirements

Minimum of 7–10 years of progressive experience in commercial real estate, with a strong focus on retail property management, portfolio operations, and asset oversight.
Demonstrated experience managing or overseeing grocery-anchored or necessity-based retail shopping center portfolios is strongly preferred.
Prior experience in a leadership or supervisory capacity overseeing property management teams across multiple markets.
Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate, Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field is required; advanced degree or professional designations (CPM, RPA, CCIM) are a strong plus.
Familiarity with multi-state portfolio operations, including jurisdictional variation in leasing, compliance, and reporting requirements.
Deep understanding of commercial real estate financial statements, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow reports.
Expertise in CAM reconciliation, operating expense analysis, and lease abstraction as it relates to financial performance.
Demonstrated ability to build, review, and critically analyze property-level and portfolio-level budgets.
Strong understanding of accrual-based accounting principles as applied in commercial real estate.
Ability to interpret and act upon financial variances, rent rolls, and recovery shortfall/surplus analyses.
Experience working directly with accounting teams to ensure clean, timely, and accurate financial close processes.
Proficiency with Yardi Voyager and/or MRI Software is required.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including financial modeling, budget templates, variance tracking, and data manipulation.
Comfort working with and producing reports from Yardi’s reporting suite, or comparable BI/reporting tools.
Must demonstrate an openness to learning new platforms and an ability to adapt as the portfolio’s technology stack evolves.
High proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite: Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Teams in addition to Excel.
Exceptional professional communication skills as appropriate for institutional client and ownership interactions.
Demonstrated leadership ability with a track record of developing and motivating high-performing property management teams.
High degree of organizational aptitude with the ability to manage competing priorities across a large, geographically dispersed portfolio.
Proactive, solutions-oriented mindset with the judgment to escalate appropriately and the initiative to resolve issues independently.
Strong working knowledge of retail leasing fundamentals, including lease structures, tenant improvement allowances, co-tenancy provisions, exclusives, and kick-out clauses.
Ability to contribute meaningfully to asset-level and portfolio-level strategy discussions with ownership and institutional partners.
Willingness and ability to travel regularly for on-site property visits and client meetings.
Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Experience with both Yardi Voyager and MRI Software is a significant advantage.
Experience evaluating or implementing new software solutions is a plus.
ARGUS Enterprise or ARGUS DCF for property-level cash flow modeling and valuation is strongly preferred.
Familiarity with lease abstraction tools, work order management systems, and document management platforms (e.g., SharePoint, DocuSign).

Responsibilities

Lead and manage a team of 20+ property managers and assistant property managers across a multi-state retail portfolio, ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality services and operational standards.
Establish, implement, and continuously refine portfolio-wide best practices, policies, and procedures to drive operational efficiency and service excellence.
Provide day-to-day operational guidance to on-site and third-party property management teams, resolving escalated challenges and eliminating obstacles to performance.
Evaluate and recommend portfolio-wide operational strategies, reporting improvements, and technology integrations to enhance quality and scalability.
Maintain strong working knowledge of each asset’s physical condition, lease structure, and tenant profile.
Own the annual budget process from inception through client approval, including preparation, internal review, and final delivery for all assets in the portfolio.
Review existing budgeting procedures and identify opportunities to enhance quality, consistency, and efficiency across the team.
Collaborate with accounting, asset management, and ownership to ensure budgets accurately reflect operational realities and ownership objectives.
Coordinate with the accounting team to automate data integrations and streamline financial reporting workflows.
Establish and maintain a rigorous internal review process to ensure all budgets are accurate, complete, and delivered on schedule.
Review and approve monthly financial reports, variance analyses, and CAM reconciliations; escalate material discrepancies to ownership.
Maintain accountability for financial performance metrics across the portfolio, including NOI, expense control, and recovery ratios.
Assist in developing long-term strategic business plans for each property, aligned with ownership’s investment objectives and return expectations.
Identify value-enhancing capital initiatives and proactively bring actionable recommendations to ownership and asset management.
Track and report on project performance against approved budgets, flagging variances and recommending corrective actions.
Serve as the primary operational point of contact for ownership and institutional clients, maintaining a high standard of responsiveness and professional communication.
Prepare and deliver regular portfolio reports, asset summaries, and performance updates tailored to client expectations and reporting requirements.
Lead or actively participate in recurring ownership calls, asset reviews, and quarterly business plan presentations.
Proactively surface operational risks, lease events, capital needs, and market-level observations relevant to each asset.