Vice President Real Estate & Property Management

Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc. • Milwaukee, WI

1d • $213,474 - $320,212

About The Position

The Vice President, Real Estate & Property Management is a senior enterprise leader responsible for setting and executing the long-term strategy for the organization’s real estate and property portfolio, including facilities and security functions. The role provides strategic oversight of a complex portfolio, ensuring assets support business growth, operational efficiency, risk mitigation, and changing market and business conditions. The Vice President leads experienced Directors responsible for day-to-day operations and execution and partners with an external real estate services firm on portfolio planning, transactions, property management, and performance insights. The position works across the enterprise to align real estate and facilities decisions with organizational priorities and stakeholder needs, translating strategy into scalable solutions.

The role sets a long-term strategic vision of 10 or more years, oversees planning for real estate, property management, facilities, and asset protection, contributes to organizational strategy, aligns financial and operational performance to create economic value, and reports to the Executive Team. It typically focuses on initiatives spanning five to ten years and evaluates and monitors market trends.

The Vice President develops and owns enterprise strategy; optimizes the portfolio and asset performance; oversees an external real estate partner and property management; provides executive accountability for real estate, construction, and facilities projects; and establishes governance for safe, secure, well-maintained facilities. The role partners with executive and business leaders and other functions, advises senior leadership, leads talent and organizational development, sponsors major projects and change initiatives, engages with the community, and reports to the Board of Directors on financials, operations, and progress toward goals.

A bachelor’s degree and at least 10 years of experience are required. Relevant experience includes business continuity planning, risk management, contract and vendor negotiation, complex real estate markets, and regulatory and compliance oversight. Chicago or comparable metropolitan market experience is strongly preferred. The job requires sustained stationary work, movement to accomplish tasks, computer use, visual acuity, and communication with others; reasonable accommodations may be made. Compensation placement considers education, experience, internal equity, market demands, and other qualifying criteria. Certain roles may participate in an incentive plan, subject to its terms and conditions. Benefits may include medical, dental, vision, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, a retirement plan, paid time off, and more; package details vary by job category.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• At least 10 years of experience required.
• Experience with business continuity planning, risk management, and contract and vendor negotiation.
• Demonstrated experience navigating complex real estate markets, including site selection, zoning, permitting, municipal approvals, construction, and community stakeholder engagement.
• Strong understanding of regulatory and compliance requirements affecting real estate, property management, facilities, and enterprise risk management.
• Demonstrated experience providing strategic oversight, establishing governance, and ensuring compliance through effective partnerships and accountability structures.
• Proven ability to translate business strategy into actionable real estate, property management, and facilities solutions.
• Demonstrated strategic mindset and ability to develop and integrate organizational strategies for sustained competitive advantage.
• Ability to articulate and advance the organization’s purpose, vision, mission, and guiding principles.
• Thorough business and industry knowledge, ability to synthesize business information, and ability to respond to changing market dynamics.
• Ability to monitor external factors and policies and use that knowledge to plan work and guide decisions.
• Ability to foster well-reasoned risk-taking, advocate for the organization, confront actions inconsistent with guiding principles, and provide leadership in high-stakes or uncertain situations.

Nice To Haves

• Experience within Chicago or comparable metropolitan markets is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop and own the enterprise real estate and property management strategy aligned with long-term business objectives, growth plans, and financial targets.
• Position the real estate portfolio to provide flexibility, scalability, and adaptability to changing market conditions and business needs.
• Establish strategic priorities, governance, and success measures for real estate, facilities, and asset protection functions.
• Provide executive oversight of the real estate portfolio to maximize asset value and utilization and minimize financial, operational, and compliance risks.
• Lead ongoing assessments of asset cost, utilization, condition, risk exposure, and strategic fit.
• Drive portfolio decisions involving acquisitions, dispositions, consolidations, relocations, and lease strategies.
• Manage and hold accountable the external real estate partner for pipeline development, lease negotiations, portfolio planning, property management, and performance reporting.
• Oversee property management through the external partner, ensuring service quality, cost effectiveness, risk management, and compliance with enterprise standards.
• Use portfolio insights and reporting to inform executive decisions and continuous improvement.
• Provide executive accountability for real estate, construction, and facility projects, including scope, budget, timeline, quality, decision authority, and escalation requirements.
• Integrate facilities and asset protection strategies with real estate planning and enterprise risk management objectives.
• Establish policies, standards, and governance frameworks for safe, secure, and well-maintained facilities.
• Partner with executive and business unit leaders and finance, legal, HR, and operations to align decisions with enterprise priorities and stakeholder needs.
• Advise senior leadership on real estate, property management, and facilities implications of business strategy, growth initiatives, and organizational change.
• Balance enterprise consistency with local business needs through stakeholder engagement and influence.
• Direct organizational design across multiple departments and oversee staff development, training, succession planning, and talent sourcing.
• Set project priorities and timing, communicate the vision for organizational changes, authorize organizational resources, manage change through communication and coaching, build leadership coalitions, and serve as project sponsor for major initiatives.
• Demonstrate community leadership by serving on volunteer boards, steering committees, or other community committees aligned with the organization’s intended impact.
• Provide Board of Directors updates on financials, operations, and progress toward goals for areas of responsibility.
• Complete other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Short- and long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Retirement plan
• Paid time off (PTO)
• Certain roles may be eligible to participate in an incentive plan; participation does not guarantee payment and is subject to plan terms and conditions.

What This Job Offers

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