Senior Vice President - Development - Dallas / North Texas

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Senior Vice President of Development – Dallas / North Texas Market Leader

Location: Dallas, Texas

Employment Category: Full-time 

Reports To: Managing Director, Residential

Founded by famed architect John Portman in the 1950s, Portman is a privately owned national real estate investment, development and management firm focused on delivering premier quality office, hospitality, residential, industrial, and mixed-use projects prioritizing occupant experience through first class execution. The diversified, full-service company has developed over 80 million square feet of landmark real estate assets and currently has over $3B in projects throughout eleven markets across the country employing an unequaled pedigree of experience, industry knowledge, and commitment to excellence. Portman has established a successful global network and has a proven track record with the world’s top financial institutions. Teams in the company’s national offices seamlessly connect to develop, finance, and manage a diverse portfolio in the key strategic and emerging markets throughout the country. Portman Holdings continues to achieve success through investor, partner and client relationships that deliver exceptional real estate assets and innovative, experiential places. For more information, visit

SUMMARY 

Portman Residential is seeking a Senior Vice President, Development to lead its Dallas / North Texas market. This individual will be responsible for building and executing a regional development strategy; sourcing and evaluating new multifamily and mixed-use residential opportunities; leading underwriting and investment committee approvals; managing entitlement, capitalization, and project execution efforts; and overseeing projects from pursuit through construction handoff, delivery, and stabilization.

The successful candidate will bring deep Dallas / North Texas market knowledge, strong local relationships, institutional-quality investment judgment, and the ability to identify compelling development opportunities in a competitive and supply-sensitive environment. This role requires an entrepreneurial leader who can represent Portman externally, build a high-quality local pipeline, manage complex stakeholder relationships, and deliver projects consistent with Portman’s design, execution, and return standards.

  KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Market Leadership & Strategy

• Lead Portman Residential’s Dallas / North Texas development strategy, including identification of priority submarkets, product types, capital-efficient development opportunities, and risk-adjusted return targets.

• Serve as Portman’s senior local representative with brokers, landowners, municipalities, capital partners, consultants, contractors, community stakeholders, and other market participants.

• Maintain a clear point of view on submarket-level supply and demand, rent growth, concessions, absorption, land values, construction costs, tax and insurance trends, cap rates, exit liquidity, and competitive product positioning.

• Evaluate opportunities across multiple residential product types, including urban infill, suburban town center, mixed-use, mid-rise, lower-density, surface-parked, garden, or hybrid residential formats, and recommend the product strategy best aligned with market demand and capital market requirements.

Deal Origination & Pipeline Creation

• Source off-market and marketed development opportunities through brokers, landowners, developers, public entities, civic relationships, and strategic partners.

• Build and maintain a repeatable sourcing network across Dallas, Fort Worth, and priority North Texas suburbs.

• Evaluate land acquisition, joint venture, structured transaction, public/private partnership, and redevelopment opportunities.

• Create and manage a qualified regional pipeline that supports Portman Residential’s broader growth objectives.

Investment Analysis & Approvals

• Lead underwriting, site evaluation, investment committee materials, risk assessment, and go/no-go recommendations for new opportunities.

• Prepare and present site approval packages to Portman leadership, including pro formas, market analytics, demographic analysis, site plans, entitlement strategy, LOIs, LODs, design criteria, area and market maps, revenue forecasts, capital assumptions, schedules, and sensitivity analyses.

• Evaluate land basis, attainable rents, concessions, operating expenses, taxes, insurance, construction costs, capital structure, exit assumptions, and achievable risk-adjusted returns.

• Coordinate with internal finance, capital markets, construction, design, asset management, and executive leadership teams to ensure investment recommendations are disciplined, complete, and actionable.

Entitlements, Public Approvals & Community Engagement

• Lead entitlement strategy, zoning approvals, permitting, neighborhood engagement, municipal negotiations, and public/private coordination.

• Manage land-use counsel, civil engineers, architects, traffic consultants, environmental consultants, and other local advisors through approval processes.

• Identify entitlement risks early and develop practical strategies to resolve or mitigate zoning, access, utility, political, community, environmental, and infrastructure constraints.

• Represent Portman professionally in public meetings, stakeholder discussions, municipal presentations, and community engagement forums.

Capital Formation & Partner Management

• Support capital raising, lender engagement, and joint venture structuring in coordination with Portman leadership and capital markets teams.

• Participate in investor presentations, partner due diligence, lender discussions, and ongoing project-level communications with institutional capital partners.

• Build credibility with equity partners, lenders, and other capital sources by clearly articulating the market thesis, project economics, risks, mitigation strategies, and execution plan.

• Maintain strong reporting and communication relationships with project stakeholders, partners, team members, peers, managers, vendors, and affected departments.

Project Execution & Financial Performance

• Oversee projects from pursuit through closing, design, capitalization, construction handoff, lease-up strategy, delivery, and stabilization.

• Lead budgeting, forecasting, schedule management, and financial performance oversight for assigned development projects.

• Coordinate architects, engineers, landscape architects, interior designers, property managers, project managers, construction teams, development associates, consultants, and vendors.

• Monitor project progress and adjust resources, priorities, budgets, schedules, and risk mitigation plans to achieve business objectives within project guidelines.

• Exercise independent judgment in developing methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for successful execution; identify and eliminate obstacles to project goals and implementation.

• Comply with health, safety, and environmental responsibilities associated with the position.

Team Leadership

• Recruit, manage, mentor, and develop local development professionals, project managers, analysts, and other direct reports as the regional platform grows.

• Foster strong working relationships across all levels of the organization and promote collaboration among development, construction, design, finance, asset management, property management, and corporate leadership.

• Model Portman’s standards for integrity, accountability, design quality, execution discipline, and partner stewardship.

Success Measures

• Creation of a high-quality Dallas / North Texas development pipeline aligned with Portman Residential’s strategic objectives.

• Successful sourcing, underwriting, and approval of attractive development opportunities that meet Portman’s risk-adjusted return thresholds.

• Effective advancement of entitlements, land acquisitions, capitalization, design, construction handoff, and project execution milestones.

• Strong relationships with local brokers, landowners, municipalities, consultants, contractors, lenders, equity partners, and community stakeholders.

• Delivery of projects consistent with approved budgets, schedules, design standards, investment assumptions, and partner expectations.

Required Experience, Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• 12–15+ years of relevant real estate development experience, preferably with significant multifamily, mixed-use, or residential development experience.

• Deep knowledge of the Dallas / North Texas market, including landowners, brokers, municipalities, contractors, consultants, lenders, equity capital sources, and priority growth submarkets.

• Demonstrated track record sourcing, underwriting, negotiating, structuring, entitling, capitalizing, and advancing land or development acquisitions.

• Strong understanding of multifamily underwriting, land residual analysis, rent and concession trends, operating expenses, property taxes, insurance, construction costs, debt and equity capital markets, cap rates, and project-level return metrics.

• Experience leading zoning, entitlement, permitting, public approval, and community engagement processes, including politically sensitive or complex jurisdictions.

• Ability to prepare and present investment committee materials, including financial analysis, market support, risk assessment, site plans, schedules, budgets, and return sensitivities.

• Residential and mixed-use development experience, including familiarity with product programming, design coordination, construction feasibility, property operations, and lease-up considerations.

• Strong analytical, planning, verbal communication, and written communication skills.

• Strong conflict resolution, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.

• Strong design orientation with the ability to maintain design intent throughout the development process and through completion of the finished project.

• Executive presence and credibility with senior leadership, institutional partners, public officials, landowners, brokers, consultants, contractors, and community stakeholders.

• Ability to work independently with limited direction while coordinating effectively with a national platform.

• Positive leader and team player with the ability to foster productive relationships at every level of an organization, both internally and externally.

Portman is deeply committed to building a workplace and global community where inclusion is not only valued but prioritized. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, family status, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, neurodiversity, disability, age, or veteran status, or any other non-merit based or legally protected grounds. Portman is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities in the employment application process.