Director of Leasing

Director, Retail Leasing

Location: Richmond, VA / Washington, D.C. Metro Area | Hybrid

High Country: Private Equity Search has been retained to identify a Director of Retail Leasing for an established, vertically integrated real estate investment firm with a growing national retail platform. The company specializes in acquiring, redeveloping, repositioning, and managing high-quality commercial real estate assets, with a focus on creating value through strategic leasing, active asset management, and targeted capital improvements.

The firm's retail portfolio includes shopping centers, lifestyle destinations, and mixed-use properties across major U.S. markets. As the platform continues to expand, the company is seeking an experienced leasing professional to oversee its retail leasing activities throughout Richmond, Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and the broader Mid-Atlantic region.

The ideal candidate will bring significant retail leasing experience, established relationships with national and regional retailers, and a demonstrated ability to negotiate transactions, develop merchandising strategies, and improve property-level performance. This individual should be comfortable independently driving leasing activity while collaborating closely with senior leadership, asset management, acquisitions, and development teams.

Position:

This is a senior-level position responsible for developing and executing leasing strategies across a portfolio of retail assets throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President of Retail Leasing, based in either Dallas or New York, the Director will play an important role in driving occupancy, rental growth, tenant quality, and long-term asset value.

The individual will oversee leasing initiatives across existing properties while supporting new acquisitions, redevelopment opportunities, and broader portfolio growth. Responsibilities will include sourcing and negotiating transactions, cultivating retailer relationships, managing third-party brokers, and developing property-specific leasing strategies aligned with investment objectives.

The position offers meaningful autonomy, direct exposure to senior leadership, and the opportunity to contribute to the continued expansion of an institutional-quality retail investment platform.

Responsibilities:

• Lead retail leasing activities across an assigned portfolio of shopping centers, lifestyle destinations, and mixed-use properties throughout Richmond, Northern Virginia, and the broader Mid-Atlantic region.
• Develop and execute property-level leasing strategies focused on maximizing occupancy, rental growth, tenant quality, and net operating income.
• Independently source, negotiate, and execute retail lease transactions, including new leases, renewals, expansions, relocations, and restructurings.
• Build and maintain relationships with national and regional retailers, restaurant operators, tenant representatives, and brokerage firms to generate leasing opportunities.
• Develop merchandising and tenant-mix strategies that enhance property positioning, strengthen consumer appeal, and support long-term investment performance.
• Negotiate key lease economics, including rental rates, tenant improvement allowances, landlord obligations, and other material business terms.
• Partner with asset management and development teams to support retail repositioning, redevelopment initiatives, and capital improvement strategies.
• Oversee third-party leasing brokers, establish leasing priorities, and monitor transaction pipelines and execution timelines.
• Evaluate local market conditions, competitive retail properties, tenant demand, and emerging retail concepts to identify opportunities for value creation.
• Support acquisition due diligence and underwriting by providing market rent assumptions, tenant demand assessments, leasing cost estimates, and property-level leasing strategies.
• Analyze the financial impact of leasing transactions, including occupancy, rental growth, leasing costs, and overall property-level investment returns.
• Collaborate with internal investment, legal, construction, and property management teams to facilitate lease execution and tenant delivery.
• Prepare leasing forecasts, pipeline updates, and property-level performance reports for senior leadership.
• Represent the firm at industry conferences, retailer meetings, and relevant networking events to strengthen relationships and identify new leasing opportunities.

Qualifications:

• Ideally 8–12+ years of progressive commercial real estate experience, with significant exposure to retail leasing and direct transaction execution.
• Demonstrated experience leasing shopping centers, lifestyle centers, power centers, mixed-use developments, or other institutional-quality retail properties.
• Strong knowledge of the Richmond, Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and broader Mid-Atlantic retail markets.
• Established relationships with national and regional retailers, tenant representatives, and commercial real estate brokerage firms.
• Proven ability to independently originate, negotiate, and execute complex retail lease transactions.
• Experience developing tenant merchandising strategies, improving occupancy, and supporting retail repositioning or redevelopment initiatives.
• Strong financial acumen, including an understanding of leasing economics, net operating income, tenant improvement costs, and property-level investment performance.
• Experience working with institutional real estate owners, private equity investment firms, retail developers, or established commercial real estate platforms preferred.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship management skills, with the ability to work effectively across investment, asset management, and development teams.
• Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Finance, Business, Economics, or a related field preferred.
• Willingness to travel throughout the assigned region as needed.