Lease Negotiator

About Us

Trader Joe's is your favorite neighborhood grocery store! With over 600 stores nationwide (and growing), we are the place to be for delicious food and friendly conversation. We love being your first and favorite place to shop.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Lease Negotiator with a passion for retail lease negotiations and a love for food. This role could be based in our office in Monrovia, CA or Boston, MA.

The Lease Negotiator provides contract support for Trader Joe's real estate portfolio, from letters of intent and lease negotiations through lease administration. Responsibilities include managing outside counsel, representing Trader Joe's business interests in negotiations, interpreting existing leases, and handling major store-related issues.

Responsibilities

• Drive effective and efficient lease negotiation processes for new stores, relocations, and expansions with outside counsel, representing Trader Joe's business perspective during negotiations.
• Communicate the status of legal documents and negotiate with all relevant parties; coordinate with the Vice President of Real Estate and other team members on business issues that arise.
• Support the lease administration team in reviewing and interpreting leases, waivers, SNDAs, estoppels, REAs, CC&Rs, and other legal documents.
• Review executed agreements to identify applicable terms in response to inquiries about contract content, including contractual obligations, term, termination rights, and disputes.
• Manage internal tracking of real estate contracts, including lease contingencies.
• Support the Real Estate and Construction team in handling major store issues in a timely manner.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of retail lease negotiations experience in the retail sector.
• Bachelor's Degree in Business or Paralegal strongly preferred; experience or degree in Real Estate Law a plus.
• Ability to read, draft, and communicate legal information from leases and related documents.
• Strong communication skills, specifically articulating Trader Joe's position during negotiations and conversations with outside parties.
• Self-starter with a proactive approach and sense of urgency.
• Excellent time management skills and the ability to prioritize.
• Strong analytical skills with sound business and legal acumen.
• High degree of integrity, especially when dealing with confidential and sensitive information.

Trader Joe's is an equal opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse team.