Market Sector Leader, Property Portfolio

Arup’s purpose, shared values, and collaborative approach have set us apart for over 80 years, guiding how we shape a better world. We are seeking an accomplished industry executive to help shape and grow Arup's Property portfolio across the Americas, covering Commercial Property, Government Property, Education, Arts and Culture, and Sport businesses.

About the role

This role is designed for a senior market-facing executive who understands how capital, development, infrastructure, planning, design, and delivery come together to create successful places. The successful candidate will build relationships with developers, investors, institutional owners, public agencies, architects, and city-building partners, while positioning Arup for transformational projects and long-term portfolio growth. This is primarily a market leadership, opportunity origination, and client relationship role, not a conventional project delivery management position.

This role can be based out of our New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles office.

Responsibilities

• Market and business leadership:
  • Define and execute a clear growth strategy for the Property portfolio across priority Americas markets.
  • Identify market shifts, investment trends, and emerging development opportunities that should shape Arup's positioning.
  • Translate sector insight into practical growth priorities, strategic pursuits, and client engagement plans.
  • Support disciplined growth, strong commercial outcomes, and a consistent market narrative across geographies.
• Client and industry leadership:
  • Build and sustain executive-level relationships with developers, owners, investors, private funds, REITs, pension funds, public agencies, and city-building organizations.
  • Position Arup as a trusted advisor to clients making complex development, investment, urban regeneration, and portfolio decisions.
  • Represent Arup in the market through selected industry forums, client roundtables, and strategic partnerships.
  • Help deepen relationships with existing clients while opening access to new decision-makers and market channels.
• Opportunity origination and strategic pursuits:
  • Identify opportunities early in the planning, acquisition, investment, or development lifecycle.
  • Shape win strategies for major pursuits, strategic accounts, and city-shaping opportunities.
  • Connect client challenges to Arup's capabilities across planning, infrastructure, buildings, climate, resilience, mobility, advisory, and digital services.
  • Work with regional and global teams to convert strategic relationships into sustainable, profitable work.
• City-building, development, and master planning:
  • Bring insight into large-scale mixed-use development, district planning, campus development, urban regeneration, and transit-oriented development.
  • Help clients integrate land value, infrastructure, sustainability, mobility, resilience, community outcomes, and long-term asset performance.
  • Support strategies that respond to occupier needs, capital priorities, planning constraints, and public interest outcomes.
  • Build Arup's reputation as a partner that can help clients shape places from vision through investment, planning, and delivery.
• Leadership and collaboration:
  • Provide visible, collaborative leadership across the Property portfolio and the broader Americas business.
  • Mentor market-facing professionals and pursuit teams.
  • Create alignment across disciplines, sectors, and geographies to bring the best of Arup to clients.
  • Model a high-performance culture based on trust, accountability, care, inclusion, and commercial discipline.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering, architecture, planning, or a similar field.
• At least 20 years of experience and proven ability to build and sustain executive-level client relationships.
• Senior leadership experience in real estate, development, investment, master planning, city-building, or a related sector.
• Strong commercial judgement and understanding of real estate value creation, development economics, and investment drivers.
• Demonstrated experience influencing major development, investment, regeneration, or portfolio decisions.
• Established network across developers, owners, investors, public agencies, architects, planners, and industry partners.
• Ability to operate in a complex, multidisciplinary environment and influence without relying on formal authority.
• Excellent communication, storytelling, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
• Commitment to sustainable development, climate resilience, inclusive growth, and long-term value creation.

What Success Looks Like

• Expanded Arup's access to major development, investment, and city-building opportunities across priority Americas markets.
• Strengthened executive-level relationships with developers, investors, institutional owners, and public-sector partners.
• Created a clearer and more compelling market position for Property across real estate, urban development, district planning, and complex mixed-use work.
• Converted early-stage client relationships and strategic pursuits into sustainable, profitable growth.
• Built stronger connectivity across Arup's planning, infrastructure, buildings, climate, resilience, advisory, and digital capabilities.
• Raised the ambition, confidence, and consistency of Property+ market leadership across the region.

Benefits

At Arup, we care about each member’s success, so we can grow together. Guided by our values, we provide an attractive total reward package that recognizes the contribution of each of our members to our shared success.

• Competitive, fair, and equitable pay.
• Profit Share: A global profit share scheme (payments are dependent on the firm’s financial performance).
• Benefits at Work: Comprehensive and valuable benefits program that provides health and welfare security, as well as paid time off for rest and renewal.
• 401(k) plan with up to 10% company match.
• Flexible working arrangements, including options for alternative schedules and the ability to work outside of the office for a portion of the workweek.

Pay

New York Hiring Range: The good faith base salary hiring range for this job if performed in New York is $300,000 to $360,000 per year. This range is commensurate with experience, educational background, and skill level. Benefits are not included in the base salary. Please note hiring ranges for candidates performing work outside of New York will differ.