Senior Director, Global Real Estate

About the role

Grant Thornton is seeking a Senior Director, Real Estate to own the firm’s global real estate strategy and portfolio. This role leads global real‑estate activities across strategy, workplace design, transactions, and financial management of the global lease portfolio, partnering closely with Workplace Operations on place‑based execution.

Responsibilities

• Portfolio Strategy & Governance
  • Define and own the global real estate strategy, portfolio plan, and occupancy strategy aligned to firm growth and integration.
  • Build and lead a new global real estate organization with the capabilities, operating model, and regional reach required to support a changing portfolio driven by global acquisitions and organic growth.
  • Set workplace design standards and guardrails applied across the portfolio.
  • Establish real estate governance, data, and analytics to support capital and occupancy decisions.
  • Continuously evaluate and propose automation and AI adoption opportunities within real estate and design & construction processes, partnering with Global Transformation & Integration on centralized prioritization and delivery.
• Transactions & Partner Management
  • Own the transactions strategy and oversee execution through the firm’s appointed real estate transactions partner.
  • Oversee external design & construction partner relationships, ensuring best‑in‑class outcomes with fees appropriately charged to capital projects.
  • Manage an outsource provider‑ and partner‑first delivery model, holding partners accountable to performance and service standards.
• Design & Construction Oversight
  • Own the global design standards, recommending changes in office designs and layouts in accordance with business needs and regional/local adaptations where necessary.
  • Ensure projects are delivered on scope, schedule, and budget, and to firm design standards.
• Data, Analytics & Performance
  • Establish metrics and targets for efficiency, cost, and customer satisfaction across the real estate portfolio.
  • Build, monitor, and act on reports and dashboards that track performance and progress against targets, elevating the function’s data, analytics, and business‑intelligence maturity.
  • Example metrics: occupancy cost and cost per square foot/seat, lease timelines and upcoming expirations, office/space utilization, portfolio footprint and vacancy/sublease exposure, and capital project budget vs. actual.
  • Use data‑driven insights to inform decisions, prioritize improvements, and demonstrate value to firm leadership.
• Cross‑Functional Leadership
  • Partner with Workplace Operations on place‑based execution (occupancy, moves, fit‑outs) via the dotted‑line relationship with Regional Managers.
  • Collaborate with Finance on capital planning, accounting and financial reporting treatment, and project economics.
  • Represent the function with strong executive presence, delivering clear, concise, and executive‑ready communications and deliverables.
  • Co‑design the function’s detailed target model with the Global Administrative Services Leader.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in real estate, business, architecture/engineering, or a related field (advanced degree a plus).
• 15+ years of corporate real estate experience, including portfolio strategy and transactions oversight.
• Experience leading a partner‑led delivery model (brokerage, design, and construction vendors).
• Strong financial acumen, including capital planning and project economics.
• Proven ability to provide strategic oversight of a global or multi‑country portfolio.
• Excellent stakeholder‑management and executive‑communication skills.

Pay

The base salary range for this position is between $187,500 and $312,500. Placement within the range is at Grant Thornton’s discretion and is based on factors such as knowledge, skills, experience, business needs, geographic location, and internal equity.

Schedule

This role follows Grant Thornton’s hybrid work model, requiring in‑person attendance at least three days per week at a Grant Thornton office or client site.

Benefits

• Personalized and comprehensive benefits that recognize and empower diverse identities, roles, and aspirations (details at grantthornton.com/careers/rewards-and-benefits).
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for eligible employees, interns, and seasonal workers.
• Employee assistance program.
• Minimum of 72 hours of paid sick leave for interns and seasonal employees.
• Eligibility for the firm’s 401(k) savings plan and employee retirement plan for seasonal employees, subject to plan terms.
• Discretionary annual bonus for eligible employees based on individual and firm performance.