Senior Real Estate Manager - Commercial

About us

Since 1942, SkyChefs has taken culinary excellence to new heights. As a trusted partner to the nation’s leading airlines and retailers, we proudly deliver millions of meals and exceptional service experiences every year across 43 sites throughout the United States. Built on a legacy of operational excellence, culinary expertise, and continuous innovation, we are committed to setting the industry standard in aviation culinary, airline services, last-mile logistics, and retail commerce. From the kitchen to the runway, our teams work together to deliver quality, reliability, and service at every altitude. Our people are the heart of everything we do. At SkyChefs, a career is more than a job – it’s an opportunity to grow, lead, and make an impact in a fast-paced, team-driven environment. Join America’s first, foremost, and finest and take your career to new heights.

Role Purpose Statement

Location: US Headquarters in Irving, TX

Work Type: In office Mon-Thu, Remote day: Friday

What you will do

Strategic Real Estate & Lease Negotiations

• Lead complex lease negotiations, renewals, amendments, extensions, and related agreements with airport authorities, landlords, and industrial property owners nationwide.
• Negotiate favorable lease terms, including rent structures, operating expenses, maintenance obligations, renewal options, access rights, use restrictions, and termination provisions.
• Develop innovative solutions that improve lease economics while protecting operational requirements.
• Present recommendations and negotiation strategies to executive leadership for approval.

Airport Authority & Industrial Real Estate Leadership

• Serve as SkyChefs’ subject matter expert on airport authority real estate and industrial property leasing.
• Navigate airport authority governance, approval processes, security regulations, infrastructure requirements, and operational constraints.
• Collaborate with local operations teams to ensure facilities support production capacity, customer commitments, fleet access, and business continuity.
• Identify operational and financial risks and proactively develop mitigation strategies.

Capital Investments & Facility Development

• Structure and negotiate tenant improvement allowances, landlord-funded projects, facility expansions, infrastructure enhancements, and capital investment opportunities.
• Evaluate landlord versus tenant-funded investment scenarios in partnership with Finance and Operations.
• Support business cases for new facilities, relocations, consolidations, and major improvement projects.
• Drive negotiations that maximize landlord contributions and enhance long-term occupancy value.

Executive Partnership & Portfolio Optimization

• Build trusted relationships with airport authorities, landlords, ownership groups, brokers, consultants, and legal partners.
• Partner cross-functionally to align lease structures with operational, financial, and strategic objectives.
• Develop portfolio strategies that reduce occupancy costs, improve flexibility, and strengthen renewal positioning.
• Contribute to long-term network planning and corporate real estate strategy.

Strategic Portfolio Planning & Process Improvement

• Develop and implement a long-term real estate portfolio roadmap aligned with lease commitments, customer contracts, facility investments, and growth strategies.
• Create visibility into lease expirations, renewal opportunities, contract milestones, and operational dependencies to support proactive decision-making.
• Partner with Commercial, Operations, and Finance teams to align customer contract durations with facility lease obligations and occupancy strategies.
• Implement process improvements, governance models, reporting tools, lease management practices, and portfolio tracking mechanisms.
• Build executive dashboards, lease trackers, critical date management tools, and portfolio analytics to support strategic planning.

Construction Projects & Capital Improvements

• Lead real estate-related construction projects, facility expansions, renovations, relocations, and infrastructure improvement initiatives.
• Manage project timelines, budgets, landlord obligations, tenant responsibilities, consultants, contractors, and stakeholder communications.
• Partner with Facilities, Operations, and Finance to prioritize capital investments and ensure projects support operational requirements and long-term business objectives.
• Negotiate and structure landlord-funded improvements, tenant improvement allowances, capital expenditure agreements, and facility investment strategies.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Required Experience

  • • 5+ years of experience in airport real estate, corporate real estate, industrial leasing, airport facilities management, or a closely related field.
    • Direct experience negotiating leases involving airport authority-owned, controlled, governed, or approved properties.

  Demonstrated success leading lease negotiations involving:

  • • Capital expenditure projects
    • Tenant improvement allowances
    • Landlord contributions
    • Facility buildouts
    • Infrastructure investments

  Strong understanding of:

  • • Lease economics
    • CAM and operating expenses
    • Maintenance obligations
    • Occupancy cost structures
    • Renewal rights and strategies
    • Landlord and tenant responsibilities
    • Experience influencing cross-functional stakeholders and driving decisions in complex business environments.

  Preferred Qualifications

  • • Commercial airport facilities leasing experience within aviation, airline, cargo, logistics, manufacturing, or food production environments.
    • Real Estate Salesperson or Broker License.
    • RPA (Real Property Administrator), CPM (Certified Property Manager), CCIM, or related real estate designation.
    • Experience managing multi-site national portfolios.