Sr. Specialist Real Estate - Expansion

Overview

Senior Specialist, Real Estate

Site Scouting & Deal Sourcing

• Identify, evaluate, and propose suitable real estate options based on the needs of business functions (e.g., dark stores, kitchens, logistics).
• Maintain a strong pipeline of potential properties aligned with Talabat’s expansion strategy.
• Collaborate with commercial and data teams to align site selection
• Manage ethical non-conflicting relationships with external real estate brokers, consultants, and advisors to maximize market coverage and deal flow.

Landlord Relationship Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with landlords, property managers, and building management POCs
• Act as the single point of contact between landlords and internal teams, ensuring smooth communication and timely issue resolution.

Lease Negotiation & Contract Management

• Lead lease and renewal negotiations, securing favorable terms that meet both business needs and legal requirements.
• Collaborate with legal and finance teams to ensure timely finalization of contracts and compliance with internal policies.
• Proactively manage upcoming renewals and exits to mitigate financial or operational risk.
• Conduct rent benchmarking against market rates to ensure competitive lease terms across the portfolio.
• Track renewal options, termination clauses, termination rights, and lease expirations with proactive management timelines to avoid missed deadlines.
• Drive cost optimization initiatives across the portfolio, including renegotiations, consolidations, and early exit strategies where appropriate.

Issue Resolution & Stakeholder Support

• Work with business teams to address property-related issues, ensuring landlord accountability and timely resolution (e.g., maintenance delays, access issues).
• Escalate recurring issues or disputes and propose alternative solutions in collaboration with internal stakeholders.

Due Diligence & Regulatory Compliance

• Conduct due diligence on prospective sites, including verification of Title Deed, ownership details, and permitted activities, before deal progression.
• Ensure compliance with UAE real estate regulations including RERA, Ejari, and municipality approval requirements.
• Coordinate with relevant authorities and teams on DED (or equivalent) licensing and municipality permits as needed to support new site openings.

Handover & Fit-Out Coordination

• Coordinate property handover between landlords and internal construction/fit-out teams, ensuring premises meet operational and technical specifications.

Process Improvement

• Provide input into workflow design, documentation, and system updates that streamline real estate operations.
• Contribute insights to improve lead tracking, visibility, and turnaround time across markets.
• Maintain structured lease document management and archiving to ensure a complete audit trail and easy retrieval across the portfolio.

Qualifications

• 5-8 years of experience in real estate, leasing, or property management — ideally in a Retail, F&B, E-commerce or logistics environment.
• Proven ability to negotiate commercial contracts and manage stakeholders under time pressure.
• Strong relationship-building and interpersonal skills.
• High attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Comfortable working cross-functionally and escalating bottlenecks when needed.