Retail Leasing Manager

About the Role

We are looking for an accomplished Retail Leasing & Development Manager to join a prominent real estate and destination development company based in Saudi Arabia, specifically in Jeddah or Makkah. This role entails comprehensive responsibility for advancing retail properties from leasing stages through development coordination, tenant handover, fit-out processes, and successful store openings.

Key Responsibilities

• Formulate and implement strategic retail leasing approaches and tenant-mix plans aligned with asset positioning and commercial goals.
• Source and engage relevant local, regional, and international retail, food & beverage, lifestyle, and service tenants.
• Oversee the entire leasing cycle, from tenant identification and qualification, proposal formulation, letters of intent, negotiating commercial terms, contract finalization, to handover and opening phases.
• Lead negotiations related to rental pricing, incentives, lease agreements, fit-out durations, and other essential commercial conditions.
• Collaborate with development, project management, and design teams to ensure unit configurations, base-build requirements, access, and handover plans meet tenant needs.
• Assist in developing commercial business proposals, conduct feasibility studies, perform rental benchmarking, and analyze market trends.
• Manage tenant onboarding procedures, design specifications, unit handover, and fit-out activities from the landlord's and commercial standpoint.
• Monitor tenant delivery and readiness status, proactively identifying and addressing any commercial, developmental, or operational challenges.
• Coordinate with internal departments, consultants, contractors, tenants, and operators to ensure timely project progress according to schedules.
• Maintain detailed tracking systems for leasing, development, fit-out, and opening stages and provide routine updates to management.

Candidate Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Business, Finance, Engineering, Architecture, Construction/Project Management, or related fields.
• At least 8 years of relevant experience in retail leasing, commercial real estate, retail development, tenant delivery, or mixed-use/destination projects.
• Experience in Saudi Arabia and/or the GCC region is essential; familiarity with the Saudi retail market is highly preferred.
• Proven track record involved in multiple retail lifecycle stages including tenant mix planning, brand acquisition, commercial negotiation, leasing documentation, development facilitation, tenant handover, fit-out coordination, and store opening.
• Experience with shopping malls, premium retail outlets, F&B, lifestyle destinations, or mixed-use developments is advantageous.
• Strong commercial insight into retail leasing structures, rental benchmarking, and financial considerations.
• Capability to manage diverse stakeholders and foster delivery across teams without direct authority.
• Excellent negotiation, problem-solving, communication, and reporting skills.

Additional Information

This vacancy is based in Makkah with possible operations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, requiring onsite presence as a full-time position. The ideal candidate is someone who combines comprehensive retail leasing expertise with practical experience in development coordination and tenant delivery, having been actively involved beyond signing lease agreements to include handover, fit-out supervision, operational readiness, and store launch.