Cushman & Wakefield · 1 week ago
Director, Operations
Chicago, IL
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$128K/yr - $150K/yrCushman & Wakefield is a leading global real estate services firm, and they are seeking a Director of Operations to manage local office operations for commercial services within the Chicago market. This role involves overseeing administrative and operational functions, managing operations staff, and ensuring effective service delivery across the sub-region.
CommercialCommercial Real EstateConsultingLeasingLegalProperty Management
Responsibilities
Provide leadership, mentoring and supervision to the administrative and office operations staff
Direct all financial management of local office and specified sub-region including monthly and annual operating budgets, forecasts and reporting as well as assessment of variances for the market and service lines
Responsible for approvals at local level for T&E, commission documentation, payables and resourcing needs
Responsible for facilities management including relocations and buildouts, managing leases, vendor relations, and overseeing compliance/record retention
Implement and support all company initiatives
Provide leadership, mentoring and supervision to Office Managers and Coordinators within the assigned sub-region
Ensure profitability and product quality of the service delivery and back office resources within the sub-region
Creatively solve problems to ensure the market’s offices operate in an efficient and effective manner
Spearhead and coordinate training programs for salespersons and employees
Collaborate with counterparts in other sub-regions to learn and utilize best operational practices
Foster coordination and communication among the firm’s profit centers and work with the Market Leaders to develop and implement an annual plan for developing a collaborative work environment
Support Market Leaders with the development of the annual business plan, budget and forecast
Develop strategic planning across the different service lines within assigned sub-region and develop short- and long- range operating objectives, policies and programs
Ensure overall achievement of budgeted financial targets and other standards set forth in approved business plans for the combined businesses/accounts within the sub-region
Promote and ensure compliance with company policies and operating procedures
Advocate, support and increase adoption of firm-wide initiatives
Uphold the values, mission and standards of the company
Encourage cross-service line and cross functional collaboration across the specified sub-region
Demonstrate expertise with all facets of the company’s business, specifically services provided and customers served
Oversee all marketing, research, and service delivery teams and work with teams on staffing, following leading practices across the firm, and creating content that is best in class
In the absence of functional leadership, manage research, marketing, and service delivery staff to best serve fee-earners in delivery of material
In the absence of functional leadership, work with fee-earners to deploy teams of research, marketing, and service delivery staff based on level of effort and expertise required for delivery of material
Work with Market Leader to resolve any conflicts over ownership of opportunities
Support strategic planning processes across the various service lines within the assigned sub-region
Draft and finalize budget (revenue and expenses)
Solicit input from service line, fee earners and market leads at pre-budget meetings regarding recent wins, pipeline activity, anticipated recruiting and attrition, capital spend, etc
Help promote culture of compliance within market for fee-earners and project coordinators to routinely update CRM system
Communicate and enforce guidelines on updating CRM system within Market
Review pipeline report
Follow up with fee-earners, project coordinators, commission accountant, Market Leader and Office Managers, as needed, to update pipeline information
Communicate finalization of pipeline to Market and Service Line Leadership and answer questions as necessary
Approve deal documentation and Revenue Summary Document to verify splits and other transaction details and work with fee-earners, as needed, to verify/update information and ensure adherence to policy
Work with Market Leader to manage any conflicts over information recorded in deal documentation
Work with Legal Counsel to determine if changes to standard contracts/agreements are required
Oversee all incoming invoices using Workday
Understand expense policy for compliance and correct coding
Work with Commission Accountants, Project Coordinators, and fee-earners, if necessary, to review all deal expenses associated with a closed deal
Oversee tracking of expenses related to deals, working directly with Office Manager to track all deal expenses
Review reports from Commission Accounting on outstanding receivables and work with Market Leader and fee-earners to determine strategy for collecting payments
Approve write-offs or use of collection agency for outstanding receivables over certain limit
Review and approve all expense reports and determine if expenses are appropriate and in policy in Expense system
Review business case for necessity of expenditure Vendor Management / Administration
Oversee and manage the purchasing and maintenance of office supplies and office equipment (i.e. furniture, IT equipment, telephones, snack services, plants, etc.)
Solicit and negotiate vendor bids, contracts, and pricing
Work with Office Manager to ensure all vendors are included in Workday Vendor Management
Work with HR to develop job descriptions for identified opening
Interview candidates for various positions
Coordinate with HR, department head, Office Coordinator/Office Manager, IT/Telecomm to ensure all equipment is ordered, desk is set up and ready on Day 1
Determine start date, department, manager, etc
Use WorkDay for all HR needs (ETS in Global HQ)
Manage employees and delegate workflow
Prepare and deliver annual performance reviews and KPI’s
Work in conjunction with HR on performance issues
Ensure compliance with record keeping and policy adherence
Oversee any events and conference within the market in conjunction with Marketing and PR
Manage firm brand, marketing, and PR
Work with Office Manager to track broker licenses, professional memberships, and educational requirements and follow up with fee-earners on any delinquencies or upcoming actions required
Coordinate any move with Office Managers and Office Coordinator by designing seating plan
Work in conjunction with IT, Telecomm, Real Estate on all moves
Implement emergency preparedness plan
Manage required adjacencies, anticipated recruiting and attrition
Perform more administrative duties in the absence of Office Manager such as tracking broker licenses and professional memberships, manage onboarding of new hires, business continuity, coordinate moves, track vacancies and utilization
Qualification
Required
Responsible for managing local office operations for commercial services within the Chicago market
Ensure that administrative and operational functions are provided to local offices in an efficient and effective manner
Directly manage operations staff
Responsible for service delivery through management of Operations Managers and a Facility Manager
Provide management oversight for operations functions and staff throughout the sub-region
Work closely with the Market Leader and supporting functions to implement strategic initiatives
Ensure there is sufficient front office support
Act as a steward for operational excellence initiatives
Work with Regional Director of Operations and Finance team to develop the annual business plan and the annual budget
Provide leadership, mentoring and supervision to the administrative and office operations staff
Direct all financial management of local office and specified sub-region including monthly and annual operating budgets, forecasts and reporting
Responsible for approvals at local level for T&E, commission documentation, payables and resourcing needs
Responsible for facilities management including relocations and buildouts, managing leases, vendor relations, and overseeing compliance/record retention
Implement and support all company initiatives
Ensure profitability and product quality of the service delivery and back office resources within the sub-region
Creatively solve problems to ensure the market's offices operate in an efficient and effective manner
Spearhead and coordinate training programs for salespersons and employees
Collaborate with counterparts in other sub-regions to learn and utilize best operational practices
Foster coordination and communication among the firm's profit centers
Support Market Leaders with the development of the annual business plan, budget and forecast
Develop strategic planning across the different service lines within assigned sub-region
Ensure overall achievement of budgeted financial targets and other standards set forth in approved business plans
Promote and ensure compliance with company policies and operating procedures
Advocate, support and increase adoption of firm-wide initiatives
Uphold the values, mission and standards of the company
Encourage cross-service line and cross functional collaboration across the specified sub-region
Demonstrate expertise with all facets of the company's business, specifically services provided and customers served
Oversee all marketing, research, and service delivery teams
Manage research, marketing, and service delivery staff to best serve fee-earners in delivery of material
Work with Market Leader to resolve any conflicts over ownership of opportunities
Support strategic planning processes across the various service lines within the assigned sub-region
Draft and finalize budget (revenue and expenses)
Solicit input from service line, fee earners and market leads at pre-budget meetings
Help promote culture of compliance within market for fee-earners and project coordinators
Communicate and enforce guidelines on updating CRM system within Market
Review pipeline report
Follow up with fee-earners, project coordinators, commission accountant, Market Leader and Office Managers
Communicate finalization of pipeline to Market and Service Line Leadership
Approve deal documentation and Revenue Summary Document
Work with Market Leader to manage any conflicts over information recorded in deal documentation
Work with Legal Counsel to determine if changes to standard contracts/agreements are required
Oversee all incoming invoices using Workday
Understand expense policy for compliance and correct coding
Work with Commission Accountants, Project Coordinators, and fee-earners to review all deal expenses
Oversee tracking of expenses related to deals
Review reports from Commission Accounting on outstanding receivables
Approve write-offs or use of collection agency for outstanding receivables over certain limit
Review and approve all expense reports
Oversee and manage the purchasing and maintenance of office supplies and office equipment
Solicit and negotiate vendor bids, contracts, and pricing
Work with Office Manager to ensure all vendors are included in Workday Vendor Management
Work with HR to develop job descriptions for identified opening
Interview candidates for various positions
Coordinate with HR, department head, Office Coordinator/Office Manager, IT/Telecomm to ensure all equipment is ordered
Use WorkDay for all HR needs
Manage employees and delegate workflow
Prepare and deliver annual performance reviews and KPI's
Work in conjunction with HR on performance issues
Ensure compliance with record keeping and policy adherence
Oversee any events and conference within the market in conjunction with Marketing and PR
Manage firm brand, marketing, and PR
Work with Office Manager to track broker licenses, professional memberships, and educational requirements
Coordinate any move with Office Managers and Office Coordinator by designing seating plan
Implement emergency preparedness plan
Manage required adjacencies, anticipated recruiting and attrition
Benefits
Health, vision, and dental insurance
Flexible spending accounts
Health savings accounts
Retirement savings plans
Life, and disability insurance programs
Paid and unpaid time away from work
Company
Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield is a real estate services firm that offers retail investment, energy management, and property services.
Founded in 1917
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Cushman & Wakefield has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (3)
2024 (6)
2023 (2)
2022 (6)
2021 (1)
2020 (2)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$734.8MKey Investors
GreystoneCitizens BankVanke
2023-10-10Post Ipo Debt· $223.8M
2023-08-08Post Ipo Debt· $400M
2022-10-13Post Ipo Debt· $27.3M
Leadership Team
Matthew Bouw
CEO Asia Pacific & EMEA
Michelle M. MacKay
CEO
Recent News
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2026-01-08
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