Director of Real Estate & Design

Role Overview

Director of Real Estate & Design is a senior executive position responsible for enterprise-wide strategy, organizational management, and delivery of all capital expenditure programs across the Escapology portfolio. This role owns the Construction & Design department and drives strategic planning, execution, and financial performance of all corporate and franchise capital projects.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Capital Strategy & Planning

• Lead construction feasibility analysis and cost assessment for potential acquisitions and new market opportunities
• Serve as primary construction contributor to franchisees and real estate due diligence
• Develop enterprise-wide construction methodologies, design standards, and procurement strategies
• Drive continuous improvement in how the company builds and opens venues at scale

Financial & Budgetary Ownership

• Develop, approve, and monitor all project budgets and schedules
• Own the company-wide CAPEX portfolio from planning through completion
• Establish and enforce company-wide construction cost benchmarks and unit-cost standards
• Manage project-level P&L accountability and conduct value engineering
• Present capital portfolio performance and budget status to executive committee regularly

Procurement & Contract Management

• Initiate and manage procurement of all design, construction, and consultant services
• Negotiate and manage national preferred vendor and contractor programs
• Draft, review, and enforce all contractual documents
• Maintain formal contractor and consultant pre-qualification and performance management program
• Build and steward strategic relationships with key vendors, design firms, and equity partners

Department Leadership & Organizational Development

• Build, lead, and manage the Construction & Design department
• Collaborate on organizational design, compensation bands, and career development pathways
• Conduct formal performance reviews and establish departmental OKRs and KPIs
• Report team performance to CDO quarterly
• Represent the function at executive committee level

Stakeholder Management & Risk Mitigation

• Serve as primary executive liaison between the company and external stakeholders

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in construction and design leadership
• Full-time, exempt position

Work Arrangement

• Remote with travel as required (25–35%: franchise onboarding, site visits, board presentations, executive offsites)

Compensation

• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience
• Performance bonus tied to portfolio KPIs