Vice President - Lease Advisory (Remote)
Description
About the Role
The Vice President - Lease Advisory is responsible for originating, managing, negotiating, and executing complex lease advisory assignments, including restructurings, terminations, buybacks, buy & recast strategies, occupancy-cost optimization, and landlord-side modifications and extensions. This role combines strategic consulting, financial and operational analysis, and hands-on negotiation. You will work closely with multi-unit operators, franchisees, franchisors, private equity sponsors, and landlords to assess real estate portfolios, unlock value, and implement strategies. Candidates with leasing, tenant rep, landlord rep, investment sales, sale-leaseback, or operator-side real estate experience will excel in this position.
Key Responsibilities
- Review leased and owned real estate portfolios to identify opportunities to reduce occupancy costs, strengthen leasehold control, or reposition challenged assets.
- Structure complex leasehold deals including rent restructures, buybacks, sale-leasebacks, terminations, and capital contribution packages.
- Lead negotiations directly with landlords, tenants, brokers, and operators from LOI through full execution.
- Analyze client geographics, store-level performance, cash flow trends, lease standards, and industry benchmarks to build actionable strategies.
- Reduce base rent, adjust escalation structures, modify percentage rent/fair market rent mechanisms, and secure abatements, TI allowances, or capital contributions.
- Negotiate favorable exit terms or identify replacement tenants to assume obligations.
- Advise on buying back leased properties and executing tenant-favorable sale-leasebacks to unlock capital for expansion while gaining long-term site control.
- Support operators navigating restructuring, bankruptcy, or turnaround processes by aligning real estate decisions with financial recovery strategies.
- Negotiate renewals to maximize renewal probability, term commitment, and asset-level stability.
- Enhance asset value ahead of sale by adjusting term, guarantees, rent structures, or non-economic lease attributes.
- Arrange mutually acceptable early terminations to reposition assets for higher and better uses.
- Identify new tenants for new development and dark site redevelopment opportunities leveraging SURMOUNT's extensive tenant network and leasing brokerage relationships.
- Serve as a primary point of contact for major operators, franchisees, and investor clients.
- Originate new engagements through relationships with operators, franchise systems, private equity sponsors, brokers, and internal SURMOUNT divisions.
Qualifications
- At least 10 years of commercial real estate experience, with a strong foundation in leasing, tenant rep, landlord rep, lease restructuring, or portfolio strategy.
- Demonstrated experience negotiating commercial leases and leading restructuring or termination processes.
- Strong financial modeling, underwriting, and analytical capabilities.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment with high transaction velocity.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and comfort with large datasets.
- Background in investment sales, sale-leaseback advisory, or net-lease brokerage a plus.
- Experience working for an operator's real estate department, multi-unit franchisee, or sponsor-backed portfolio company a plus.