AvalonBay

VP Development Operations

AvalonBay$174K — $291K *
Real Estate & Construction
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Finance, Business, or related field
  • 12+ years in real estate development or leadership roles
  • Proven experience managing cross-functional initiatives
  • Strong background in development underwriting and pipeline management
  • Experience in operational planning and budget management

Responsibilities

  • Lead the creation and maintenance of governance tools and policies
  • Oversee the management of investment approval processes
  • Identify efficiency and execution improvement opportunities
  • Design scalable development workflows and reporting tools
  • Transform complex data into executive-ready reports
  • Partner with HR to enhance talent development initiatives
  • Manage budgets and offer insights on development resources

Benefits

  • Competitive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision coverage
  • 401(k) plan with company match
  • Paid vacation and company holidays
  • Housing discounts exclusive to team members
Full Job Description
VP Development Operations

Position Type:
Full time
Weekly Scheduled Hours:
40
State:
Virginia
City:
Arlington
Zip Code:
22203
Total Base Pay Range:
$174,700.00 - $291,200.00

The Role:

This role has two salary ranges, depending on the level at which the candidate is hired:
  • Senior Director Development Operations: $156,000 - $260,000
  • Vice President Development Operations: $174,710 - $291,200


The final level will be determined based on each candidate's professional experience, qualifications, and overall fit for the role.

Vivmark Residential is seeking a Vice President or Senior Director of Development Operations to lead the processes, systems, governance, and operational infrastructure that support one of the nation's most active multifamily development platforms.

This role sits at the center of the development organization and partners closely with Development, Construction, Design, Operations, Asset Management, Finance, Legal, HR, and Technology teams to drive efficiency, consistency, and transparency across the development lifecycle.

The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker with deep real estate development process expertise, strong financial acumen, and a proven ability to improve complex business processes. This leader will help shape how investment decisions are made, how projects move through approvals, how performance is measured, and how the organization scales for future growth.

What You'll Do:

Lead Development Governance

You'll create and maintain the tools, policies, approval frameworks, and decision-making processes that help ensure consistent execution across markets, product types, and investment opportunities.

Working closely with Development, Design, and Construction leadership, you'll help continuously refine standards, incorporate lessons learned, and drive disciplined decision-making throughout the development pipeline.

Drive Investment Committee Excellence

You'll oversee the governance and management of investment approval processes, including Management Investment Committee (MIC) materials and Development Community Report (DCR)materials, timelines, analytics, and protocols.

You'll ensure underwriting assumptions remain current, coordinate input from stakeholders across multiple functions, and help leadership make informed investment decisions supported by clear and accurate analysis.

Build Operational Excellence

You'll identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce cycle times, increase visibility, and strengthen execution throughout the development organization.

Key responsibilities include:
  • Designing scalable development processes and workflows
  • Implementing standardized templates, dashboards, and reporting tools
  • Leveraging technology and analytics to improve decision-making
  • Driving continuous improvement initiatives across regions
  • Capturing and sharing best practices throughout the organization


Oversee Executive and Public Reporting

You'll lead development-related reporting for executive leadership, governance committees, investor-facing materials, and public disclosures.

This includes monitoring development pipeline performance, project approvals, capital deployment, timing expectations, investment activity, and key risks while transforming complex information into clear executive-ready insights.

Lead Resource Planning and Financial Oversight

You'll partner with Development and Finance leaders to manage development overhead budgets, workforce planning, resource allocation, and expense governance.

You'll provide leadership with actionable insights regarding development capac

ity, budget performance, regional staffing needs, and the operational implications of changing business priorities.

Support Talent Development and Growth

You'll play a key role in building organizational capability by partnering with HR and Learning teams to support onboarding, training, systems adoption, and change management initiatives.

You'll also oversee the Development Intern Program and help strengthen talent acquisition, succession planning, and workforce development efforts across the development organization.

What We're Looking For:

Required Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Finance, Business, Urban Planning, Architecture, Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field
  • 12+ years of progressive experience in real estate development, development operations, investment underwriting, or related leadership roles
  • Significant experience leading cross-functional initiatives and managing complex stakeholder groups
  • Strong knowledge of development underwriting, investment committee processes, governance structures, and development pipeline management
  • Experience managing budgets, operational planning, and organizational performance metrics


Preferred Qualifications
  • Master's degree in Real Estate Development, Finance, Business Administration, or related field
  • Experience within multifamily, mixed-use, commercial real estate, or related asset classes
  • Background leading large-scale process improvement, reporting, or operational transformation initiatives


Key Success Factors
  • Strategic thinker with strong business and financial acumen
  • Ability to translate complex information into actionable recommendations
  • Exceptional communication and executive presentation skills
  • Proven ability to influence across functions and levels of the organization
  • Strong analytical, operational, and problem-solving capabilities
  • Collaborative leadership style with a focus on accountability and results
  • Ability to build scalable systems, processes, and governance frameworks that support growth


Why This Role Matters

This is a highly visible leadership role with broad influence across the development organization. You'll work directly with senior executives and business leaders to shape processes, improve decision quality, drive operational excellence, and help scale a best-in-class development platform.

If you're passionate about creating structure from complexity, improving how organizations operate, and enabling large-scale real estate development success, we'd like to hear from you.

Estimated Travel: Approximately 20% business travel, including visits to development and construction sites.

How Vivmark Supports You:

We know that our teams are the beating heart of our success and we're committed to showing our appreciation.

We offer:

  • A competitive benefits package that supports your health, financial well-being, and work-life balance, including medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 401(k) with company match, paid vacation and company holidays, and exclusive team member housing discounts.

About AvalonBay

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust focused on developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing high-quality apartment communities in high barrier-to-entry markets of the United States. These markets are located in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Pacific Northwest and Northern and Southern California regions of the country. AvalonBay was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
Learn more about AvalonBay
Size
2,927 employees
Market Cap
$22.6 billion
Industry
Net Income
$827.6 million
Founded
1978
5 Year Trend
+2.3%
Revenue
$2.3 billion
NASDAQ

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