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The Director of Development and Construction (IL Cottages) will lead the build-out of Welltower’s Independent Living Cottage program, an emerging product type within the company’s senior housing platform. This role is accountable for converting an active pipeline of cottage opportunities into delivered, occupied communities that meet underwriting expectations and operator standards. The pipeline spans both infill on existing senior housing campuses and new ground-up sites.
This is a high-growth opportunity to define and scale a new product category at the largest healthcare REIT in the world. The Director will build the program’s playbook, manage a portfolio of concurrent projects across the United States, and partner closely with Investments, Operations, and Asset Management to ensure cottage projects perform against pro forma. The role requires a leader who is equally effective shaping strategy with senior leadership and driving day-to-day execution with development partners and contractors.
Key Responsibilities
Program Strategy & Pipeline Development
- Build and maintain Welltower’s IL Cottage program strategy, including site selection criteria, prototype standardization, and target market prioritization.
- Lead pipeline review across the active cottage opportunity set, advancing top-priority parcels through feasibility, design, and entitlement.
- Establish and refine the program’s underwriting framework, including yield-on-cost targets, residual land economics, and per-unit cost benchmarks.
- Partner with the Investments team on acquisition diligence and structuring for cottage-eligible parcels and campus expansions.
Project Pipeline & Portfolio Management
- Oversee a portfolio of concurrent ground-up cottage developments from concept through stabilization, ensuring timely delivery and pro forma performance.
- Direct pre-construction planning across feasibility scoring, site testing, design coordination, budgeting, scheduling, and procurement.
- Identify and resolve risks across schedule, budget, scope, and entitlement; escalate trade-offs to senior leadership with clear recommendations.
- Maintain a portfolio dashboard and reporting cadence that provides leadership with real-time visibility into project status, capital deployment, and key milestones.
Partnership & Stakeholder Management
- Cultivate and manage relationships with development partners, general contractors, architects, civil engineers, and entitlement consultants.
- Negotiate development agreements, design contracts, and construction contracts to protect Welltower’s economic and timing interests.
- Serve as the primary liaison between cottage projects and operating partners on existing campuses, ensuring resident experience and operational continuity through construction.
- Coordinate closely with Investments, Asset Management, Legal, and Insurance on cross-functional project decisions.
Standards, Quality & Innovation
- Define and maintain the IL Cottage prototype standard, including unit programming, exterior design language, building systems, and site planning principles.
- Champion construction methodologies, including modular, panelized, and other off-site approaches, that improve cost, schedule, and quality outcomes.
- Establish and enforce best practices for entitlement, permitting, and compliance with applicable building codes, accessibility standards, and local regulatory requirements.
- Lead lessons-learned and post-occupancy review processes to drive continuous improvement across the program.
Team Leadership & Development
- Build and lead a team of development and construction professionals dedicated to the cottage program, including managers, project managers, and external owner’s representatives.
- Mentor team members and create growth pathways aligned with the program’s expansion.
- Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and intellectual honesty in pipeline review and project decision-making.
Other Duties
- Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of this employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Travel
- 30–40% out-of-area and overnight travel expected.
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Real Estate Development, or related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
- 10+ years of progressive experience in real estate development and/or construction management, with a meaningful portion in senior housing, multifamily, single-family for-rent, or comparable horizontal residential product.
- Demonstrated experience leading multiple ground-up projects concurrently, with full accountability for project schedule, budget, and quality outcomes.
- Strong command of pre-construction, design coordination, scheduling, budgeting, procurement, and construction methodologies.
- Working knowledge of entitlement, zoning, and site civil considerations across multiple U.S. jurisdictions.
- Proficiency in construction management software (Procore, Yardi, Bluebeam, MS Project) and Microsoft Office Suite.
- Strong financial acumen, including the ability to read and pressure-test development proformas.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence at the executive level and partner across functions.
- Track record of building and leading high-performing teams in a growth environment.
Source: Welltower Career Page
