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The Vice President of Construction and Development – Canada, is a senior leader on Welltower’s Development & Construction leadership team, responsible for co-owning projects across the full lifecycle from site identification and underwriting through construction completion and community launch. The role spans both the front-end development origination of new opportunities and the vertical construction execution that delivers them, with accountability for delivering projects on time, on budget, and at the quality standard Welltower’s residents and operating partners expect.
This role sits at the intersection of development and construction and is central to Welltower’s Canadian development strategy across senior housing product types, including ground-up full acuity senior housing developments and active adult / 55+ communities. The Vice President will partner closely with Welltower’s development, construction, and operating partners, as well as the investments, capital markets, and finance teams, to identify and underwrite opportunities, structure transactions, and guide projects through entitlements, construction, and stabilization. The role serves as a primary construction and development counterpart to executive leadership and external partners, with significant influence over how Welltower’s growing Canadian portfolio is sourced, structured, and delivered.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Leadership
- Provide visionary leadership across both development origination and construction execution, fostering a high-performance culture with clear goals, accountability, and disciplined execution.
- Align development sourcing, underwriting, and construction strategies with corporate objectives to support long-term per-share growth and capital deployment goals.
- Serve as a senior partner to executive leadership, the investment team, and the broader Development & Construction organization on the strategic direction of Welltower’s Canadian senior housing portfolio.
- Establish and continuously improve processes that compress timelines, control cost, and protect quality across the development and construction lifecycle.
Development Origination & Underwriting
- Partner with the development and investment teams to identify, evaluate, and pursue new ground-up development and major repositioning opportunities across Canadian senior housing markets.
- Lead constructability-driven input into site selection, conceptual design, and product programming to optimize both delivered cost and stabilized yield.
- Contribute to underwriting, pro forma development, sensitivity analysis, and cost-to-complete forecasting in coordination with the development and finance teams.
- Sponsor or co-sponsor projects through the Investment Committee process, including preparation of IC materials and presentation of construction and delivery assumptions.
- Provide construction cost benchmarking, value engineering, and risk inputs that shape underwriting assumptions and final deal economics.
Entitlements, Partner Coordination & Deal Structuring
- Oversee entitlement strategy, zoning, and permitting pathways across active and target markets, working with planning advisors and local jurisdictions to de-risk timing and cost.
- Collaborate with the legal and investments teams on operating partner and joint venture negotiations, particularly where construction obligations, draw mechanics, and delivery standards are at issue.
- Build and maintain relationships with operating partners, contractors, architects, engineers, planning advisors, and local regulatory agencies to streamline approvals and execution.
- Support capital structure decisions by providing construction-side input on phasing, draw schedules, lender expectations, and contingency strategy.
Project Management & Construction Execution
- Lead the planning, budgeting, and execution of new developments from pre-construction through completion across multiple concurrent projects.
- Manage project schedules, budgets, risk assessments, and value engineering across the portfolio, proactively identifying and mitigating cost and schedule risk.
- Drive accountability against construction KPIs, including budget variance, schedule adherence, order discipline, and resource allocation.
- Lead procurement and purchasing initiatives, cost-saving measures, and value engineering to optimize financial performance across the portfolio.
- Ensure construction execution adheres to industry-leading standards, sustainability commitments, and regulatory requirements.
- Ability to be physically on active construction sites, in various cities across Canada, with multiple partners, and add value real-time to enhance processes to ensure projects stay on time, on budget, and in compliance with plans and specs.
Quality Control & Compliance
- Implement and enforce construction quality assurance protocols across all active projects to ensure compliance with building codes, safety regulations, and Welltower standards.
- Review architectural and engineering plans for constructability, making recommendations to improve delivered product and protect cost.
- Ensure all construction operations comply with applicable legal, safety, and environmental requirements across U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions.
Team Leadership & Third-Party Management
- Lead and mentor team members, including project managers and development coordinators, building strength across both the development and construction functions.
- Negotiate contracts and agreements with general contractors, owner’s representatives, and third-party consultants to optimize cost, quality, and execution risk.
- Represent Welltower as a senior construction and development principal in negotiations with operating partners, capital partners, and major external counterparties.
Innovation & Process Improvement
- Identify opportunities for continuous improvement in construction methodologies, materials, technologies, and delivery models to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and product quality.
- Drive the adoption of innovative construction techniques and digital tools across the platform.
- Standardize reporting, KPI tracking, and project controls to provide leadership with clear visibility into both development pipeline and construction performance.
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% out-of-area and overnight travel may be expected.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
- Bachelor’s degree in construction management, Engineering, Architecture, Real Estate, Finance, or a related field. MBA, MSRED, or other advanced degree preferred.
- 10+ years of progressive experience across real estate development and construction management, with demonstrated ownership of projects from origination through delivery. Candidates from primarily construction backgrounds should have meaningful exposure to development-side activities; candidates from primarily development backgrounds should have direct, hands-on construction execution experience.
- Proven track record leading complex projects with individual budgets exceeding $50M.
- Senior housing, active adult / 55+, or mixed-use residential product experience strongly preferred. Experience in the Canadian market is required..
- Strong working knowledge across the development lifecycle, including site evaluation, underwriting and pro forma development, entitlement and permitting strategy, design coordination, scheduling, budgeting, procurement, and construction methodologies.
- Experience contributing to or sponsoring projects through institutional Investment Committee or similar capital approval processes.
- Familiarity with operating partner and joint venture structures in real estate development.
- Proficiency in construction management software (e.g., Procore, Yardi, Bluebeam, Microsoft Project). Familiarity with real estate underwriting tools (e.g., ARGUS, Excel-based pro forma models) is a plus.
- Exceptional problem-solving skills, with a proactive and strategic mindset.
- Demonstrated leadership ability to mentor teams, manage cross-functional collaboration, and drive organizational growth in a fast-paced environment.
- Applicants must be able to pass a pre-employment drug screen.
Source: Welltower Career Page
