Development Manager

Company Description: Headwall Investments is a dynamic and growing commercial real estate private equity firm specializing in retail acquisitions, ground-up development, and urban infill redevelopment across the Texas Triangle. With approximately $300 million in assets under management and a portfolio of 30 properties spanning 950,000 square feet, our strategies have included multiple shopping center acquisition funds and an urban infill redevelopment fund anchored in San Antonio’s Tobin Hill submarket.

Our development pipeline includes historic adaptive reuse projects, ground-up mixed-use development, and multi-parcel land assemblies — with active projects ranging from boutique retail redevelopments to large-scale entitlement and vertical development plays adjacent to The Pearl in San Antonio.

As we scale, we are seeking a Development Manager to support our Senior Vice President of Development as part of the Headwall development team. This is an opportunity to gain end-to-end exposure to commercial real estate development at a firm with an ambitious growth trajectory and excellent career progression prospects.

Key Responsibilities:

Design & Consultant Management

• Support the management of the overall design process and consultant team, including coordination of site due diligence, architectural layout and interior design.
• Coordinate design review meetings, manage approval cycles, and report status to development leadership.
• Collect and negotiate consultant fee proposals prior to land purchase and prepare consultant contracts in advance of schematic design.
• Negotiate and manage consultant scopes of work and professional service agreements.
• Oversee the development scoping document and finish schedule.
• Oversee creation and refinement of site plans, unit layouts, building plans, and exterior elevations.
• Direct the work of architects, MEP, structural, landscape, and civil consultants.
• Actively participate in Design Development Quality Control (DDQC) presentations.
• Contribute to monthly Development and Construction meetings to address progress, issues, and opportunities.

Entitlements & Pre-Development Due Diligence

• Collaborate on early site diligence, conceptual site planning, and preliminary building layouts.
• Manage the due diligence process and associated budgets, including review of preliminary reports.
• Coordinate consultant activities related to land use, city codes, impact fees, HOA requirements, CC&Rs, and other site constraints.
• Evaluate site feasibility and unusual features reports during due diligence.
• Secure plan approvals from all governmental and quasi-governmental agencies.
• Coordinate directly with municipalities, planning departments, and utility providers on zoning, platting, permitting, and plan review.
• Track entitlement milestones and surface risks or schedule impacts to development leadership.

Project Scheduling & Reporting

• Build and maintain project schedules across design, legal, financing, permitting, construction, and licensing workstreams.
• Monitor schedule performance, flag deviations, and support development leadership in keeping projects on time and on plan.
• Prepare project status reports, internal updates, and contribute to quarterly investor reporting for development deals.

Budget Management & Construction Coordination

• Manage the development budget tracker through construction, capturing all hard cost, soft cost expenditures relative to the underwritten budget.
• Collaborate with construction management and the general contractor on RFIs, cost issues, change orders, and pay applications.
• Manage the Development Proposed Change Request (DPCR) process during construction.
• Oversee all development-related RFIs, ASIs, and submittals.
• Support draw requests and coordinate with the accounting team to ensure timely funding and reconciliation.

Cross-Functional Support

• Collaborate with the leasing and marketing teams to provide building plans, renderings, project imagery, and supporting project data for prospective tenants and investors.
• Coordinate with the asset management team on tenant improvement design, pricing, and delivery for in-portfolio assets.
• Liaise with acquisitions and investments on pre-acquisition development feasibility and underwriting inputs.

Process Improvement & Team Collaboration

• Help establish and refine development workflows, document templates, and reporting cadences as the platform scales.
• Collaborate closely with the Development Team on week-to-week project execution.
• Build strong working relationships with consultants, contractors, brokers, municipal officials, and capital partners.

Qualifications & Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in real estate, finance, architecture, construction management, civil engineering, or a related field required; Master’s degree preferred.
• 5–10 years of experience in commercial real estate development, with exposure to retail, mixed-use, or urban infill product types preferred.
• Working knowledge of the development lifecycle — underwriting, site diligence, entitlements, design, financing, construction, and lease-up.
• Familiarity with real estate finance fundamentals and development underwriting concepts.
• Strong proficiency in Excel and budgeting tools; experience with project management software (Procore, Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, or similar) preferred.
• Construction and design knowledge sufficient to engage substantively with architects, engineers, and general contractors.
• Hands-on experience supporting or managing construction delivery (schedule, budget, change orders, and contractor management) on ground-up or adaptive reuse projects.
• Highly organized with strong analytical, problem-solving, and time-management skills.
• Process-oriented, methodical, and persistent — with the nimbleness to adjust priorities on the fly.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills with a service-oriented mindset and a genuine interest in helping the broader team succeed.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to interact effectively with executive leadership, capital partners, consultants, and municipal officials.

Why Join Us?

• Work alongside an industry veteran — SVP of Development with 25 years of experience and $500MM of completed development projects across the US.
• Growth-oriented firm aggressively deploying capital across acquisitions, redevelopment, and ground-up development.
• End-to-end exposure across project types — historic adaptive reuse, urban infill redevelopment, multi-parcel land assemblies, and ground-up vertical development.
• Direct involvement on signature projects in some of San Antonio’s most active growth corridors adjacent to The Pearl and Alamo Heights.
• Competitive compensation, bonus structure, comprehensive benefits, and clear career advancement opportunities.