Senior Development Manager - property
Tritax
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I’m Tom, I’m a senior development manager here at Tritax, based in London.
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You’re involved from the site inception through to completion.
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So that’s – you’re involved in the design
in the planning,
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the construction process, as well as the letting process as well.
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I definitely enjoy the responsibility.
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So you’re the development manager.
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You’re leading on the project.
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You’re making decisions.
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You’re negotiating deals.
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And I really enjoy that side of things.
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Other things I enjoy is that you get to travel,
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you get to learn about different markets, and you get to meet various people
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along the way.
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And obviously with development, you’re actually creating something
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that’s tangible, that’s there physically at the end of it.
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And it might take a while to get there,
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but seeing that through from start to finish
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and being able to be proud, having sort of influenced the environment,
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hopefully provided opportunities for the local communities.
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I guess with responsibility comes pressure.
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So you’re often working to a budget and to timescales
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but over the years you kind of learn how to deal with that a little bit better.
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Networking is a huge part of the role.
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Pitch your scheme in front of the local authority, to meeting
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with customers, to meeting with agents, and also all the various
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consultants, architects, engineers, planners that you work with.
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The subjects that I studied A-level were geography, PE and psychology.
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Now, I wouldn’t say any of those have been particularly helpful for my role.
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But having a good understanding of maths and English is key, but
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not necessarily having to go all the way through to A-level and studied those.
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I think if I had my time again,
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I would probably chosen to study economics if I had the opportunity.
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I didn’t really know what I wanted to do for a career in school.
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I was really confused from an initial conversation
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I had with the careers advisor.
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And I thought the best thing to do
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Was to just jump straight into work or try and obtain work experience.
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So I had part time jobs as a coach,
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I did a bit of teaching assistant work, and I also worked in a bar.
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And then my dad works as a building surveyor,
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in Cardiff, which is where I’m from.
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And from there, he got me counting cracks in the
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car park floor, which I thought was probably not quite what I wanted to do.
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But, yes, it was through him that
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I went to seek other property work experience to get exposure
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into sort of roles in investment, property management and agency.
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And I thought if I decided to pursue
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or study property at university, the sector is so broad,
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that there will be some routes that you’ll end up following.
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I started working at Segro, on the graduate scheme.
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Then, I moved over to the London development team
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after I qualified as a chartered surveyor. And then an opportunity came up
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to go and work for a company called Saint Modwen’s Logistics, who are now Indurent.
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And then opportunity then came up to join Tritax a year ago.
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I would definitely say to be open-minded,
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get involved from day one, be present,
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and demonstrate a willingness to learn.
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But also just take on any opportunity that comes your way.
With development, you’re actually creating something.” Tom didn’t know what he wanted to do for a career, so decided to jump straight into work to find out what he liked. After a number of jobs, he found an interest in property and went on to university, later qualifying as a chartered surveyor. He now works as a development manager and helps to build new warehouses.
More information about Property, housing and estate managers
The UK average salary is ÂŁ29,813
There are 37.5 hours in the average working week
The UK workforce is 47% female and 53% male
Future employment
- Determines staffing, financial, material and other short- and long-term requirements;
- Manages general upkeep, maintenance and security of the estate’s amenities;
- Makes sure that the amenities meet health and safety standards and legal requirements;
- Advises on energy efficiency;
- Discusses client’s requirements and may advise client on the purchase of property and land for investment and other purposes;
- Conducts or arranges for structural surveys of properties and undertakes any necessary valuations of property or agricultural land, and deals with grant and subsidy applications;
- Negotiates land or property purchases and sales or leases and tenancy agreements and arranges legal formalities with solicitors, building societies and other parties;
- Maintains or arranges for the maintenance of estate accounts and records and produces financial forecasts;
- Acts as arbiter in disputes between landlord and tenant and ensures that both fulfil their legal obligations;
- Examines and assesses housing applications, advises on rent levels, investigates complaints and liaises with tenants’ association and social workers to resolve any family problems.
