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 £29,813
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.