Import Coordinator

About Chair King Backyard Store

Chair King® Backyard Store was founded in Houston in 1950, and has grown to be the largest casual furniture retailer in Texas. Chair King® Backyard Store is family owned and operated, thus assuring continuity for our employees and customers. We are a customer service driven company that strives for quality in every aspect of our business. We constantly strive to offer our customers the finest quality merchandise at the lowest possible price in the markets we serve. It is through the development of our employees into true professionals and the empowerment of our employees to serve our customers that we are able to sustain Chair King® Backyard Store's competitive advantage in the market place.

About Fortunoff Backyard Store

The iconic Fortunoff® brand returned to the New York/New Jersey market with the opening of seven Fortunoff® Backyard Store locations in February 2010. We now have 30 locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

We offer one stop shopping where you can be sure to find the perfect outdoor furniture to match your backyard setting, your entertainment needs, your taste and your budget. Many of our sets have multiple options of table sizes to ensure the furniture fits your backyard.

All at the same great prices that you'll find anywhere and that have made Fortunoff® a beloved legend.

Position Summary: The Sr. Director, Property Development owns the full life cycle of Chair King Backyard Store's real estate portfolio, from finding and negotiating new store sites through building them out and keeping every facility safe, compliant and cost-effective. The role combines the Company's former Director, Real Estate and Facilities Manager positions into a single executive leader.

The position is accountable for four areas: tenant dealmaking, landlord relations, construction, and maintenance. It operates at both a strategic level, advising the President & CEO on how real estate decisions affect space, cost and business risk, and an operational level, ensuring each location runs safely and efficiently. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected, and the role leads and directs the work of internal staff, brokers, architects, contractors and facility vendors.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. Tenant Dealmaking

• Create and execute the Company's new store expansion strategy across two growth paths: spot-fill in existing markets and organic growth in new markets.
• Identify markets and trade areas for future expansion, drawing on relationships within ICSC and specific knowledge of retail leasing requirements and retail metrics.
• Engage and manage brokers to source sites and carry out the expansion strategy.
• Lead the drafting and negotiation of letters of intent, leases, renewals, amendments and other real estate legal documents, in coordination with the President & CEO and legal counsel.
• Prepare pro forma business plans for each proposed site, projecting sales and profit over the life of the lease and the initial break-even point.
• Evaluate lease renewals, relocations, expansions and closures across the 52-store portfolio, recommending the best course for each location.
• Build and maintain a pipeline of signed LOIs sufficient to meet the annual new store opening plan.

2. Landlord Relations

• Serve as the Company's primary point of contact with landlords and property managers across all leased locations.
• Maintain a lease abstract and critical-date calendar for every location, tracking expirations, renewal options, kick-outs, co-tenancy clauses and notice deadlines.
• Administer lease obligations, including base rent, step rent, percentage rent, CAM, taxes, insurance and other pass-through charges; audit landlord reconciliations and recover overcharges.
• Clearly define and enforce landlord versus tenant repair and maintenance responsibilities under each lease, escalating landlord defaults when needed.
• Negotiate rent relief, concessions, tenant improvement allowances and lease modifications as business conditions require.
• Build long-term relationships with key landlords and developers that give the Company early access to desirable sites and favorable terms.

3. Construction

• Direct architects, general contractors and subcontractors so that new stores, remodels and relocations are built to exact specifications and consistent with each brand's established footprint.
• Coordinate space planning and design for stores, warehouses and the corporate office.
• Own and maintain the New Store Roll-Out Schedule, collaborating with Merchandising, Marketing, Store Operations and Finance to deliver openings on time.
• Develop and manage capital budgets for each project, controlling costs, change orders and contractor payments.
• Secure permits and ensure all projects comply with building codes, ADA requirements and landlord construction criteria.
• Manage project close-out, including punch lists, warranties, certificates of occupancy and turnover to store operations.

4. Maintenance

• Ensure all 55 facilities meet health, safety and regulatory standards, creating a safe, cost-effective environment for employees and customers.
• Maintain inspection and testing programs for fire safety systems (sprinklers, extinguishers, emergency lighting), keeping records and certificates of compliance for each location.
• Oversee preventive maintenance and inspection schedules for HVAC, electrical, uninterruptible power, roofing, lighting, signage, security hardware and phone systems to maximize equipment life and reduce failures.
• Manage service contracts for cleaning, waste management, grounds and parking lot maintenance, landscaping, irrigation and window washing.
• Run a responsive work-order process that prioritizes and resolves store, warehouse and office service requests.
• Periodically re-tender or benchmark maintenance contracts to ensure value for money.
• Maintain an up-to-date asset register to support life-cycle costing, budgeting and capital expenditure forecasting.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience: Bachelor's degree in business administration, real estate, construction management, engineering or a related field, and at least 10 years of combined experience in retail real estate, retail brokerage, construction management and/or multi-site facilities management; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience leading staff and managing outside vendors is required.

Certifications: CFM (Certified Facility Manager), FMA or a comparable industry designation is desired. Active ICSC membership and relationships are preferred.

Language Skills: Ability to compose, read, analyze and interpret leases, performance reports, technical procedures and government regulations. Ability to write reports and procedure manuals, and to present information to the President & CEO, executive leadership, landlords, brokers and vendors.

Mathematical Skills: Ability to calculate base rent, step rent, percentage rent, CAM and other lease charges, and to build pro forma projections, capital budgets and life-cycle cost analyses.

Reasoning Ability: Ability to work independently, prioritize multiple projects and meet deadlines. Ability to solve practical problems where only limited standardization exists, and to interpret instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram or schedule form.

Computer Skills: Proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Excel and Word. Ability to use the Company's enterprise software for store and sales data, and familiarity with lease administration and work-order systems.

AI Proficiency: Ability to enhance work productivity through the use of commercially available AI tools (i.e. Claude, Chat-GPT, Gemini, etc.).

Working Conditions

Work Location: This is an on-site position based at the corporate office in Houston, TX. Remote work is not available. The role requires periodic travel to store, warehouse and project sites, including markets targeted for expansion.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle or feel, and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to sit, climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. The employee may infrequently operate equipment such as man lifts, pallet jacks and hand trucks. Specific vision abilities required by this job include vision and color vision.

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The employee is occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions and active construction sites. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.