Director of Operations

Yugo is the trusted name for student housing, globally. Every day we connect young people to opportunities and students to amazing spaces. Here at Yugo, we like to do things differently. It's about people, planet, and passion.

The Director of Operations is a key leadership role responsible for overseeing a group of Regional Property Managers and driving operational excellence within a designated region for student housing. Reporting directly to the Vice President of Operations for Student Housing, this position plays a critical role in managing regional managers, optimizing leasing performance, reducing delinquency and bad debt, and ensuring that leasing plans are effectively executed. The incumbent will collaborate closely with regional property managers, leasing teams, and other stakeholders to achieve leasing targets, enhance operational efficiency, and maintain high standards of resident satisfaction. The Operations Director will be the key liaison and sole oversight over focus space assets that require special attention in each region.

The role will also actively seek new ideas, understand, and evaluate new initiatives through strong analysis, supporting materials and proposals that ensure Yugo remains a market leader and shape future success.

This is a dynamic, entrepreneurial role in which you will work with partners to create market scalable programs that benefit our Yugoers and students, drive brand awareness resulting in sales and revenue growth.

Strategic Objectives include:

• Develop and lead a high performing team that will execute on world class leadership, detailed financial management and student satisfaction.
• Drive NOI growth through improved topline performance, prudent expense management creating asset value.
• Driving accountability throughout the spaces on revenue generation, leasing, expense management and student satisfaction.
• Deliver on revenue and expense goals based on annual business plans.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership and Management:

• Provide leadership, guidance, and support to a team of Regional Property Managers, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Set clear performance expectations, conduct regular performance reviews, and provide coaching and development opportunities to enhance the skills and capabilities of regional managers.

Operational Oversight:

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of student housing properties within the region, ensuring compliance with company policies, procedures, and leasing standards.
• Collaborate with regional managers to develop and implement operational strategies to optimize leasing performance, reduce delinquency, and minimize bad debt.
• Provide ongoing feedback to the management team to drive a high-performance culture and teams, driving strong student satisfaction (customer), people and financial performance.

Leasing and Occupancy Management:

• Develop and execute leasing plans in collaboration with regional managers to achieve occupancy targets and maximize revenue.
• Analyze market trends, competitive positioning, and leasing data to identify opportunities for improvement and adjust leasing strategies accordingly.

Financial Performance:

• Monitor financial performance metrics such as occupancy rates, rental income, delinquency, and bad debt to identify trends and areas for improvement.
• Work closely with regional managers to develop and manage budgets, forecast revenue, and control expenses to achieve financial objectives.

Focus Space Management:

• Oversee the management of focus spaces within student housing properties, ensuring optimal utilization and performance.
• Collaborate with leasing teams and regional managers to develop strategies to enhance the appeal and functionality of focus spaces to attract and retain residents.
• Travel to properties and home office on a regular basis to ensure operational excellence. Travel up to 75% required.

Tenant Relations and Customer Service:

• Serve as a point of escalation for tenant concerns and inquiries, ensuring timely resolution and maintaining high levels of resident satisfaction.
• Implement initiatives to enhance the resident experience and foster a sense of community within student housing properties.
• Develop strategies and implement continuous value-oriented improvements to customer satisfaction/NPS results.
• Collaborate with business excellence team to support testing, implementation and refinement of systems and processes.
• Clear and regular reporting on student performance and student 'live your best life' program, identifying opportunities for marginal and major improvements.

Reporting and Communication:

• Collaborate closely with the Vice President of Operations for Student Housing to develop and refine business strategies aimed at optimizing operational performance, driving revenue growth, and enhancing the overall competitiveness of student housing properties within the portfolio.
• Prepare and deliver regular reports on leasing performance, financial metrics, and operational KPIs to senior management and other stakeholders.
• Maintain open and transparent communication with regional managers, leasing teams, and other departments to ensure alignment and collaboration.

KPI’s

• Meet portfolio balanced scorecard goals including NOI, GOI, Debt, Training Compliance, NPS, Employee Turnover and Facilities Audits
• Reduce employee vacancy and turnover by 5%
• Student satisfaction through NPS score > 10%
• Meet budgeted occupancy targets

Key Skills & Capabilities

• Be Bold – You act with integrity in the best interests of Yugo and your teams through ensuring confident and courageous behaviors resulting in performance excellence. You have a bias for action and ensure respectful challenge within your team to continue to build the Yugo culture.
• Be Real – You have a passion for success and ensuring you and your team are at their best! You take accountability for mistakes and ensure your teams do as well. You hold your teams accountable for their performance and behavior. You bring your whole self to work and encourage others to do the same!
• Be True - Shows interest in, anticipates, and responds in a timely fashion to your team, stakeholders and support team. You strives to consistently exceed service standards. A team player, even via Teams/Zoom! Engages with Yugoers knowing that the best way to grow is together. Understands and recognizes the value of other points of view and ways of doing things.
• Be Open. You are a leader that is committed to open and transparent communication to motivate your teams in their successful execution of their roles. You encourage collaboration and boldness from your team to identify efficiencies and process improvement.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential:

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in business or related field.
• Minimum of 10 experience in property management preferably in student housing.
• Minimum of 5 years experience in Director level role within property management, preferably student housing.
• Proficient in property management CRM, preferably Entrata
• Proven ability to lead through values based initiatives and accountability
• Exceptional organization and problem solving skills
• Superior financial acumen with revenue, expenses, P&L and strategic planning.
• Knowledge of regulatory requirements related to student housing including but not limited to Fair Housing.
• Excellent interpersonal and conflict resolution skills
• Proven ability to generate revenue growth through creative and strategic initiatives.
• Ability to build relationships with individuals with diverse personalities and styles and at different levels of seniority, from assistants to C-level corporate leadership.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and can prioritize while working under multiple deadlines.
• Excellent problem solving and negotiation skills; ability to effectively collect, analyze, organize, distil and present information.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Self-motivated; ability to lead projects independently from concept to completion.
• Ability to travel to domestic and international locations.
• Proficient in PowerPoint, Excel and Microsoft Word

Desirable:

• Experience in global markets
• Knowledge and working relationships with Universities or Educational organizations.
• Additional languages: Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese
• Experience in Public & Private Partnership structures
• Experience with corporate foundations.

Here’s some of what we offer:

• Competitive Salary
• Generous benefits package! Including health, dental and vision.
• Company paid STD, LTD and Life insurance
• 401k + employer matching up to 4%
• Three weeks of PTO
• Paid wellness time
• 11 paid Holidays

What else?

If you are a dedicated and passionate leader who embodies our company values of being bold, real, true and open, we encourage you to apply for the Director of Operations position. Join us in creating an exceptional student housing experience and shaping the future of our student residents.

This job description serves as a guideline, this list of responsibilities is not intended to be exhaustive and other requests commensurate with the role may be made of you from time to time. This is a client-facing, commercial role and, therefore, requires a degree of flexibility in terms of location, days and hours worked. From time to time, domestic and international travel and entertaining will be required as well as flexibility against acute deadlines when deals are on the line. This position is paid annually within a salary range of $150,000.00 - $160,000.00 / year dependent on experience.

The Yugo team is a force for good, our mission is to harness this passion to deliver an extraordinary living experience that supports the transition to and from student life.