Senior Portfolio Operations Lead

We’ve partnered with a private Australian property investment group focused on long-term ownership and growth. The business manages assets end to end, from planning and development through to ongoing operation and performance, with a strong emphasis on commercial discipline, quality, and longevity.

About the role

We are seeking a commercially strong operator to take ownership of portfolio-wide planning, systems, and financial management across a diverse set of retail and mixed-use assets.

This role is based in the group’s Sydney CBD head office. You will bring structure, financial discipline, and decision-grade visibility to how assets are maintained, planned, and governed across the portfolio. You will work closely with on-site operations leadership, but your focus is the strategic, technical, and financial side of operations rather than day-to-day coordination.

This is not a site-based or hands-on delivery role. Your value is in designing the systems, budgets, and governance that allow on-site teams to execute consistently and predictably.

You will translate operational insight into financial models, lifecycle plans, and prioritised capital and maintenance decisions. You will shape how the portfolio operations function works, improve visibility of spend, tighten compliance, and embed a more proactive, planned approach to managing built assets.

It is a rare opportunity to build an operating model from the ground up for a business entering a critical period of growth.

What you’ll do

• Set, own, and manage annual OPEX and CAPEX budgets across the portfolio

• Forecast asset lifecycle needs and plan capital replacement and renewal programs

• Implement CMMS, compliance frameworks, and operational management systems

• Design and embed preventative maintenance programs

• Run tenders and negotiate service and maintenance contracts

• Ensure WHS, risk, and regulatory compliance across complex assets

• Support operational readiness for new developments and portfolio expansion

This role is ideal for you if

• You enjoy building systems, processes, and governance rather than reacting to day-to-day issues

• You are strong with numbers and comfortable owning budgets, modelling lifecycle costs, and standing behind forecasts

• You think in frameworks and can turn operational complexity into structured, scalable plans

This role may not suit you if

• You are looking for a site-based or hands-on facilities role

• You prefer large corporate environments with multiple reporting layers

• You view operations or facilities as reactive maintenance rather than a strategic, commercial discipline

About you

• 12+ years of experience in operations, facilities, or asset-adjacent roles within owner, developer, or large portfolio environments

• Strong financial capability, including budgeting, forecasting, and lifecycle planning

• Experience implementing CMMS and compliance systems and building operating frameworks that scale

• Solid understanding of WHS, risk, and regulatory requirements across built assets

• Experience scoping, tendering, and managing service contracts and identifying operational efficiencies

• Clear communicator, comfortable working directly with senior leadership and owners

• Tertiary qualifications in engineering, property, construction management, finance, or a related discipline will be highly regarded

Why you’ll love working here

• Senior package with performance incentives

• Sydney CBD head office role with visibility and influence at owner level

• The opportunity to build the portfolio operations operating model from the ground up

• A long-term owner committed to holding and improving high-quality assets

• A pivotal role during a major growth phase, with genuine scope to shape how the portfolio operates for years to come