Vice President, Asset Management, Student Housing, United Kingdom

The Role

This role will be responsible for driving the financial, operational and strategic performance of the assigned real estate portfolio. The role will lead asset-level and portfolio-level initiatives that protect and grow income, optimise operating performance, enhance resident experience and maximise long-term asset value. This is a senior leadership role requiring strong commercial judgement, hands-on operational understanding, disciplined financial analysis and the ability to lead, motivate and develop a high-performing Asset Management team.

Job Responsibilities

• Take overall responsibility for the operational and financial performance of the assigned portfolio, including asset positioning, income protection, cashflow enhancement and long-term value creation.
• Provide hands-on asset and operational oversight to ensure revenue, costs, physical condition, maintenance standards and compliance obligations are actively managed and optimised.
• Prepare, manage and deliver annual budgets, reforecasts and performance reporting, covering financial results, operational performance, leasing status, rental collection and key portfolio risks.
• Develop and maintain asset plans for each property, including recommendations for asset enhancement initiatives, redevelopment opportunities, repositioning strategies, divestment options and other value-enhancing actions.
• Support the investment team with underwriting, due diligence and asset-level input for new investment opportunities.
• Work closely with operational teams and service providers to ensure assets are well maintained, effectively managed, compliant with regulations and supported by strong relationships with external parties including public authorities, brokers and universities.
• Monitor market intelligence and sector trends, using local and global insight to support pricing, leasing, positioning and product competitiveness.
• Provide visible leadership to the Asset Management team, setting clear priorities, standards and expectations while creating a culture of ownership, accountability and high performance.
• Lead, motivate and develop team members, coaching them through complex asset, operational and stakeholder matters while encouraging initiative, commercial judgement and continuous improvement.
• Inspire confidence across internal and external stakeholders by communicating a clear vision for asset performance, portfolio priorities and value creation, and by translating strategy into practical actions for the team and operating partners.
• Drive portfolio-wide operational excellence, including process improvement, technology adoption, data-led decision-making and best practice implementation across assets and service providers.
• Develop and oversee pricing, revenue management and leasing strategies to maximise occupancy, income, NOI and long-term asset value.
• Lead financial analysis, forecasting, reforecasting, variance reviews and underwriting for value-add initiatives, capital expenditure programmes, repositioning opportunities and investment decisions.
• Build strong relationships with strategic partners, operators, universities, brokers, advisers and internal functions, ensuring alignment between investor objectives, operational delivery and resident experience.
• Prepare clear recommendations, business cases and decision papers for senior management, supported by robust analysis, balanced risk assessment and practical implementation plans.
• Maintain strong governance, compliance and control across the portfolio, including timely escalation of material risks, incidents, budget variances, operational issues and stakeholder matters.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate, Building, Business, Finance, Engineering or a related discipline.
• Minimum of ten years’ relevant real estate experience, with a strong track record of driving asset performance and value creation.
• Operationally hands-on, with sound financial grounding and the ability to balance strategic judgement with practical delivery.
• Strong knowledge of local real estate markets, with the ability to interpret market dynamics and translate insight into commercial action.
• Strong people leadership capability, with the ability to lead, motivate, inspire and develop teams, build trust, set clear expectations and drive performance through others.
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to engage senior leadership, operating partners and cross-functional teams.
• Strategic and commercially astute, with strong analytical capability, financial modelling awareness and the ability to translate data into clear asset and portfolio decisions.
• Proven ability to perform under pressure, manage competing priorities and maintain high standards of governance, compliance and attention to detail.
• Highly organised and delivery-focused, with the ability to convert strategy into action plans, manage deadlines and hold stakeholders accountable for execution.
• MBA, master’s degree in Real Estate, Finance or equivalent postgraduate qualification would be desirable.