Job description

At Cortland, we operate with a forward-thinking approach that challenges conventional norms and actively seeks insights beyond traditional industry boundaries. As a recognized leader in the multifamily sector, our focus on performance, innovation, and disciplined execution continues to drive strong growth and market leadership. We are committed to building a best-in-class organization by empowering top talent with the resources, autonomy, and support needed to deliver results and advance their careers in a high-performance environment. Role Overview As the Managing Director of Operations, you are a dynamic leader and change champion responsible for driving operational excellence across a multimillion-dollar, multifamily real estate portfolio. You approach every challenge with data-driven strategic thinking, an owner's mindset, and a deep commitment to developing high-performing teams. Develop and Lead High-Performing Teams: Recruit, develop, and retain top talent. Drive a high-performance culture through coaching, feedback, and creating a consistent standard of excellence and portfolio performance across markets. Innovative & Adaptive Problem Solving: Identify performance gaps, design innovative solutions, test and scale initiatives, and lead through ambiguity to ensure continuous improvement and results. Data-Driven Strategic Thinking: Analyze portfolio and market performance to inform strategy, underwriting, and decision-making. Leverage insights to pursue aggressive growth targets and identify opportunities for expansion. Dynamic Leadership: Set the tone across your region, inspire confidence, and create alignment around a clear strategic vision. Present ideas and initiatives with clarity and presence, from on-site teams to executive stakeholders. Accountability & Ownership: Drive full ownership of operational outcomes. Set and maintain a high bar for performance and hold yourself and others accountable to results. Applied Financial Acumen: Oversee budgeting, financial planning, and pro forma development in partnership with the Investments team. Use financial insights to support long-term value creation and mitigate risks. Trusted & Impactful Communication: Communicate transparently and credibly across all levels. Build trust with your DOs, regional support teams (Marketing, Facilities and Training), and executive stakeholders through influence and clarity. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Build productive relationships with partners across Investments, Marketing, Facilities, Training, Construction Management, Operations Support, and more to achieve shared goals. Organizational Stewardship : Monitor the health of your region and the broader organization. Champion initiatives that strengthen culture, capability, and operational alignment. Support Acquisitions & Underwriting: Partner closely with various stakeholders throughout the acquisition lifecycle. Provide operational due diligence, validate underwriting assumptions, assess operational risks and opportunities, and contribute market and portfolio expertise to support investment decisions and successful integrations. Qualifications 10+ years of experience leading multifamily real estate operations across multi-million-dollar portfolios, including 5–7 years in senior leadership roles (e.g., Regional VP, SVP, or equivalent) Bachelor’s degree in business, real estate, or related field Demonstrated success with innovative, large team leadership Superior record of improving business results and sophisticated business plan execution Flexibility to travel within your portfolio on a regular basis, and to other locations or meetings as needed. Anticipated travel 60% within designated market. Diehard commitment to empathetic, creative customer service About Cortland Founded in 2005, Cortland is an international, vertically integrated multifamily real estate investment, development, and management firm with a resident-centric approach to living experiences. Recognized as one of the top 10 multifamily owners and operators in the US, Cortland combines in-house design, construction, and operations to deliver value and innovation across its portfolio. Join us as we reimagine apartment living and drive outsized returns through purpose, performance, and people. Cortland is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud to support and celebrate diversity in the workplace. We are committed to equal consideration for all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. If you have a disability and need an accommodation or assistance with the application process and/or using our website, please email Careers@cortland.com Cortland is a drug-free workplace. Cortland participates in e-verify to verify the employment status of all persons hired to work in the United States. California Applicant Privacy Notice We collect personal information from all job applicants, including identifiers (e.g., name, contact details), professional or employment information (e.g., résumé, work history, qualifications), and education information. This information is used for recruiting, evaluating your candidacy, conducting interviews, and managing the application process. California residents may request access to or deletion of their personal information by contacting us at careers@cortland.com GDPR Statement When you apply to a job on this site, the personal data contained in your application will be collected by Cortland (“Controller”), which is located at 3424 Peachtree RD NE Suite 300 Atlanta, GA and can be contacted by emailing careers@cortland.com because Controller wishes to evaluate your candidacy for employment at Controller. Your personal data was either obtained from publicly available sources (e.g. LinkedIn) or provided to Controller by someone who referred you for potential employment. Controller’s data protection officer is Greg Shultz, who can be contacted at Greg.Shultz@cortland.com. Your personal data will be processed for the purposes of managing Controller’s recruitment related activities, which include setting up and conducting interviews and tests for applicants, evaluating and assessing the results thereto, and as is otherwise needed in the recruitment and hiring processes. Such processing is legally permissible under Art. 6(1)(f) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation) as necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Controller, which are the solicitation, evaluation, and selection of applicants for employment. Your personal data has been shared with Greenhouse Software, Inc., a cloud services provider located in the United States of America and engaged by Controller to help manage its recruitment and hiring process on Controller’s behalf. Accordingly, if you are located outside of the United States, your personal data has been transferred to the United States. Because the European Union Commission has determined that United States data privacy laws do not ensure an adequate level of protection for personal data collected from EU data subjects, the transfer was subject to appropriate additional safeguards under [either the standard contractual clauses or the Privacy Shield]. You can obtain a copy of the standard contractual clauses by contacting us at careers@cortland.com Your personal data will be retained by Controller as long as Controller determines it is necessary to evaluate your application for employment. Under the GDPR, you have the right to request access to your personal data, to request that your personal data be rectified or erased, and to request that processing of your personal data be restricted. You also have to right to data portability. In addition, you may lodge a complaint with an EU supervisory authority.

Requirements

Must-haves

Innovative & Adaptive Problem Solving: Identify performance gaps, design innovative solutions, test and scale initiatives, and lead through ambiguity to ensure continuous improvement and results.
Accountability & Ownership: Drive full ownership of operational outcomes. Set and maintain a high bar for performance and hold yourself and others accountable to results.
Applied Financial Acumen: Oversee budgeting, financial planning, and pro forma development in partnership with the Investments team. Use financial insights to support long-term value creation and mitigate risks.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Build productive relationships with partners across Investments, Marketing, Facilities, Training, Construction Management, Operations Support, and more to achieve shared goals.
Organizational Stewardship : Monitor the health of your region and the broader organization. Champion initiatives that strengthen culture, capability, and operational alignment.
10+ years of experience leading multifamily real estate operations across multi-million-dollar portfolios, including 5–7 years in senior leadership roles (e.g., Regional VP, SVP, or equivalent)
Bachelor’s degree in business, real estate, or related field
Demonstrated success with innovative, large team leadership
Superior record of improving business results and sophisticated business plan execution
Flexibility to travel within your portfolio on a regular basis, and to other locations or meetings as needed. Anticipated travel 60% within designated market.
Diehard commitment to empathetic, creative customer service

Nice-to-haves

None flagged.

Application prep

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Benefits

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