AddressManager, Business Development and Marketing
Turner Drake & Partners Ltd.
Halifax, Nova Scotia
About Us
For over four decades we have provided real estate consulting services to the business community in Canada. We started with a simple vision: (1) be the benchmark by which others are measured, (2) offer clients a unique product whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts. To do so, we have assembled a multi-disciplinary team, with diverse but complimentary skills, created a common training program (built around the University of British Columbia's real estate degree and 27 in-house training modules), nurtured a collegiate culture of working together, developed an industry leading IT system, and implemented an ISO 9001:2015 registered quality control system company-wide. We invest in people; they truly are our greatest asset. From our headquarters in Halifax we now undertake consulting assignments from British Columbia to Newfoundland and all provinces and territories in-between. But in truth, we are still a work in progress… there are still mountains to climb and plains to conquer. We are now seeking a Manager, Business Development and Marketing to join us on that journey.
Our Consulting Staff are firmly focused on assisting clients meet their strategic goals, not just their immediate needs. As a team they provide a smorgasbord of complementary skills, whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts. They provide clients with unique, seamless solutions to their real estate problems: Valuation & Appraisal, Property Tax, Urban and Rural Planning, Economic Intelligence (Geographic Information Systems), Counselling (Infrastructure Acquisition, First Nations' Land Claims, Hydro Electric Projects…), Lasercad® Space Measurement and Brokerage (Sales & Leasing).
We currently provide our professional consulting staff with marketing and technical support to better enable them to focus on their level of expertise. Our Support Staff is trained in creating marketing materials and maintaining our databases, web sites, social media platforms, as well as secretarial duties. We have established distribution channels through our web sites and Information Technology (IT) system to broadcast time-sensitive, or brand awareness, marketing materials targeted at clients, and potential clients, with minimum intervention from our Consulting Staff. In addition to our Corporate website www.turnerdrake.com (scheduled to be updated this year), we have specialist Valuation (www.turnerdrake.org), Property Tax (www.turnerdrake.net) and Brokerage (www.turnerdrake.ca) sites.
About This Position
We would like to move our marketing and business development to a higher level by hiring a Manager, Business Development and Marketing to build on and expand our present efforts. Within each of our seven Divisions we have developed unique service offerings. We would like to expand the utilization of those service offerings within our established client base… and provide them to new clients. We have an enviable client retention record; two thirds of our business emanates from our existing clients, many of whom have been with us for decades. However, not all clients take advantage, or know of, the variety of services we provide. We need to remedy that situation. Virtually all of our new client business is the result of recommendations from existing clients. We would like to expand our client base by building brand awareness in our main theatre of operations, Atlantic Canada and Western Ontario, and by establishing and building relationships with new clients. The role then is a blend of strategy and implementation. Initial responsibilities will include operationalizing and implementing our existing marketing strategy, identifying opportunities to further develop our marketing capabilities, and handling the day-to-day implementation and execution of marketing and sales activity. The position will appeal to someone with experience in marketing and sales roles who wants to upgrade their responsibilities or take on a new challenge. This is a hands-on role, reporting directly to the company President.
Experience and Qualifications
Our success is built on long-term relationships with clients, rather than a transactional approach, so you must have a genuine interest in people, be a good listener and communicator, an excellent networker, and be comfortable conversing with your peers and those senior or junior in age to yourself. We assist clients meet their strategic goals, not just their immediate needs. You will be a strong negotiator, preferably with a university level course in the subject. You will be at ease conversing with CEO's, mechanics, construction workers, budding entrepreneurs… or the guy that cleans our offices (he does a great job by the way, a real professional). Experience with direct sales outreach, including identifying and contacting prospects at the C-suite level (including cold outreach) is essential. You will prefer to work in a team environment with colleagues who share your enthusiasm, and be interested in gaining an in-depth knowledge of what they do. On some projects you may work as part of a collaborative team; as well as leading projects yourself, autonomously. You will enjoy variety and merit the respect of your peers and those colleagues who report to you. You will have an eye for detail, be thorough, trustworthy, energetic, reliable and will benefit from the opinions of your colleagues. You will have an enquiring and open mind coupled with a sense of humour. You will have experience in a sales/marketing role. This will include print and digital advertising, media outreach, social media and content marketing. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills are required, as it the ability to do basic image/graphic editing using tools such as Canva. Experience in developing and managing marketing budgets, together with reporting on financials and performance, is critical. Fluency in French is a definite asset but is not essential.
While the exigencies of some assignments may sometimes require work outside normal office hours it is our view that this should be the exception rather than the rule: we believe strongly in a civilised work-life balance and conduct the firm's operations accordingly. Most of the work will be in Atlantic Canada and Western Ontario and may entail some travel.
Operating Model
We have been operating electronically for decades: we installed our first computer terminal in 1978, started working remotely in the early 1980s, and our files have been electronic since 1990. When the pandemic burst onto the scene we pivoted seamlessly to working from home. However, we recognise that work of a creative or collaborative nature benefits from personal interaction, ideas are frequently the result of chance meetings, impromptu remarks and the accidental clash of opinion. The ability to readily bounce ideas off colleagues often opens up the pathway to a more optimum solution and relieves "writer's block". Social interaction with peers reduces stress, and the opportunity to leave the workday behind after leaving the office is important to a civilised work-life balance. We pass this way once and family time lost to work can never be recovered. Work should be enjoyable, satisfying, social, enable self-esteem and contribute to society, as well as providing financial support for oneself and family. Our operating model is therefore firmly "office based" with the flexibility to work remotely when the situation demands it.
The Sexy Stuff
To give you a flavour of our firm we asked the members of our professional staff who had recently joined us after university what they enjoyed most about their careers with us. This is what they said:
"What I like most about the job is that I've only been working full-time for just over a month and I have already been given the chance to do work on my own, which gave me a sense of pride and felt rewarding. It's something that I never thought that I would be doing (a career in real estate) but have found it very interesting and I am always learning new things".
"Dealing directly with business owners … ability to be autonomous in my work … having the breadth of knowledge in the different Divisions means that I've got access to colleagues who provide advice on so many facets of real estate: it would probably take three to four companies to amass the same type of exposure to these types of people if I hadn't come to Turner Drake. At my former employer (a bank) we also spanned several Divisions but generally the physical separation of employees prevented a lot of exposure to different business lines".
"The workload is always changing and evolving. The knowledge base which we are surrounded by is incredible and always available to us. We can walk across the hall and get advice from some of the industry's leading consultants while also having in-house training modules and post-secondary studies provided by the company … The training schedule provides structure and motivation looking forward to the future".
"One of the benefits that I saw in working here when I was first starting out was the opportunity to be mentored by some of the most highly-educated and well-respected individuals in the industry (all of whom ultimately proved most generous in sharing their time and expertise). I also saw real estate consultancy to be a unique application of the skills I'd acquired at Dal - it combined them in a way that other disciplines I'd considered did not."
"I think a main benefit of working here is that you are able to learn a new field through on the job experience and the knowledge of senior staff and through education, the UBC courses. It is an opportunity to continue your education with a company that is willing to invest in you while gaining experience in a competitive field."
"The ability to work independently and take a project from start to finish. I really enjoy the fact that I may be analyzing the cash flows from an office building one day and inspecting a shipyard the next."
Compensation
Base Salary plus potential for quarterly Performance Bonus. Benefits and pension package (after a vesting period).
Enjoy a central urban office location and an office culture that promotes a professional work style and a civilised work-life balance.
Commencement Date
Our focus is on finding the right candidate. Whilst we have a current need, we will take the time and provide the flexibility if the talent is worth it.
Application
Submit your CV together with a letter ( 500 words) explaining why you believe you are suited for this position to:
M.B. Turner, B. Comm., BBRE, MRICS, MAI, AACI
President
Turner Drake & Partners Ltd.
Real Estate Counsellors
6182 North Street
Halifax NS B3K 1P5
Email: [email protected]
Please feel free to direct any enquiries to Mark Turner (902) 429-1811 Ext. 325 or toll free (800) 567-3033 Ext. 325.
Confidentiality
All enquiries and applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Closing Date:
Applicants will be evaluated and interviewed as they apply. The posting will be closed when the position is filled.
