Occupancy Cost Manager - Canadian Tire, Toronto

Role overview

Canadian Tire Real Estate Limited (CTREL) is a division of Canadian Tire responsible for the end-to-end real estate lifecycle of over 1,800 retail and corporate locations across Canada. Within CTREL, the Occupancy Cost Administration team provides oversight, analysis, and reporting of occupancy costs and revenues for a large and diverse portfolio of leased and owned properties.

Reporting to the National Portfolio Manager, Occupancy Cost Administration, the Occupancy Cost Manager is a high-impact role responsible for helping control and reduce occupancy costs across a large national retail portfolio. This position leads the review of landlord reconciliations, rental adjustment notices, percentage rent calculations, and rent variance analysis to ensure lease compliance, recover overcharges, and strengthen portfolio controls.

Day-to-day

The successful candidate will drive cost savings and operational efficiency across a national retail portfolio through the following responsibilities:

• In conjunction with the Occupancy Administrators, audit year-end CAM invoices, Rental Adjustment Notices (RANs), percentage rent calculations, and other landlord statements to identify savings from charges that contravene lease terms
• Monitor and prioritize processing of outstanding invoice workflows for your portfolio
• Perform a variance analysis of the monthly rent roll, explain any large variances, and identify corrections
• Where applicable, perform the same tasks above for Income tenant billings in order to maximize tenant revenue
• Develop strong landlord/tenant relationships and act as the primary liaison on occupancy cost issues
• Oversee and approve daily work of Occupancy Administrators, ensuring accuracy and timeliness, while providing mentorship
• Validate all requests for changes to landlord names or banking information
• Leverage Lucernex reporting capabilities to identify cost-saving opportunities
• Lead Special Projects as assigned from time to time

What you'll bring

To be successful in this role, applicants must meet the following qualifications and experience requirements:

• 5+ years of experience in Lease/Occupancy Cost Administration, preferably in retail real estate
• Post-secondary education with a real estate / facilities, business, or finance and accounting focus
• Proven ability to interpret leases, audit landlord billings, and deliver measurable occupancy cost savings
• Candidate should have achieved at least $250,000+ in career savings
• Proven track record of collaboration and fostering professional relationships with landlords and cross-functional teams such as finance, legal and accounting, development and construction
• Experience using Lucernex Contracts module and Peoplesoft financials an asset
• Comfortable using MS Office products, lease administration systems, and financial systems required
• Experience working with a retail income tenant portfolio considered an asset
• Experience using AI (Co-Pilot, ChatGPT) and/or a willingness to learn and grow knowledge and experience in this area
• Strong problem-solving, organizational, and planning skills with ability to manage shifting priorities
• Strong interpersonal, negotiating, and communication skills (both written and verbal) are required
• Bilingualism in English and French preferred and is considered an asset

Perks and benefits

In addition to competitive pay, Canadian Tire offers a comprehensive suite of rewards and incentives to support employees:

• Comprehensive benefits and retirement programs
• Performance incentives and Continuing Education Programs
• Other perks to support your well-being
• Career growth opportunities and product discounts
• Enhanced flex benefits program offering mental health benefits in the amount of $5,000 per year for benefits-eligible employees and their families
• Canadian Tire Profit Sharing and supported learning through the Triangle Learning Academy