Director, Preconstruction

ABOUT GREYSTAR

Greystar is a leading, fully integrated global real estate platform offering expertise in property management, investment management, development, and construction services in institutional-quality rental housing. Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, Greystar manages and operates over $300 billion of real estate in more than 265 markets globally with offices throughout North America, Europe, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Greystar is the largest operator of apartments in the United States, managing over one million units/beds globally. Across its platforms, Greystar has nearly $79 billion of assets under management, including over $35 billion of development assets and over $36.5 billion of regulatory assets under management. Greystar was founded by Bob Faith in 1993 to become a provider of world-class service in the rental residential real estate business. To learn more, visit www.greystar.com.

JOB DESCRIPTION SUMMARY

As Director of Preconstruction, you'll be at the forefront of shaping how Greystar brings ambitious residential and industrial projects to life. Sitting at the intersection of design, finance, and construction strategy, you'll own the full preconstruction process from early conceptual budgeting and design input through GMP estimates, bid management, and project handoff, partnering directly with Regional Development and Construction Teams to set every project up for success from day one.



This is a role for someone who thrives on complexity, moves fluidly between spreadsheets and job sites, and takes real pride in the precision and craft of a well-built estimate. Your work will directly inform investment decisions, influence design outcomes, and build the financial foundation our development pipeline depends on.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Key Responsibilities

• Lead research and analysis on building systems, material selections, cost trends, and applicable building codes to inform project decisions.
• Contribute actively to design development of floor plans, building composites, building elevations, amenity structure, site planning, civil design, and landscape/hardscape design.
• Manage the full bid process, including distributing bid packages and rigorously evaluating proposals from suppliers, vendors, and subcontractors to drive competitive, informed selections.
• Prepare conceptual budgets to support the Development Team's due diligence process, ensuring early-stage financial assumptions are grounded in real market data.
• Own all budgets and estimates across project phases, maintaining Master Budget Template, GMP Estimate Roll-Up, and cost guidance models that serve as the financial backbone of each project.
• Partner with Regional Construction and Development Teams to keep the preconstruction schedule aligned with the broader project development timeline.
• Conduct regular site visits to assess the accuracy of estimates, validate subcontractor scopes and GMP assumptions, and capture lessons learned that sharpen future work.
• Support the Project Management Team through the buyout phase, ensuring timely, professional feedback is delivered to all subcontractor bidders.
• Build and steward a robust subcontractor network, cultivating new relationships and deepening existing ones.
• Serve as a trusted communication partner to senior business leaders, providing clear project updates, proactive feedback, and decisive action plans to keep projects on time and on budget.
• Lead, develop, and mentor direct reports on the Regional Preconstruction Team with a genuine investment in their growth and performance.
• Collaborate actively across Regional Preconstruction Teams nationwide, sharing knowledge, supporting cross-regional estimates, and helping elevate the collective capability of Greystar's preconstruction function.

 

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Building Construction, or related field and/or equivalent experience with a minimum of 5 years of estimating and preconstruction experience.

• Ability to work from limited information and quickly develop a clear understanding of owner and architect requirements, bringing a creative, innovative, and decisive approach to early-stage project development.
• Proven leadership and mentorship skills, with experience managing, directing, and developing preconstruction staff at varying levels.
• Deep knowledge of the multifamily deve