Director, Properties - Vancouver, British Columbia

Lead the Stewardship of One of British Columbia's Most Strategic Real Estate Portfolios · Your New Employer · Your new employer is British Columbia Railway Company (BCRC) and its wholly owned operating subsidiary, BCR Properties Ltd. Together, they form a self-supporting Crown co ...

Job description

Lead the Stewardship of One of British Columbia's Most Strategic Real Estate Portfolios

Your New Employer

Your new employer is British Columbia Railway Company (BCRC) and its wholly owned operating subsidiary, BCR Properties Ltd. Together, they form a self-supporting Crown corporation responsible for managing a portfolio of strategically significant port, industrial, and rail-adjacent real estate assets across the province. Operating without government funding, the organization generates approximately $30 million in annual revenue and consistently produces between $10 million and $14 million in annual profit from assets valued at nearly half a billion dollars.

BCRC today is a highly streamlined organization, intentionally designed to be lean, commercially disciplined, and operationally reliable. Following extensive restructuring beginning in the 1990s, the organization retained ownership of lands and infrastructure critical to the western trade corridor while simplifying operations into a focused corporate structure. The result is a stable, long-tenured organization with a strong public-interest mandate, balanced by independence, accountability, and a clear commercial focus.

Your New Role

As Director, Properties, you will be accountable for the oversight and performance of the real estate portfolio held within BCRC and its subsidiary, BCR Properties Ltd. This includes land, buildings, industrial parks, and a variety of leases across British Columbia. This is a senior leadership role with a broad scope and meaningful autonomy, combining strategic portfolio oversight with hands-on responsibility for execution, risk management, and financial performance. You will lead all aspects of real estate strategy, including land and building management, leasing, negotiations, environmental oversight, property taxation, land title administration, and possible future asset sales.

A core part of the mandate is to maximize portfolio value and recurring lease revenues while minimizing costs and optimizing net operating contribution within BCR Properties Ltd. You will also oversee environmental audits and liability mitigation, property assessment reviews and appeals, Grant-in-Lieu of Tax matters, and the administration of Crown grants, licences, surveys, tenure reviews, fee-simple titles, and registered interests. The role includes oversight of right-of-way acquisitions in support of rail operations, along with responsibility for real estate-related legal matters, accounting, budgeting, and financial reporting.

This position also sits at the centre of a critical succession period. You will be expected to provide leadership, stability, and direction to a highly tenured real estate team while guiding modernization efforts, strengthening systems such as Landat, and creating a more resilient operating model. The role requires regular engagement with tenants, site visits, mainly along the Sea-to-Sky corridor, and balancing flexibility with a visible, relationship-driven presence.

What Sets You Apart

You are a seasoned real estate leader with broad, practical experience across leasing, land management, and complex asset portfolios, ideally within infrastructure-linked, industrial, institutional, or public-sector environments. You are comfortable navigating long-term industrial leases, legacy agreements, environmental considerations, and regulatory frameworks, and you bring a methodical, detail-oriented approach to managing risk and value over time.

Your leadership style is steady, pragmatic, and well-suited to managing long-serving teams accustomed to informal, paper-based processes while guiding thoughtful modernization and digital transition. You are known for sound judgment rather than deal volume, and for your ability to interpret complex legal agreements, collaborate effectively with engineers and environmental specialists, and maintain financial discipline across mature portfolios. You are likely motivated by stability, autonomy, and long-term contribution rather than rapid career progression. You are comfortable rolling up your sleeves and managing all aspects of ongoing leases.

A bachelor's degree in business, commerce, or a related discipline is preferred, along with demonstrated experience managing budgets, financial performance, and real estate accounting in a disciplined operating environment.

What You Can Expect

This role offers a rare combination of senior responsibility, stability, and meaningful impact. You can expect a leadership position where your decisions directly shape the stewardship, performance, and risk profile of a strategically important provincial real estate portfolio. The organization supports flexible work arrangements outside of operational requirements and offers a competitive base salary (up to $130,000), aligned with public-sector constraints, a nine-percent employer RSP contribution, and comprehensive benefits.

Most importantly, this is an opportunity to play a defining role in stabilizing and modernizing the real estate function at a pivotal moment, ensuring continuity while positioning the portfolio for long-term resilience. It is a role for someone looking to settle into a meaningful chapter of their career, where experience is valued and perspective matters.

Next Steps

If this opportunity aligns with your experience and professional motivations, we would welcome a confidential conversation. Please contact us today to learn more about how HighView Partners can support you in making your Best Next Move.