Managing Director, National Life Sciences Lead, Project & Development Services

Job Title

Managing Director, National Life Sciences Lead, Project & Development Services

Job Description Summary

This role is responsible for leading Cushman & Wakefield’s Americas Life Sciences platform, focused on supporting clients’ real estate capital programs and projects through integrated advisory, delivery, and execution services. The Managing Director works across brokerage, life sciences advisory, project delivery, project controls, and regional teams to ensure clients receive coordinated, end-to-end support for complex life sciences portfolios.


The Americas Life Sciences Lead serves as a senior client-facing leader and platform builder, responsible for driving growth in core life sciences markets, overseeing key client relationships, and ensuring appropriate technical capabilities and teams are in place to support capital investment strategies.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

Life Sciences Platform Leadership

• Lead the Americas Life Sciences platform, setting strategic direction and growth priorities aligned with clients’ real estate capital programs.

• Partner with sector, regional, and service line leadership to deliver integrated life sciences solutions across planning, transactions, development, and execution.

• Ensure consistency in how life sciences services are positioned and delivered across markets.

• Serve as executive sponsor for strategic life sciences clients and priority capital programs.

• Drive thought leadership and platform visibility to internal and external clients

Business Development & Market Growth

• Drive growth across core and emerging life sciences markets by supporting pursuits tied to capital planning, development, and portfolio execution.

• Participate in complex pursuits and client presentations, bringing technical credibility and executive perspective.

• Work closely with brokerage and advisory teams to support integrated go-to-market strategies.

• Build and maintain senior-level client relationships that lead to sustained, multi-service engagement.

• Identify opportunities to expand scope within existing life sciences accounts.

Client Leadership & Capital Program Oversight

• Act as a senior point of engagement for life sciences clients on capital planning, development strategy, and portfolio execution.

• Support executive-level discussions around timelines, delivery models, risk considerations, and investment sequencing.

• Provide leadership to ensure alignment between client expectations and execution capability.

• Represent Cushman & Wakefield within the life sciences market at client and industry forums.

Technical & Team Enablement

• Bring strong technical understanding of life sciences environments, including R&D, laboratory, manufacturing, and regulated facilities.

• Work with project delivery and project controls leadership to ensure appropriate staffing and technical depth.

• Identify talent or capability gaps and support efforts to build or deploy teams accordingly.

• Encourage best practices, knowledge sharing, and consistency across life sciences engagements.

Cross-Service Line & Geographic Coordination

• Collaborate across brokerage, advisory, delivery, and controls teams to support integrated client solutions.

• Promote coordination across regions for multi-market or portfolio-based capital programs.

• Support alignment between local execution teams and broader life sciences platform objectives.

• Enable collaboration with global teams as required for international clients.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Architecture, Construction Management, Real Estate, or related field; advanced degree preferred.

• 15+ years of experience supporting life sciences real estate, capital projects, or development programs.

• Demonstrated understanding of life sciences facilities and capital delivery considerations.

• Experience in business development and senior client relationship management.

• Background in real estate, construction, development, or brokerage strongly preferred.

• Experience working across multiple service lines and geographies within a professional services firm.

• Comfort operating at an executive level with sophisticated life sciences clients.

Key Skills & Attributes

• Strong executive presence and credibility with life sciences clients.

• Solid technical foundation related to life sciences real estate and capital programs.

• Commercial mindset with a collaborative approach to growth.

• Self-directed leader with high accountability and follow-through.

• Comfortable influencing across service lines and organizational boundaries.

• Clear, effective communicator with clients and internal leadership.

• Practical, solution-oriented approach focused on client outcomes.

• Consistent, high-quality support for complex life sciences real estate programs.

Cushman & Wakefield also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life, and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time away from work. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, Cushman and Wakefield provide eligible employees with competitive pay, which may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, total hours worked, job type, business line, and applicability of collective bargaining agreements.

The compensation that will be offered to the successful candidate will depend on factors such as whether the position is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the geographic area in which the work will be performed, market pay rates in that area, and the candidate’s experience and qualifications.

The company will not pay less than minimum wage for this role.

The compensation for the position is: $ 212,500.00 - $250,000.00

Cushman & Wakefield is an Equal Opportunity employer to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position at Cushman & Wakefield, please call the ADA line at 1-888-365-5406 or email [email protected]. Please refer to the job title and job location when you contact us.

INCO: “Cushman & Wakefield”