Job Posting: Real Estate Development Analyst / Development Coordinator
Position: Real Estate Development Analyst / Development Coordinator
Company: Sierra
www.sierra.ca
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Employment Type: Full-time
About Sierra
Sierra is a Toronto-based real estate development company with a long-standing track record of developing residential communities across the GTA. Our projects include purpose-built rental, condominium, townhouse, and mixed-use developments, with a focus on thoughtful design, strong execution, and long-term value creation.
We are seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Real Estate Development Analyst / Development Coordinator to join our team. This role is ideal for someone who is interested in the full development lifecycle, from acquisition and underwriting through approvals, financing, construction, and project delivery.
Role Overview
The Real Estate Development Analyst / Development Coordinator will support Sierra’s development team across multiple active and prospective projects. The role will combine financial analysis, project coordination, municipal approvals support, market research, reporting, and general development management.
The successful candidate will be organized, analytical, proactive, and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift quickly. This is a hands-on role with exposure to all aspects of real estate development.
Key Responsibilities
1. Financial Analysis and Underwriting
The candidate will assist with financial modelling and analysis for new acquisitions and existing development projects.
Responsibilities include:
· Prepare and maintain development pro formas for residential, purpose-built rental, mixed-use, and townhouse projects.
· Assist with acquisition underwriting, including land residual analysis, yield-on-cost analysis, IRR calculations, sensitivity tables, and scenario analysis.
· Track project budgets, sources and uses, construction costs, soft costs, financing assumptions, development charges, taxes, revenues, rents, and operating assumptions.
· Support analysis of different development strategies, including condominium, rental, seniors housing, hotel, townhouse, and land entitlement scenarios.
· Prepare comparable sales, rental, land, and construction cost research.
· Assist with debt and equity financing packages, investor reporting, and lender due diligence.
· Update project cash flow forecasts and capital call schedules.
· Review consultant invoices, project costs, and budget variances.
2. Development Coordination
The candidate will help coordinate the day-to-day execution of development projects from early-stage planning through approvals and construction.
Responsibilities include:
· Assist with the coordination of consultants, including architects, planners, engineers, surveyors, environmental consultants, heritage consultants, traffic consultants, landscape architects, and legal counsel.
· Track key project milestones, submission deadlines, approval timelines, conditions, permits, and municipal requirements.
· Help manage zoning by-law amendment, official plan amendment, site plan approval, committee of adjustment, plan of subdivision, condominium, minor variance, demolition, and building permit processes.
· Coordinate the preparation and submission of municipal applications and supporting materials.
· Maintain project trackers, critical path schedules, consultant contact lists, approval matrices, and due diligence checklists.
· Attend and document project meetings, consultant meetings, city meetings, and internal development meetings.
· Prepare meeting agendas, minutes, action item lists, and follow-up correspondence.
· Support responses to municipal comments and coordinate consultant deliverables.
· Assist with community consultation materials, councillor briefings, resident association presentations, and public meeting preparation.
3. Acquisition and Due Diligence Support
The candidate will assist with reviewing and evaluating potential acquisition opportunities.
Responsibilities include:
· Review zoning, official plan designations, secondary plans, as-of-right permissions, development constraints, and applicable planning policies.
· Prepare preliminary massing, density, height, unit count, parking, and GFA assumptions in coordination with internal team members and consultants.
· Assist with land valuation, comparable land sales research, and residual land value analysis.
· Review offering memorandums, data rooms, leases, rent rolls, title materials, surveys, environmental reports, and planning documents.
· Prepare acquisition summaries and investment committee materials.
· Coordinate due diligence checklists and timelines.
· Assist with broker communications and market opportunity tracking.
4. Market Research
The candidate will conduct research to support investment, development, and design decisions.
Responsibilities include:
· Track market rents, absorption, pricing, cap rates, land values, construction costs, development charges, taxes, and financing conditions.
· Prepare competitive market analyses for condominium, purpose-built rental, townhouse, and mixed-use projects.
· Review comparable projects, including unit mix, suite sizes, pricing, rents, amenities, parking ratios, sales velocity, and lease-up assumptions.
· Monitor municipal policy changes, planning trends, CMHC programs, financing incentives, development charge changes, and housing-related regulations.
· Prepare market research memos and presentation materials.
5. Reporting and Presentation Materials
The candidate will help prepare clear, professional materials for internal and external stakeholders.
Responsibilities include:
· Prepare investment summaries, project updates, investor reports, lender packages, consultant briefs, and internal memoranda.
· Create charts, tables, maps, project dashboards, timelines, and executive summaries.
· Assist with PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, Excel models, and PDF packages.
· Maintain project folders, document control systems, and version tracking.
· Support reporting to partners, lenders, investors, consultants, and municipal stakeholders.
6. Construction and Project Delivery Support
The candidate will support the development team during construction and project execution.
Responsibilities include:
· Assist with tracking construction budgets, change orders, cash flows, draws, and consultant invoices.
· Support coordination between development, construction, finance, sales/leasing, and property management teams.
· Assist with lender draw packages, quantity surveyor reporting, and construction progress updates.
· Track permit status, inspections, occupancy requirements, Tarion requirements, closing schedules, and project turnover items.
· Help prepare project closeout summaries, lessons learned, and post-completion financial analysis.
Required Qualifications
· Bachelor’s degree in real estate, business, urban planning, finance, economics, engineering, architecture, or a related field.
· 1 to 4 years of relevant experience in real estate development, investment, planning, construction, brokerage, consulting, lending, or asset management.
· Strong Excel skills, including financial modelling, formulas, sensitivities, and scenario analysis.
· Strong written and verbal communication skills.
· Highly organized with strong attention to detail.
· Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines at the same time.
· Interest in real estate development and city-building.
· Comfortable working in a small, entrepreneurial team environment.
Preferred Qualifications
· Experience with residential development, purpose-built rental, condominium, mixed-use, or low-rise development.
· Familiarity with the GTA development approvals process.
· Understanding of zoning, official plans, site plan approval, development charges, construction budgets, and project financing.
· Experience preparing development pro formas and acquisition underwriting.
· Knowledge of CMHC financing programs, Tarion, municipal approvals, and construction draw processes is an asset.
Key Skills
The ideal candidate will be:
· Analytical and financially literate.
· Detail-oriented and organized.
· A strong communicator.
· Proactive and resourceful.
· Comfortable working with Excel models, reports, and project schedules.
· Able to work independently while also collaborating with internal and external teams.
· Curious about planning, architecture, construction, finance, and market dynamics.
· Able to convert complex information into clear summaries and actionable recommendations.
Scope of Role
The Real Estate Development Analyst / Development Coordinator will be involved in the following areas:
Area
Scope
Acquisitions
Underwriting, due diligence, market research, investment summaries
Planning Approvals
Application tracking, consultant coordination, municipal submissions
Financial Analysis
Pro formas, budgets, sensitivities, cash flows, capital requirements
Project Management
Schedules, action items, consultant deliverables, meeting coordination
Reporting
Investor updates, lender packages, internal memos, presentation materials
Construction Support
Draw packages, budget tracking, change order tracking, project updates
Market Research
Rents, sales, land values, cap rates, construction costs, municipal fees
Sample Day-to-Day Tasks
· Update a project pro forma with revised construction costs and financing assumptions.
· Prepare a summary of comparable purpose-built rental projects in Toronto.
· Coordinate with the architect and planner to respond to municipal comments.
· Update a project critical path schedule.
· Review a consultant invoice against the approved budget.
· Prepare a lender update package.
· Summarize zoning permissions for a potential acquisition.
· Prepare minutes and action items following a consultant meeting.
· Track development charge exposure for an active project.
· Build a sensitivity table showing IRR impact from changes in rent, cost, cap rate, or timing.
Compensation
Compensation will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.
How to Apply
Interested candidates should submit a resume and brief cover letter outlining their interest in real estate development and their relevant experience. Email resume to: [email protected]
Pay: From $85,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person