Director Real Estate

About Us:

Sonepar Canada is an independent family-owned company with global market leadership in the business-to-business distribution of electrical, industrial and safety products and related solutions. In Canada, we are represented by 6 locally managed electrical and industrial distributors and have over 100+ locations with coverage in 9 provinces.

We are a proud member of the Sonepar Group, the world's largest privately-held electrical distributor. The Sonepar Group is present in more than 40 countries with over 45,000 employees.

What’s In It For You?

• You will be joining a market leader with over 40 years of experience to help you elevate your potential.
• You will be working for the world's #1 privately held business to business distributor of electrical products and related solutions.
• A chance to get involved in the forever growing electrical industry.
• We house the largest inventory to better service our customers and deliver on sales commitments.
• An opportunity for career development across many business departments within our organization.

**** This position can be based out of our Laval, QC or Brampton, ON office*****

As the Director, Real Estate at Sonepar Canada, you will manage the national portfolio of distribution centers, branch locations, and offices, leading lease negotiations, renewals, terminations, and new site acquisitions. You'll develop and execute long-term real estate strategies aligned with business goals, collaborating with senior leadership to forecast space needs and optimize site selection. Additionally, you'll oversee real estate transactions and support capital projects, ensuring timelines, budgets, and quality standards are met. Managing relationships with landlords, brokers, and internal departments, you'll ensure compliance with legal, regulatory, and internal standards, including environmental and safety guidelines.

Portfolio & Lease Management

• Manage Sonepar Canada’s national portfolio of distribution centers, branch locations, and offices.
• Lead lease negotiations, sub-leases, renewals, terminations, and new site acquisitions.
• Maintain lease database/software, track critical dates, and ensure compliance with lease terms and financial obligations.

Strategic Real Estate Planning

• Develop and execute long-term real estate strategies aligned with business goals and regional growth plans.
• Collaborate with senior leadership, operations, and finance to forecast space needs and optimize site selection.
• Identify opportunities for consolidation, relocation, expansion, or downsizing through comprehensive analysis of business and market intelligence trends.

Project & Transaction Management

• Oversee end-to-end real estate transactions including site selection, due diligence, budgeting, and contract execution.
• Support capital projects related to facility build-outs, renovations, and relocations.
• Ensure project timelines, budgets, and quality standards are met.

Vendor & Stakeholder Relations

• Manage relationships with landlords, brokers, legal counsel, property managers, and third-party service providers.
• Act as liaison between internal departments (Finance, Legal, HR, Operations) and external partners.
• Data, Reporting & Compliance
• Develop KPIs and reporting dashboards for real estate performance metrics and cost control.
• Ensure real estate operations adhere to legal, regulatory, and internal compliance standards, including environmental and safety guidelines.

Other duties as required.

Requirements:

• 7+ years of experience in commercial or corporate real estate management, ideally within distribution, logistics, or multi-site retail environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate, Business Administration, Finance, or related field.
• Proficient in real estate software (e.g., CoStar, Yardi, ProLease) and MS Office Suite.
• Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM)
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Real Property Administrator (RPA)
• Deep understanding of Canadian real estate markets, lease law, and commercial property operations.
• Bilingual (English/French) is required.
• Proficient in real estate software (e.g., CoStar, Yardi, ProLease) and MS Office Suite.
• Ability to work in a matrix organization and in a fast-paced environment that is continuously changing, demonstrating an ability to champion change and drive improvements.
• Strong ability to deal with ambiguity and manage through difficult situations.
• Cross functional team leadership with the ability build consensus.
• Excellent ability to delegate and can effect change through others without direct involvement.
• Strong financial modeling, influence, negotiation, project management, conflict management, analytical and presentation skills.
• Proven skills in leadership, continuous improvement, and change management.
• Proficient in the full MS Office suite of applications and safety software.
• Excellent organizational, time management, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• High attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Travel is required.
  

Benefits & Perks

• We offer a competitive salary, plus a full set of benefits, including:
• Flexible benefits program allowing you to choose from options that best fit you and your dependents’ needs. Benefit options include: Medical, Dental, Vision, Health Spending Account & RRSP matching.
• Employee Assistance Program, Tuition Reimbursement, Employee Discounts and a career path.
• Regardless of your benefits program, you will receive company paid Life Insurance, and employee paid disability.

More information on Sonepar Canada:

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Sonepar places the planet and diversity and inclusion at the core of its vision driving our business ethos.

Today, Sonepar is the leading distributor of energy-efficient products, pioneering the energy transition and making sustainability a priority. At Sonepar, we firmly believe that every action is crucial in safeguarding the environment, driving our commitment to a more sustainable future. We have accelerated our own transition to efficient generation and use of electrical energy across our business and champion the innovation of sustainable solutions in the market.

Sonepar has been recognized as a Diversity Leader by the Financial Times’ 2024 Diversity Leaders ranking and was awarded GEEIS Certification in 2022. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, welcoming submissions from all candidates. We believe in creating a work environment where everyone can feel safe, use their voice, and know that they belong. Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is a central focus of our global, strategic impact plan. We value diversity and inclusion in the workplace because it allows us to better meet the needs of the communities we serve. It helps us foster greater creativity, breadth of experience, and it’s essential to our success as an organization. All qualified individuals, regardless of race, ethnic or national origin, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, neurodiversity, disability status, gender identity, veteran status or any other aspect which makes them unique are encouraged to apply.

Sonepar is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes submissions from all candidates. Accommodation is available to all applicants upon request. If selected for an interview, please advise the Sonepar representative of your accommodation needs at that time. We will work with all applicants to accommodate their accessibility needs.

Next steps:
We are interested in knowing more about you. Start an exciting new career and enjoy a number of benefits by applying online. While we are very grateful for your interest in joining the team, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.