As part of my undergraduate scholarship I was rotated through Stockland’s various business units. Gaining exposure to various facets of the property industry was an invaluable experience which helped me choose a path most suited to myself.
Now, working as a leasing graduate, a highlight is of course having 2 neighbourhood shopping centres on the Gold Coast and a bulky goods centre in Tamworth to call my own.
Initially, being such a diversified company was a big drawcard for myself as a grad, as I was unsure of the exact field I wanted to work, and I saw this as an opportunity to help me decide. Since working with Stockland, the culture has definitely stood out to me and taken me by surprise. Working with a leasing team, which can often have the reputation of being a cut throat environment, the culture within Stockland’s team has been extremely welcoming and I have been nurtured by the whole team. Flexible working has become a core focus for Stockland, and this has allowed me to fit in personal obligations easily around work.
As a leasing grad, I essentially perform the roll of any retail leasing exec. As I look after 2 centres on the Gold Coast, and am based in Sydney, the roll involves me travelling there for a day or two every week or so. A typical day can involve a multitude of meetings with retailers, team meetings, canvassing for new retailers which can involve making phone calls or pounding the pavement and of course a bit of desk time to complete paperwork for deals and necessary financial analysis.
Residential Development: Assisted development managers working on Stockland’s Willowdale community. Key achievements include initiating the design and construct of key amenity pieces and lot pricing for stage releases.
Commercial Property – Leasing: Worked as part of both the leasing administration and leasing executive teams. Key achievements included competitor analysis, lease contract administration through Stockland’s set process’s and shadowing leasing executives.
Retirement Living: Worked with in both the asset management and development teams. Key achievements include the creation of data rooms for the purposes of acquisitions and divestments as well as assisting with development functions.
Research: Assisted with residential and business development research. Namely I was responsible for identifying all apartment development applications across Metro and Greater Sydney and then tracking the progress of developments already underway to determine the actual pipeline of apartments coming online over the next few years.
Sustainability: Initiated work on a business case for the use of particular Green Star initiatives across the retirement living asset class, with strong focus on return on investment to both the business and our customers. In addition I helped compile a list of registered endangered species of flora and fauna across our development sites.
I have been able to play basketball with Stockland Friday lunch team, and being encouraged to take part in volunteering programs with colleagues and other professionals such as ABCN’s GOALS program. Within Stockland, end of month social functions held in the office café are always a good bit of fun.