Real Estate Officer

About the Role
The Real Estate Officer will serve as the company’s primary real estate specialist, advising clients on property acquisitions and investment strategies while managing transactions and property portfolios throughout their lifecycle. This role combines investment analysis and client advisory with transaction execution, due diligence, handover coordination, leasing, property management, and resale. The successful candidate must possess extensive hands-on experience in the Dubai real estate market and be able to translate market intelligence into clear, evidence-based recommendations that protect clients’ interests.

Key Responsibilities
1. Real Estate Investment Advisory

• Advise clients on residential and commercial property acquisitions, investment strategies, and portfolio allocation.
• Analyze Dubai property districts, developers, off-plan opportunities, secondary market properties, rental yields, and capital appreciation potential.
• Prepare written investment recommendations supported by verified market data, financial analysis, risks, assumptions, and alternative options.
• Evaluate total acquisition costs, projected net yields, service charges, transaction fees, and potential investment risks.
• Advise on property suitability for international and non-resident buyers, collaborating with internal structuring and tax advisory teams where required.

2. Transaction Execution and Due Diligence

• Manage assigned property transactions from initial assessment through completion and registration.
• Coordinate due diligence, negotiations, transaction documentation, payment schedules, and completion requirements.
• Review relevant transaction documents, including expressions of interest, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)/Form F, and Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPA).
• Verify off-plan escrow arrangements and coordinate Oqood registration, developer approvals, No Objection Certificates (NOCs), trustee office procedures, and Dubai Land Department (DLD) registration.
• Maintain a comprehensive transaction calendar and ensure deadlines, documentation, approvals, and payments are properly tracked.
• Coordinate property snagging, handover, title registration, and Ejari registration where applicable.

3. Property and Portfolio Management

• Oversee properties following acquisition, including handover, defect rectification, leasing readiness, tenancy administration, and ongoing property obligations.
• Coordinate with developers, appointed real estate agents, property managers, tenants, maintenance providers, and relevant authorities.
• Monitor lease renewals, rent collection, service charges, utilities, maintenance, vacancy periods, and property insurance.
• Coordinate resale preparation and execution where required.
• Track tenant disputes, notices, enforcement matters, and litigation-related processes in collaboration with qualified legal counsel and the relevant authorities.

4. Market Intelligence and Research

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of Dubai residential and commercial real estate markets, DLD transaction data, rental indices, developer launches, and regulatory developments.
• Assess developer track records, project completion risks, supply trends, comparable sales, and rental benchmarks.
• Conduct relevant site visits and attend developer briefings and industry events to strengthen market knowledge and professional relationships.
• Prepare and submit a monthly real estate market briefing to the Acting Head of Real Estate & Investment Advisory.

5. Portfolio Oversight, Risk Management, and Reporting

• Maintain accurate property registers, transaction records, risk registers, and portfolio calendars.
• Monitor handover dates, lease expiries, payment milestones, service charges, developer obligations, and other material deadlines.
• Identify and escalate investment, compliance, documentation, and transaction risks promptly.
• Maintain complete client records, document the rationale behind recommendations, and ensure all material decisions are properly recorded.
• Collaborate with the company’s structuring, tax advisory, and accounting teams to support integrated client solutions.

Professional Standards
The successful candidate must demonstrate integrity, confidentiality, independent judgment, analytical rigor, and a strong commitment to protecting clients’ interests. Recommendations must be evidence-based, transparent about uncertainty, and free from undisclosed commercial incentives. The officer must recognize the boundaries of the company’s advisory scope and refer matters requiring regulated legal, valuation, mortgage, or tax expertise to the appropriate specialists.

Requirements
Essential Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate, Business, Finance, Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum 8 years of professional real estate experience, including at least 5 years in the Dubai real estate market. This is a mandatory requirement.
• Demonstrable experience independently handling residential property acquisitions and secondary market transactions in Dubai.
• Practical experience with off-plan property transactions, including escrow verification, Oqood registration, payment plans, handover, and developer due diligence.
• Hands-on experience with Dubai commercial real estate, including offices, retail, industrial, or warehouse properties.
• Strong understanding of the Dubai Land Department (DLD) and Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) frameworks, registration procedures, title deeds, transfer fees, and trustee office processes.
• Working knowledge of landlord and tenant procedures, including Ejari registration, rental regulations, lease renewals, and rent adjustment rules.
• Proven ability to prepare investment analyses, comparable property assessments, total acquisition cost calculations, and net rental yield projections.
• Experience coordinating property handovers, snagging, defect rectification, leasing, tenancy administration, and ongoing property management.
• Strong transaction management, documentation, follow-up, and deadline management skills.

Technical and Investment Knowledge
Candidates should demonstrate working knowledge of:

• Dubai freehold zones, property ownership eligibility, off-plan developments, and secondary market transactions.
• Commercial property ownership and the implications of free zone versus mainland arrangements for occupying businesses.
• Investment risk assessment, developer track records, completion risk, liquidity, service charges, and market conditions.
• Requirements for non-resident and international property buyers, including source-of-funds documentation and anti-money laundering (AML) considerations.
• UAE Golden Visa real estate eligibility criteria and coordination with relevant internal teams.
• Property ownership through personal or UAE entity structures, recognizing when specialist structuring and tax advice is required.
• Property portfolio monitoring, tenancy obligations, maintenance coordination, and resale processes.

Preferred Qualifications

• RERA certification through the Dubai Real Estate Institute or a relevant recognized qualification.
• DLD/RERA broker registration.
• RICS membership or candidacy.
• Experience advising high-net-worth individuals, families, international investors, or family offices.
• Exposure to Abu Dhabi or other UAE property markets.
• Experience working with African clients investing in the UAE.

Core Competencies

• Investment analysis: Ability to assess property opportunities objectively and make commercially sound, evidence-based recommendations.
• Market expertise: Strong practical understanding of Dubai’s residential and commercial property markets.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal English, with the ability to explain complex property matters clearly to non-specialist clients.
• Client relationship management: Ability to build trust, manage expectations, and communicate difficult recommendations diplomatically.
• Ethical judgement: Commitment to client interests, transparent advice, confidentiality, and immediate escalation of suspicious or non-compliant requests.
• Analytical thinking: Ability to verify market claims, challenge unsupported yield projections, and identify investment risks.
• Organization: Strong documentation, transaction tracking, portfolio administration, and deadline management.
• Resilience: Ability to remain composed and effective when handling complex transactions, client objections, developer delays, and competing priorities.
• Collaboration: Ability to work effectively with internal structuring, tax advisory, and accounting teams, as well as external professionals.

Language Requirements

• English: Mandatory, with strong written and verbal communication skills.
• French and/or Arabic: Strong advantage.

Personal Attributes
The ideal candidate is curious, commercially minded, accountable, discreet, and determined to deliver high-quality work. They must be comfortable challenging a client’s preferred investment when the evidence does not support it, communicating uncertainty honestly, and prioritizing long-term client interests over commission-driven recommendations.

Additional Requirements

• Willingness to attend relevant professional training sessions when requested by management.
• Ability to work independently while maintaining appropriate reporting, documentation, and escalation practices.
• Willingness to coordinate with appointed brokers, property managers, legal counsel, and other regulated professionals where specialist services are required.