Lead Associate - Corporate Development

Are you looking for an opportunity to define your future in the commercial real estate industry based on your own unique skills and experience?

Whether your talents lie in marketing, operations, finance, human resources, management, or something different altogether, you’ll find flexibility and a sense of belonging at Berkadia. We’re committed to a culture that strives for excellence – a place where your contributions are valued, you are empowered to create positive impact, and you can grow your career. Be Your Best Self. Be Berkadia. 

The Lead Associate – Corporate Development plays a central role in driving technology experimentation, pilot execution, and 3rd party technology engagement across Berkadia. This position is instrumental in scaling the firm’s innovation and technology efforts, including the BeEngaged Startup Accelerator, by identifying strategic opportunities, connecting cross-functional teams, and synthesizing insights that shape decision-making. The Lead Associate will lead discovery efforts across departments, assess emerging technologies, and guide post-pilot recommendations and adoption strategies. Ideal candidates bring strong analytical skills, a strategic mindset, and a deep curiosity for how innovation can solve real business challenges. 

We Innovate to shape the future of CRE, so in this role you will:

• Lead internal discovery initiatives to surface unmet needs, workflow inefficiencies, and opportunities for innovation. 
• Evaluate new technologies and vendors by facilitating stakeholder engagement, assessing fit, and identifying high-impact use cases. 
• Guide the design and execution of technology experiments, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and stakeholder objectives. 
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners, including Procurement, Legal, Security, Transformation, and Product, to support technology vetting, risk analysis, and implementation planning. 
• Develop clear business cases and recommendations that support pilot launches and post-pilot scaling decisions. 
• Track, synthesize, and communicate key learnings from startup engagements, pilot results, and vendor evaluations to senior leadership. 
• Participate in due diligence of potentially attractive market spaces and startups
• Support planning and facilitation of events and learning forums, with a focus on content quality and audience engagement/feedback 
• Other duties as assigned.  

We are passionate about your growth, so to achieve success in this role you should have: 

• Strong organizational and project coordination skills. 
• Curiosity and proactive mindset when exploring new technologies. 
• Familiarity with commercial real estate and innovation processes. 
• Comfortable interfacing across multiple departments and seniority levels, including startup founders
• Strong written / oral communication and PowerPoint presentation skills. 
• Able to manage multiple projects simultaneously and follow through on execution. 
• Master's degree or equivalent.
• 5+ years of experience in a similar position.

We believe People Matter, so we offer benefits that go beyond:

• Monthly paid volunteer hours and donation matching to benefit our communities 
• Employee Resource Groups that help you grow with us
• Fertility and family planning services  
• Up to 12-weeks of fully paid parental leave   
• Mental health care, including free counseling sessions:  
• We'll help you fund your learning journey with generous tuition reimbursement 
• Pet insurance discounts 
• And more! 

Be Your Best Self. Be Berkadia. 

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Berkadia, as an equal opportunity employer, celebrates our employees’ unique differences, which we believe drives personal and company-wide innovation and creates a people-first culture where your career can take the long view. To achieve these goals, we are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals, without regard to race, religion, age, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, domestic partner status, military and veteran status, disability, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information, political affiliation, or any other status protected by federal, state and local laws.   

In keeping with our commitment, Berkadia takes the necessary steps to provide a workplace free from harassment and discrimination, as well as access and reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodation to take part in the interview process, please contact talentacquisition@berkadia.com.

You have rights under Federal and State employment laws. No question in this Application is intended to elicit information in violation of any such law, nor will any information obtained in response to any question be used in violation of any such law. If you apply for this role, you are acknowledging Berkadia's Application Policy and Berkadia's Privacy Policy. Please click the following links for more information about: EEOC, Employee Rights under the FMLA, EPPA.