Leasing Team Lead, Ottawa

Forum Asset Management – Leasing Team Lead, Ottawa

Location: Onsite, Ottawa

Work Schedule: Full-time, Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00 am to 7:00 pm

Reports to: Director of Leasing

About Forum

Delivering Extraordinary Outcomes™ through Investment.

Forum Asset Management is a North American investor, developer, and asset manager with a 30+ year track record of delivering long-term value through real estate, private equity, and infrastructure investments. We are a purpose-driven firm committed to sustainability, responsible investing, and making a positive impact in the communities where we invest.

With over $4 billion in AUM, Forum is one of Canada's most dynamic investment platforms. In 2024, we completed the country's largest real estate transaction through our acquisition of Alignvest Student Housing, making us the largest owner and developer of Purpose-Built Student Accommodations (PBSA) in Canada. Our open-ended Real Estate Income and Impact Fund (REIIF) is now over $2.9 billion, backed by a $4.0 billion+ development pipeline that spans coast to coast.

Forum is also building one of the fastest-growing self-storage platforms in Canada, focused on acquiring, developing, and operating institutional-grade storage facilities in undersupplied urban markets.

Forum is a values-led, high-performance organization. We embrace agility and innovation, and we strive to foster a team culture grounded in integrity, collaboration, humility, and results. Our growth is fueled by our ability to identify structural real estate themes and deliver strategies that balance income, impact, and long-term value creation.

About Canadian Student Living (CSL)

Canadian Student Living (CSL) is dedicated to creating purpose-built student housing communities across Canada where student life thrives and institutions grow. At our core, we believe that housing is more than a place to live; it's a foundation for academic success, personal growth, and meaningful connection.

We design and operate comfortable, well-considered spaces that support students through every stage of their post-secondary journey. Our communities are built to foster belonging, encourage engagement, and create positive, memorable experiences, all while supporting the evolving needs of Canada's post-secondary institutions.

Guided by our mission to create spaces for student success, CSL is committed to building supportive communities that balance comfort, functionality, and fun: places students are proud to call home. The employer for this position is Forum Asset Management.

Position Overview

Forum Asset Management is seeking a Leasing Team Lead to be the lead leasing agent for Ottawa. The role leases a building book personally and supervises the Ottawa leasing team, so it has to be both the strongest closer in the room and a coach. The Leasing Team Lead owns occupancy outcomes for the assigned buildings, sets the standard for tours and follow-up, and keeps team coverage, notes and results on track.

Leasing activity is executed through EliseAI for lead communication and tasks and Entrata for applications and lease execution. Tours are recorded on Plaud and reviewed for quality.

You will lead and work alongside the Ottawa leasing team and report to the Director of Leasing. The team meets for a weekly leasing huddle to review results, share what is working and agree on priorities, and holds short daily huddles during peak times. Agents cover for each other on days off through agent buddy cover, and coaching is part of every week: shadowing, tour reviews and real-time support on deals.

Day to day you work with the General Manager and Operations (including move-in support when needed), with Marketing on lead sources and events, and with the Director of Leasing on targets, coaching and escalations.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Leasing Execution & Building Ownership

• Own every lead for your assigned Ottawa buildings, from first inquiry through a countersigned lease, then hand off to Ops/Admin, including leads that apply online without a tour.
• Give tours that lead with discovery, then ask for the application on every tour and help the prospect start it before they leave.
• Take warm transfers and tour bookings from the call centre for your buildings.
• Work to your buildings' occupancy targets.

Team Leadership & Coaching

• Supervise the Ottawa leasing team while carrying your own book: set daily priorities, weekly per-agent goals and coverage plans.
• Coach through shadowing, real-time deal support, and review of Plaud tour recordings and scorecards.
• Keep coverage solid for days off and busy periods through agent buddy cover and, when needed, trained leasing RSRs coordinated through their supervisors.
• Help run the Ottawa leasing huddle and follow through on its actions.
• Take part in hiring, onboarding and training of new Ottawa leasing staff.
• Raise performance concerns early with the Director of Leasing, and step in to cover gaps.

Lead Response & Follow-Up

• Respond to every lead quickly in EliseAI and Entrata, and follow up the same day.
• Log the outcome and detailed notes after every tour so the next agent can pick up with full context.
• Keep outstanding lead communications and tasks below the portfolio threshold.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Hand off signed leases to Ops/Admin for move-in, and support retention efforts as directed by Ops.
• Work with Marketing on lead sources, promotions and tour events, and raise unit-readiness issues with site Ops.

Systems & Workflow Discipline

• Keep EliseAI and Entrata records accurate and audit-ready, record every tour on Plaud, and meet the compliance standard.
• Model the standard leasing workflow and hold the team to it.
• Systems used: EliseAI (leasing and resident communication platform), Entrata (property management system for applications, lease execution and reporting) and Plaud (tour recording and tour-quality review).

Move-In and Move-Out Periods

Leasing owns the funnel through a countersigned lease and then hands off. Operations and Admin lead move-in and move-out logistics, including unit preparation. During move-in and move-out periods, you will:

• Keep leasing going: respond to leads, give tours and process applications.
• Support Operations where needed, as agreed with your manager, for example welcoming students and families, keeping arrivals moving, answering questions, and helping with key handover, move-in paperwork, unit walkarounds and move-out coordination.
• Work the standard Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00 am to 7:00 pm schedule. During move-in and move-out periods, as business needs require, hours may differ, including early starts, late finishes and extra days. Your manager will give you as much notice as possible.
• Agree with the Director of Leasing how the team shares this support, and help plan coverage across the team.

Duties and responsibilities may evolve as the needs of the business change, and other duties may be assigned.

How Success Is Measured

• Occupancy & Conversion: assigned buildings meet their occupancy targets, and lead-to-tour and tour-to-application conversion meet or exceed portfolio benchmarks.
• Responsiveness & Tour Quality: prospect inquiries are answered within established response-time expectations with same-day follow-up, and tours are recorded and meet the tour-quality standard, for you and across the team.
• System Discipline & Accuracy: 95%+ of leasing activity is accurately documented in EliseAI and/or Entrata, records are audit-ready, and communication escalations are answered within 5 business hours.
• Team Performance: weekly per-agent goals are set and reviewed, coverage gaps are filled, and team productivity and execution consistency improve or remain stable.

Candidate Profile

• 4–6+ years of leasing experience within multi-family, student housing, or comparable residential environments; student housing strongly preferred.
• A proven closer whose results experienced agents will respect, with the confidence to coach them.
• Prior leadership or team-lead responsibility preferred; strong sales coaching, organizational, and communication skills.
• Comfortable using system-based data and tour scorecards to manage performance.
• Working knowledge of Entrata and a leasing CRM; EliseAI experience is an asset.
• Available to work Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, including Saturdays.
• Comfortable working in a recorded environment, where calls, messages and tours are reviewed for quality and coaching.
• Knowledge of the Ottawa student market, and English/French bilingualism, are assets.

Culture and Pace at Forum

Forum thinks of itself as a 30-year-old start-up: dynamic, entrepreneurial team focused on creating value and positive impact. Our BHAG: grow the business to an AUM of at least $15 billion by 2030 while positively impacting a minimum of 50,000 lives. Every team plays a part in getting us there, and we're looking for people who want to help build.

Our core values are High Performance, Innovation, Integrity, Diversity and Impact. It is worth being direct about what that feels like day to day, because fit matters to us as much as credentials:

• Velocity is cultural. We are an AI-forward firm where work that used to take weeks ships in days. You will prototype fast, measure, and keep what pays - "GSD" is written into our culture, and we mean it.
• The scoreboard is visible. We run a written operating cadence with metrics reviewed weekly, from leasing velocity to deal pipeline. People who like scoreboards thrive here.

If reading this gives you energy rather than pause, you will do well here - and we want to meet you.

Invest in Yourself

• Excellent Benefits: A top-tier insurance program designed to keep you healthy, active, and supported, plus a $1,000 annual wellness credit.
• Competitive Total Rewards: We value our team members and offer a well-rounded package that includes competitive pay, paid time off, and performance-based incentives.
• Compensation: We are offering a competitive salary range of $66,000–$86,000 per year, plus a leasing bonus and commission.
• Employee Match Program: Invest alongside Forum with access to a matching contribution program.
• Learning and Development Opportunities: Access support for professional designations, TTI behavioural assessments, and quarterly learning forums to grow your skills and industry knowledge. We believe in Best Idea Wins and foster an entrepreneurial environment where your input has real impact.
• AI-Native by Design: Every team member, regardless of role, gets hands-on access to enterprise-grade AI tools from day 1. AI is core to how we work and how we measure impact. You'll be challenged to build fluency fast, and in return you'll grow into a genuine expert who's ahead of the market.
• Diverse & Inclusive Team: We celebrate diverse perspectives and are committed to maintaining the highest standards of equity and inclusion.
• Employee Referral Program: Receive a generous bonus when your referral joins our team.
• Social Impact: Enjoy paid volunteer days and opportunities to participate in team-led community initiatives.
• Quarterly All Teams: Sessions with your colleagues across the business to share insights, celebrate success, and spotlight culture.
• Lunch & Learns: Regular opportunities to connect, learn, and exchange knowledge with peers across the business.

Peak Periods and Time Off

Time off is not available from July 1 to September 15. Requests at other busy times, including move-in and move-out periods and the holiday season, are reviewed based on business need and coverage. Please plan any time off outside the July 1 to September 15 window.

AI Recording of Leasing Conversations

Leasing conversations, including calls, messages and tours, are recorded and may be reviewed with the help of AI tools for quality, coaching and compliance. This is similar to customer service roles in banking, airlines and telecommunications. Candidates should be comfortable working in a recorded environment.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage

Forum uses AI tools to support the screening and assessment of applications for this role. Selected candidates will be asked to take part in an AI phone interview and will receive an email about it from [email protected]. This email is legitimate and comes from our recruiting team. These tools inform, but do not replace, the judgment of our human hiring team, who make all final hiring decisions.

Forum Commitment

At Forum, we encourage diversity. We are committed to an inclusive workplace that reflects our belief that diversity is central to building a high-performing team. Forum is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing accessible employment practices. Should you require an accommodation during any phase of the recruitment team know at [email protected].