Hiring a Real Estate Project Developer: an employer checklist

1. Define the position through its key project decisions

Write down the problem behind the vacancy in one sentence. For example: “We need someone to assess residential opportunities and present a reasoned investment recommendation.” This is an illustrative brief, not a client result. Then agree what the person should deliver in their first three months.

Separate the primary assignment from supporting duties. If one person must cover acquisition, development and marketing, state the priorities and the specialist support available. Avoid a brief that asks for independent ownership of every phase without explaining the team.

• Project context: residential, office, mixed-use or another asset class; new build or existing property.
• Starting point: sourcing land, assessing feasibility, obtaining approvals or steering an existing development.
• Accountability: decisions the hire recommends, decisions they make and who signs off.
• Support: internal investment, planning and marketing colleagues; external advisers; direct reports.

2. Agree the evidence before searching

Choose three essential capabilities linked to the assignment. Treat the remaining requirements as preferences unless there is a concrete business reason otherwise. The following prompts are a starting point; adjust them to your project.

• Acquisition-led role: ask for an anonymised opportunity they identified, how they qualified it and why it progressed or was rejected.
• Development-led role: ask for a feasibility recommendation, its key assumptions and a decision they personally influenced.
• Delivery interface: ask how they handled a change in scope, cost or programme with planners and delivery teams.
• Commercial interface: ask how sales or letting assumptions affected the development concept and who owned the market assessment.

For each example, capture the project stage, the candidate’s exact responsibility, the decision and the outcome. Distinguish work they supported from work they owned. Do not ask for a former employer’s confidential financial model or customer list.

3. Define the requirements for the German or Swiss market

Specify the actual project locations, working languages and expected site presence. Ask what local planning or stakeholder experience the work requires and which knowledge the team can help someone acquire. A nearby address alone does not demonstrate project experience.

For role context, Switzerland’s official career information service describes real estate development as spanning site and use concepts, feasibility, commercial studies and interdisciplinary coordination. The Swiss examination body also highlights team leadership and development concepts. These descriptions illustrate breadth; they are not a universal hiring requirement.

For your vacancy, decide whether a particular qualification is essential or whether comparable experience is suitable. Do not treat German and Swiss job titles or qualifications as interchangeable. Agree the compensation range, travel expectations, reporting line and possible start date before outreach.

4. Run a focused project interview

Use the same core questions for every candidate, then follow up on their evidence. A suggested 45-minute format is 5 minutes on the brief, 20 on one relevant project, 15 on a fictional scenario and 5 for the candidate’s questions. This is a process suggestion, not a validated assessment method.

• “Which decision were you responsible for, and which decisions sat elsewhere?”
• “Which assumption mattered most to the project economics, and how did you challenge it?”
• “Tell us about a planning or stakeholder constraint that changed the recommendation.”
• “What did not work, and what would you do differently?”

For a short fictional scenario, give every candidate the same limited information about a site. Ask what they would investigate first, which assumptions they would test and when they would recommend stopping. Assess reasoning and acknowledgement of uncertainty. Keep the exercise proportionate and avoid asking candidates to perform unpaid work on a live commercial project.

5. Use a simple evidence scorecard

Agree these dimensions before interviews: comparable project phase, commercial judgement, planning and stakeholder coordination, and ownership of decisions. Record a concrete example and an open question for each dimension.

Use a common scale: 1 = no relevant example yet; 2 = supported comparable work; 3 = independently owned comparable work; 4 = owned comparable work and can explain trade-offs and lessons. This is a discussion aid, not a psychometric test. A missing example means “not evidenced”, not proof that the person lacks the skill.

Have interviewers record their observations separately before discussing them. Do not let a total score hide a gap in an essential capability. Resolve important unknowns with a targeted follow-up; check references only with the candidate’s permission.

6. Final checklist before launching the search

• One priority assignment and realistic first-three-month outcomes agreed.
• Three essential capabilities tied to evidence, with preferences kept separate.
• Project region, working language, site attendance and travel expectations clear.
• Compensation range, reporting line and decision authority agreed internally.
• Interview questions, scorecard and proportionate scenario prepared.
• Named decision-maker, interview availability and feedback dates confirmed.

Send a concise brief to everyone involved in sourcing and interviewing. Review early conversations against the same criteria. If the brief changes, document the reason and reassess candidates consistently rather than quietly moving the goalposts.