Pre-Development Manager

Pre-Development Manager

Reporting to the VP of Development & Construction, the Pre-Development Manager prepares development projects for execution — from site identification and feasibility through entitlements, design coordination, and handoff to the assigned Construction Manager. Projects range from village and real estate development to on-mountain terrain and infrastructure. The role serves as the central point of contact for pre-construction planning and carries the legal, entitlement, underwriting, and stakeholder work that precedes construction.

Legal and Documents

• Develop and maintain comprehensive working knowledge of the resort's existing and historic legal frameworks, ownership structures and governing documents — including HOA covenants, easements, entitlements, and jurisdictional agreements
• Serve as the department's primary resource for questions related to association obligations, development rights, and property constraints
• Conduct legal, entitlement, and title research; coordinate all required jurisdictional approvals
• Understand legal relationships with adjacent properties and partnership entities
• Manage the creation and early administration of Homeowner Associations (HOAs) where a project requires one. The role forms the association and administers it through initial turnover to the owners; it does not serve as the ongoing HOA manager.
• Maintain organized records of agreements, approvals, permits, and title documents for handoff to the assigned Construction Manager

Project Underwriting

• Identify potential project sites; assemble property and site summaries for team evaluation
• Evaluate project feasibility, coordinating with Mountain Operations and other resort departments where a project affects operations
• Prepare financial proformas, ROI analyses, and highest-and-best-use analyses
• Conduct market research and competitive set analysis as part of project underwriting
• Support long-term master planning strategies and feasibility/cost studies

Entitlement and Permitting

• Identify all Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), including local, state and federal, and manage the approvals and permitting process
• Manage USFS Special Use Permit requirements and coordinate ongoing compliance
• Understand and strategize entitlement sequencing including subdivision, platting, and use permitting
• Manage the entitlement schedule and the approval dependencies that drive project timing

Project Management

• Develop detailed project plans with clear milestones, deliverables, and Gantt timelines using the department's project management platform
• Lead high-level development design management; coordinate with designers in preparation for construction handoff
• Manage real estate transactions including acquisition and disposition
• Prepare and publish comprehensive project briefs, scopes, and parameters
• Identify potential project risks and develop mitigation strategies
• Lead post-mortem analysis meetings; contribute to best-practices development

Stakeholder Communication and Management

• Coordinate with resort departments (Mountain Operations, Lodging, F&B, Retail, HR, Real Estate) to ensure seamless project integration
• Solicit input and milestone feedback from stakeholders throughout the pre-development process
• Maintain regular communication with partners, investors, and lenders; provide progress updates and address concerns
• Coordinate with sales and marketing on project status, sales materials, and sales summary updates to partners and lenders

Neighbors

• Neighbor and adjacent area owner management, including proactive communication and notification on projects that affect them
• Handle objections and build consensus among neighboring owners, adjacent landowners, permit-holding partners, and affected interests

Market Awareness

• Maintain and expand a library of similar and competing projects, tracking design, pricing, and outcomes
• Maintain awareness of the competitive set to inform project positioning, pricing, and future execution

Working Conditions and Location

• This position is based at Big Sky Resort with regular on-site presence expected. Much of the work is desk-based research, analysis, and coordination; the role also participates in…