Head of Industrial Growth and Leasing

Location: Birmingham, AL

Regular travel throughout the Southeast is required.

We offer a generous relocation package to help make your move as smooth and stress-free as possible.

• Birmingham is one of the Southeast’s most dynamic and affordable cities, recognized nationally as a growing business hub and an attractive destination for professionals. The area offers a lower cost of living than many major metropolitan markets, a thriving culinary and entertainment scene, and convenient access to lakes, parks, and weekend destinations throughout the region.
• Enjoy the best of both worlds—our Autocar facility is located just 20 minutes from downtown Birmingham, providing easy access to the city’s amenities while maintaining a convenient commute.

About Ruddell Group

Ruddell Group acquires, develops, and operates light industrial real estate throughout the Southeastern United States. Our focus is on industrial parks and buildings generally under 100,000 square feet serving growing; Light manufacturers, Advanced manufacturers, Assemblers, Regional distributors, and Business-to-business service companies. These users typically occupy between 20,000 and 100,000 square feet and require flexible industrial space with combinations of office, warehouse, showroom, service areas, outdoor storage, specialized utilities, and room for expansion. As our portfolio grows, we are seeking a proven leader who can help drive leasing performance while creating tenant relationships that support future development.

Build the Leasing Engine of a Growing Industrial Platform

Ruddell Group is seeking a Head of Industrial Growth & Leasing to help scale our industrial real estate platform across the Southeast. This is a high-impact leadership role focused on leasing existing assets, creating tenant demand before buildings are developed, and helping drive the next phase of the company's growth. You will work directly with company leadership to increase occupancy, originate build-to-suit opportunities, cultivate relationships with expanding industrial companies, and influence where and how future developments are built. This role is designed for a commercially minded operator who enjoys building relationships, creating opportunities, and turning market intelligence into executed transactions.

The Opportunity

This role combines industrial leasing, business development, tenant origination, market intelligence, and strategic growth. Success is measured by creating relationships with growing companies before they enter a formal real estate search process and converting those relationships into leases, build-to-suits, expansions, and long-term partnerships.

The ideal candidate will help Ruddell:

• Maintain industry-leading occupancy
• Increase cash flow and portfolio value
• Create a pipeline for future tenants
• Support future public-private partnership opportunities
• Shape future development decisions based on real tenant demand

Key Responsibilities:

• Portfolio Leasing & Asset Performance
• Lead leasing strategy across the existing portfolio
• Maintain occupancy targets of 95%+
• Protect rental rates and drive NOI growth
• Identify expansion opportunities within existing tenant relationships
• Develop retention strategies that strengthen occupancy and tenant satisfaction

 Tenant Development & Business Generation

• Build relationships with expanding industrial companies throughout the Southeast
• Develop a qualified pipeline of prospective tenants before formal site searches begin
• Generate build-to-suit opportunities
• Create anchor tenant relationships for future developments
• Develop long-term relationships with company executives and decision-makers
• Identify expansion requirements before they become active market requirements

Market Development 

• Strengthen relationships with brokers, site selectors, economic development organizations, and municipal leaders
• Stay informed on labor trends, incentives, infrastructure investments, and industrial market conditions
• Help identify future development opportunities and target markets
• Increase visibility and awareness of the Ruddell platform throughout the region

Strategic Growth

• Advise leadership on future building programs and development timing
• Provide market intelligence that influences investment decisions
• Support public-private partnership initiatives and municipal relationships
• Help shape the long-term growth strategy of the platform

What This Role Is Not

• This is not a traditional leasing role focused solely on marketing vacancies and responding to inbound inquiries.
• This is not a property management position.
• This is not a role where success is measured by the number of tours conducted or listings maintained.
• This is not a transaction-by-transaction brokerage position where opportunities are handed to you.
• And this is not focused on bulk warehouse or big-box users.
• Ruddell's platform serves growing light industrial companies, manufacturers, assemblers, regional distributors, and service-oriented industrial users that typically occupy 20,000 to 100,000 square feet.
• Instead, this role is about creating demand before it exists.
• You will be expected to build relationships with companies before they begin a formal real estate search, identify expansion opportunities, originate build-to-suit projects, increase occupancy across the portfolio, and help shape where and how Ruddell grows next.
• The person who thrives in this role is someone who enjoys building relationships, opening doors, uncovering opportunities, and creating transactions rather than waiting for them.

Who Thrives in This Role

We recognize that successful candidates may come from a variety of backgrounds, including:

• Industrial leasing
• Industrial development
• Industrial brokerage
• Build-to-suit development
• Corporate real estate
• Site selection
• Economic development
• Manufacturing business development
• Industrial operations or expansion planning

 Successful candidates typically bring several of the following strengths:

• Experience developing business relationships and generating opportunities
• A proven ability to negotiate and close complex transactions
• Confidence building relationships with executive decision-makers
• Understanding of industrial operations and facility requirements
• Strong networking and business development skills
• Commercial and financial acumen
• Knowledge of Southeastern markets and economic drivers
• An entrepreneurial mindset with a desire to help build something meaningful

Most importantly, we are seeking someone who wants to help grow an industrial real estate platform, not simply manage an existing portfolio.

Performance Metrics

Success in this role will be measured through:

• Portfolio occupancy and tenant retention
• NOI growth
• Signed leases and lease renewals
• Pre-leased square footage
• Build-to-suit transactions originated
• Qualified tenant pipeline growth
• Expansion opportunities generated from existing relationships
• Contribution to future developments and acquisitions

Compensation & Long-Term Upside

Ruddell Group offers a highly competitive compensation structure designed to reward transaction execution, portfolio performance, and long-term value creation.

Compensation includes:

• Base salary
• Performance-based cash incentives
• Phantom equity participation
• Development promotes participation
• Potential carried-interest opportunities
• Medical, dental, vision, and retirement benefits
• For the right candidate, this role provides a significant opportunity to participate in the growth of an entrepreneurial industrial real estate platform.

Join Us

Ruddell Group is building a differentiated industrial real estate platform focused on the growing light industrial sector across the Southeast.

We are looking for a relationship-driven operator who can increase occupancy, create tenant demand, originate build-to-suit opportunities, and help shape where we grow next.

If you are energized by building relationships, creating opportunities, and making a direct impact on the growth of a company, we'd welcome the opportunity to speak with you.

Job Duties Disclaimer:
The duties and responsibilities outlined here are representative but not exhaustive of the tasks that the employee may be required to perform. Management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and to assign other tasks as necessary to meet business needs.

Equal Employment Opportunity:
Autocar is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Reasonable Accommodations (ADA Compliance):

Autocar complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Employees who require assistance or accommodation should contact Human Resources