[Hiring] Permissions Manager @Utopia

Role Description

We're looking for a Permissions Manager to build a unified permitting process from the ground up: a standard template adapted to the regulatory realities of each market, with the clear goal of reducing the time from application to approval. You'll collaborate closely with development, architecture, construction, and legal teams, as well as local consultants and authorities in every location.

• Design and implement a unified permitting process across all Utopia projects, from pre-application through final approval.
• Build a master permitting template and adapt it to local regulations in Brazil, Costa Rica, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Dubai, and Cape Town.
• Reduce permit approval timelines by identifying bottlenecks, sequencing submissions in parallel, and anticipating authority requirements early.
• Map the regulatory landscape for each market, covering zoning, building, environmental, and hospitality licensing, and keep it current.
• Coordinate local architects, lawyers, expeditors, and consultants to ensure complete, high-quality submissions.
• Track the status of every permit across the portfolio and provide leadership with clear timelines, risks, and mitigation plans.
• Integrate permitting milestones into project schedules together with development and construction teams.
• Document lessons learned from each market and continuously refine the process and templates.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in permitting, entitlements, or regulatory approvals for real estate, construction, or hospitality developments.
• Hands-on experience securing permits in multiple jurisdictions, ideally across different countries.
• A track record of building standardized processes or templates that measurably shortened approval timelines.
• Solid understanding of zoning, building codes, environmental approvals, and land-use regulations.
• Experience managing external consultants, local counsel, and interactions with public authorities.
• Strong project management skills: you can run dozens of parallel applications without losing sight of the details.
• Fluent English.

Requirements

• Spanish and/or Portuguese (Nice to Have).
• Hands-on permitting experience in Spain, Brazil, Latin America, the UAE, or South Africa (Nice to Have).
• Background in luxury residential or hospitality development (Nice to Have).
• Experience with permit-tracking systems or project management tools such as Jira or Confluence (Nice to Have).

Benefits

• Fully remote with business trips. You'll collaborate from anywhere within GMT-3 to GMT+3.
• All the tools you need. A laptop and access to our project and documentation tools from day one.
• Properties across three continents. You'll take projects through approval in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, so you won't be limited to one market, one regulator, or one type of permit.
• A team that spans 30+ countries. Developers, architects, engineers, and legal specialists from every corner of the world, held to the same standards and the same bar for quality.