Senior Project Manager, Expansion - Warsaw, PL

CIC · Warsaw

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CIC is seeking an experienced Senior Project Manager, Expansion to lead the real estate assessment and support the delivery of complex expansion opportunities worldwide. This is a hands-on, senior individual contributor role for someone who can combine rigorous project management with strong real estate transaction knowledge, commercial judgment, and confidence working with senior internal and external stakeholders.

The Senior Project Manager turns qualified opportunities sourced by other resources into well-assessed, coordinated, and executable projects.

ABOUT CIC

CIC builds and operates spaces where startups, scale-ups, corporations, and public institutions come together to overcome challenges and grow.

Founded in 1999, CIC was one of the first companies to offer flexible office space and coworking options, providing a platform for entrepreneurs to develop their ideas in a shared environment.

CIC manages a global network of workspaces, laboratories, and event spaces across North America, Europe, and Asia. Beyond our spaces, CIC also develops innovation-focused programming, builds and enables industry clusters, and offers consulting services to help the public and private sectors foster innovation ecosystems.

We invite you to explore our opportunities and learn more about our teams here.

ABOUT CIC CATALYST 

CIC Catalyst is the strategic advisory and programming arm of CIC. It designs, operates, and manages innovation hubs and ecosystem programs that drive competitive specialization, sustainable growth, and impact. Catalyst provides advisory and programming to governments, corporations, and universities, grounded in 25+ years of hands-on operational experience and deep global ecosystem connections. To date, Catalyst has delivered 100+ programs and cohorts globally across CIC campuses, supporting 700+ startups, facilitating 500+ corporate-startup meetings, running 50+ technology scouting programs, and supporting 10+ government agencies through market-entry programs.

HOW THE ROLE FITS INTO THE EXPANSION MODEL

Expansion is led by Catalyst advisory and is supported by a range of senior staff and executives throughout CIC. The Senior Project Manager is the operational and real estate lead for assigned opportunities, namely projects that will become future CIC centers:

• Coordinate the initial real estate feasibility assessment and prepare a clear recommendation for green-light consideration.

• Own internal project coordination and execution, using the Expansion Process SOP and agreed stage gates.

• Build trust and continuity with external counterparts and, when delegated, lead day-to-day project discussions and selected negotiations. The designated country or regional lead retains ownership of the overall external relationship.

• Coordinate closely with the Executive Sponsor, Catalyst Advisory, Corporate Finance, Design and Construction, Legal, and Campus operations, bringing each team into the process at the right stage.

YOUR DAY-TO-DAY WORK

As a Senior Project Manager on our Expansion team, you will be the operational and real estate lead for opportunities that become future CIC centers, working closely with our Catalyst Advisory team, Executive Sponsors, and partners across Corporate Finance, Legal, Design and Construction, and Campus operations.

Potential responsibilities will include:

• Leading the initial real estate feasibility assessment for qualified opportunities, covering site suitability, market and demand assumptions, program and space requirements, delivery approach, schedule, capital needs, operating implications, and principal transaction risks.

• Evaluating proposed real estate and partnership structures, identifying gaps and dependencies, and preparing decision-ready materials that present the opportunity, key assumptions, trade-offs, risks, and recommended next steps.

• Creating and managing the integrated project plan for each approved opportunity, with clear workstreams, owners, milestones, dependencies, decision points, and deliverables.

• Maintaining a disciplined risk, issue, action, and decision process; surfacing stalled or at-risk work early, escalating material issues to the relationship lead or Executive Sponsor, and ensuring clean handoffs from assessment through agreement and into implementation.

• Representing CIC credibly in working sessions with government entities, universities, hospital systems, developers, landlords, investors, and other potential partners.

• Supporting the relationship lead, General Counsel, and Executive Sponsor in structuring and negotiating commercial terms, including term sheets, letters of intent, scopes of work, proposals, and transaction documentation, keeping discussions connected to CIC's operational requirements, financial parameters, and delivery capacity.

• Coordinating across the expansion team, Corporate Finance, RFP teams, Legal, Design and Construction, Campus operations, and Catalyst Advisory, bringing each in at the right stage and integrating their inputs, such as financial models, legal reviews, and design plans, into project recommendations.

• Coordinating Legal reviews for public-sector RFPs and non-standard, high-value, or high-risk terms, at intake and again before external submission where required.

• Maintaining accurate pipeline, project, and stage-gate information in CIC's designated systems, providing concise, decision-oriented reporting to regional leaders and Executive Sponsors, and improving templates, playbooks, the Expansion Process SOP, KPIs, and the AI-enabled RFP and proposal repository.

ABOUT YOU

You are a structured, pragmatic project leader and a proficient English user who isn't just looking for a job, you're looking for a mission. You are calm under pressure and energized by the "beautiful chaos" of building something new, and you thrive when no two deals look the same. You are a natural connector who can hold a room of executives and external partners while staying close enough to the details to keep a project moving.

More specifically, as our ideal candidate, you are:

• Able to lead discussions with external partners and executives while staying close to the details that move a project forward.

• Well-versed in how real estate deals move from early feasibility through negotiation, documentation, approvals, and implementation, with a sharp eye for where risks emerge.

• Highly structured but pragmatic, creating enough process for clarity and control without slowing progress, and comfortable turning incomplete information into sound recommendations.

• A clear communicator across cultures and functions who builds trust quickly and stays calm when timelines are tight or interests differ.

YOU HAVE

• At least seven years of relevant experience in commercial real estate transactions, real estate development, expansion, or complex project delivery, with direct responsibility for multi-stakeholder projects.

• Strong working knowledge of real estate deal processes, including feasibility, site and commercial evaluation, due diligence, deal structuring, negotiation, transaction documents, approvals, and delivery planning.

• A record of managing several complex workstreams simultaneously while maintaining clear ownership, documentation, timelines, and executive visibility.

• Commercial and financial literacy, including the ability to interpret real estate financial models, challenge key assumptions, and connect financial outputs to deal and operating decisions.

• Experience working directly with senior executives and external counterpart organizations. Experience with public-sector entities, developers, universities, hospital systems, or public-private partnerships is especially relevant.

• Excellent written and spoken English, with the ability to produce clear, client-ready and decision-ready materials.

• A bachelor's degree in real estate, business, finance, engineering, architecture, construction management, a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

• The adaptability and entrepreneurial drive to thrive in a fast-moving innovation environment, working across time zones and traveling internationally as project needs require.

• Technological literacy, including the use of multiple commercial tools such as HubSpot, Google Docs, Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Suite, and e-signature platforms, as well as an interest (or experience) in using AI tools to optimize the work environment.

NICE TO HAVE

• Experience with innovation campuses, flexible workspace, laboratories, life sciences real estate, mixed-use developments, or new-market entry.

• Experience preparing or coordinating public-sector RFP responses and complex partnership proposals.

• A recognized project management qualification such as PMP or PRINCE2.

• Experience with CRM and project portfolio systems.

• Polish or another European language in addition to English.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

You are succeeding when:

• Opportunities reach green-light decisions with clear, reliable real estate assessments and well-framed recommendations.

• Approved projects progress through defined milestones with visible ownership, disciplined coordination, and timely escalation of risks and decisions.

• Regional relationship leads and Executive Sponsors have the information and project support they need to manage partners and make decisions effectively.

• Financial, legal, design, construction, operational, and advisory inputs are brought together at the right time, without creating unnecessary handoffs or gaps.

• Expansion data, documentation, and reporting are accurate, current, and increasingly reusable across projects.

• Opportunities that slow down, change direction, or fall away do not lose momentum through you. You re-plan, communicate the change clearly, and partners continue to experience CIC as dependable.

OUR OFFER 

• Private medical care (family or individual plan)

• City transportation card (ZTM)

• Apple laptop and mobile phone as your working tools

• Budget for training

• Access to coworking for a close family member

• Access to the MyBenefit platform

• Participation in Employee Capital Plans (PPK)

• Hybrid work, with 3 days a week from the office

Please submit your application in English. Thank you!

WHO WE ARE 

At CIC, our values aren't a poster on the wall - they shape how we work, how we hire, and how we show up for each other every day. You'll hear about them throughout our recruitment process:

• We are good humans — respect, kindness, and accountability in every interaction

• We are happy to help — we step forward with care, energy, and pride in our work

• We are problem solvers — curious, growth-minded, and always looking for a better way

• We are resilient — steady under pressure and adaptable in the face of change

• We deliver — dependable and results-driven, balancing speed with quality.

WHY CIC

This is an opportunity to shape how CIC delivers its next generation of international expansion projects. You will work on complex, high-impact opportunities with senior leaders and partners across markets, while helping build a more disciplined and scalable Expansion function.

CIC is committed to building teams that reflect the communities we support. We welcome candidates regardless of race, color, ancestry, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. If you require an accommodation during the application process, please let us know.

CIC welcomes all candidates regardless of race, color, ancestry, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status or disability. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

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