The Opportunity
Artopia creates affordable, unconventional spaces for artists and creative communities.
We take underused buildings, divide them into individual studios and creative spaces, and turn them into places where artists can work, create and build community. Today, we operate 10 Artopia locations across Vancouver — and we're getting ready to grow.
Our goal is to approximately double our portfolio over the next 2–3 years and continue growing from there.
To do that, we need buildings.
We're looking for someone to own Location Acquisition & Growth for Artopia. About 80% of this role is focused on one thing: finding and helping secure our next locations.
You'll research buildings, track down property owners, call landlords, develop relationships with commercial realtors and developers, tour spaces, evaluate opportunities, negotiate deals and build a pipeline capable of supporting Artopia's growth.
The other 20% is focused on strategic growth — building relationships with municipalities, arts organizations, nonprofits and other partners who can help us access spaces, enter new communities and create opportunities.
This is not a role where you'll sit back and review listings that come across your desk. We want someone eager to get out and find the opportunity that isn't obvious yet.
What You'll Be Accountable For
- Build the pipeline. Create and maintain a large, active pipeline of potential Artopia locations. Our initial target is 100 viable buildings identified and contacted within your first month, followed by approximately 30–50 active property conversations each month. A viable lead means doing the initial work to determine that a building could reasonably fit Artopia's needs. Not simply filling a pipeline with available properties that don't work for our model.
- Find opportunities and build relationships. Build relationships with landlords, property owners, commercial realtors and developers while finding less conventional ways to identify buildings and reach the people who control them. Develop relationships with municipalities, government, arts organizations, nonprofits and community partners that can open doors and create future opportunities for Artopia.
- Qualify and advance locations. Assess opportunities based on location, size, economics, zoning, feasibility and overall Artopia fit. Lead initial conversations, coordinate tours and keep promising opportunities moving.
- Negotiate and secure locations. Work closely with Artopia's COO, Finance, Construction and Owner to take strong opportunities through due diligence and negotiation toward signed lease agreements, with a target of 5+ new locations in your first year.
- Own your pipeline and results. Keep opportunities organized, follow up relentlessly and maintain clear visibility for the Artopia team into what's moving, what's stalled and what needs to happen next.
What Success Looks Like
We're not expecting every building you find to become an Artopia. We're expecting you to build enough of a pipeline that the right ones can.
In your first year, success looks like:
- At least 10 strong qualified opportunities within your first two months
- A healthy pipeline of approximately 7–8 viable deals
- 5+ new Artopia locations secured within your first year
- Strong relationships established with landlords, brokers, developers, municipalities and other strategic partners
- A strong, transparent and collaborative working relationship with the rest of the Artopia team
- A repeatable acquisition process that gives Artopia a strong pipeline for continued growth
Who We're Looking For
There isn't one perfect background for this role.
You may come from commercial real estate, leasing, development, site acquisition, sales, business development or another entrepreneurial environment. We're more interested in what you've actually done than having a particular title on your résumé.
Experience in sales, business development and high-volume outreach roles will be a strong asset. Experience with commercial real estate, leasing, development, municipalities, zoning or strategic partnerships is also valuable, but you don't need to come in knowing every part of the job.
A valid driver's licence and reliable vehicle are required for this role.
You'll Probably Be Great at This If...
- You're comfortable picking up the phone, sending the cold email or figuring out how to get introduced to someone you need to meet.
- You're persistent without being obnoxious. You follow up. You remember conversations. You can keep a lot of opportunities organized without letting things disappear.
- You're commercially minded and can quickly start figuring out whether an opportunity actually makes sense.
- You're a strong relationship builder and can move comfortably between conversations with property owners, brokers, developers, municipal staff and community organizations.
- You're strategic, but you're also willing to do the work. You don't need someone else to give you the ten steps between "we need more buildings" and "here are 100 possibilities."
- You're resourceful, curious, low ego and comfortable figuring things out as you go.
Benefits
- Location acquisition bonus: $2,000 for each new Artopia location successfully closed
- Target of approximately 5 new locations annually, representing an additional $10,000 in target annual bonus compensation
- Extended health and dental benefits
- Monthly phone allowance
- Gas/mileage allowance for work-related travel
- Flexible working hours
- Casual dress
- Significant independence and the opportunity to directly shape Artopia's growth
Pay: $67,000.00-$73,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Dental care
- Discounted or free food
- Extended health care
- Flexible schedule
- Paid time off
Application question(s):
- What are your salary expectations for your next role?
- Do you have regular access to a reliable vehicle for work-related travel throughout Metro Vancouver?
- Are you comfortable with a role that involves frequent proactive outreach and cold calling?
- Briefly describe your experience, if any, with outbound sales, business development, prospecting or building a pipeline from scratch.
- What experience do you have, if any, with commercial real estate, leasing, site acquisition or negotiating commercial agreements?
- You need to identify and contact 100 viable potential Artopia buildings in your first month. In 2–3 sentences, tell us how you'd start.
Licence/Certification:
- Driving Licence (required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Vancouver, BC V5T 1V9
