Hang Lung is on the search for energy-efficient managers

After more than 20 years operating in the mainland, Hang Lung Properties has a portfolio of major developments running from Shenyang in the north to Kunming in the south. The company plans to launch many more over the next few years, with an aim of achieving LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certification for every single one.

“Each year we open a new mall in a different city,” says Bella Chhoa, the company’s assistant director of corporate affairs. “We want to build icons for each city, as well as long-term investments for ourselves.”

Hang Lung’s developments-in-construction cover Wuhan, Wuxi, Tianjin, Kunming and Dalian. It has 2,300 staff in the mainland, but to keep up a steady pipeline of talent for new mainland projects, and to make sure it maintains sufficient manpower for completed projects, the company is currently recruiting senior managers (architecture) and managers (architecture, electrical engineering or mechanical engineering) in the Project Construction department.

Senior managers should have at least 15 years of work experience – with five years in senior management – and will preferably have been involved in prestigious property developments in the mainland. A degree in architecture and relevant professional qualifications are also required, with LEED certification particularly desirable.

As they will supervise the overall planning and implementation of mainland property developments, senior managers should be open-minded, creative, flexible and able to deal with emergencies, complete with contingency plans, as unexpected events are always sure to crop up over the course of a project. Leadership skills, the ability to bring people together and good teambuilding skills are also highly desirable.

“They have to have the charm and charisma to engineer cooperation and lead the team,” Chhoa says. “They also have to be able to roll up their sleeves and go to work with the team. They can’t just lock themselves up in the office.”

Other job requirements include liaising and collaborating with relevant government departments and officials to ensure developments conform to Chinese laws and regulations. Good communication skills and an excellent command of written and spoken English, Cantonese and Putonghua are a must.

Those applying for manager positions – in architecture, electrical engineering or mechanical engineering – need at least 10 years of work experience, while candidates with less experience will be considered for assistant manager positions.

Managers are responsible for various parts of a project and are expected to be talented, pro-active, energetic, self-motivated and team players.

Chhoa says that the company believes in hiring high-quality people who make the right decisions and save the company money. “We are basically looking for smart, honest guys,” she says.

She says company culture at Hang Lung is friendly and it is not a place where people have to constantly be careful of seniority. Rather than using family names, employees call their colleagues by their given names, regardless of rank.

The company also promotes healthy discussions and employees are encouraged to voice out their opinions and their aspirations.

 “In line with Hang Lung’s mission of ‘We Do It Right’, we strive to build the best world-class, award-winning projects in the best locations in the mainland. As a fellow in our project planning or construction team, one should have integrity as well as the passion and vision of pursuing exceptional quality consistently,” Chhoa says.