Land Buyer or Land Manager

Cobalt Recruitment; England; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading residential development firm is seeking a Land Buyer or Land Manager to enhance their growth in Kent and Southern Home Counties. The role involves sourcing and acquiring residential development sites, conducting financial appraisals, and negotiating transactions. Ideal candidates will have 1–6 years of experience in land acquisition or development, strong communication skills, and a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory environment. This position offers significant exposure to various deal structures and development strategies.

Qualifications

• 1–6 years’ experience in residential land acquisition or development.
• Understanding of planning, legal, technical and financial aspects of land buying.
• Experience with different delivery models such as self-delivery, joint ventures or land trading.

Responsibilities

• Identify, source and appraise residential development opportunities.
• Prepare financial appraisals, cashflows and site valuations.
• Work closely with consultants and technical teams.
• Support negotiations on land transactions.
• Build relationships with landowners and local authorities.
• Monitor planning policy and market changes.
• Collaborate with development teams post-acquisition.

Skills

Residential land acquisition experience

Strong communication skills

Commercial awareness

Attention to detail

Job description

We are partnered with a well-established residential developer operating across Kent and the wider Southern Home Counties, who are looking to appoint a Land Buyer or Land Manager as part of their continued growth.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with experience in residential land acquisition to join a highly active and entrepreneurial business. The role focuses on sourcing and acquiring sites ranging from 50 to 1,000 units, with opportunities assessed across Kent and the wider Southern Home Counties. Sites may be acquired with or without planning, and schemes are progressed through a variety of delivery routes.

You will be involved in acquisitions where sites are taken through to delivery by the business, progressed in partnership with housing associations, or traded on once value has been secured. This offers broad exposure to different deal structures and delivery strategies, making it a strong platform for development within a commercially driven land team.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify, source and appraise residential development opportunities in line with acquisition strategy.
• Prepare financial appraisals, cashflows and site valuations to support land bids and internal approvals.
• Work closely with consultants, planning advisers and technical teams to assess planning risk and development potential.
• Review market and technical information to inform sales values, tenure mix and scheme viability.
• Support negotiations on land transactions, including unconditional, subject-to-planning and option agreements.
• Build and maintain relationships with landowners, agents, local authorities and professional advisers.
• Monitor planning policy and market changes affecting land values and development strategy.
• Collaborate with internal development and delivery teams to progress sites post-acquisition.

Required Experience & Skills

• 1–6 years’ experience in residential land acquisition or development.
• Exposure to acquiring sites with and without planning permission.
• Understanding of the planning, legal, technical and financial aspects of land buying.
• Experience working with different delivery models, including self-delivery, joint ventures or land trading.
• Strong communication skills, commercial awareness and attention to detail.
• Full UK driving licence.

Please get in touch with me (Kate) on 0207 478 2523 to discuss and understand more about the role. If you do not hear back within two weeks, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful, but we will retain your details on file for future roles.

If you do not hear anything back within one week, please assume that you have been unsuccessful on this occasion, but I will retain your details for future roles.

When applying to any role through Cobalt, your CV will never be shared with a client without your prior consent. Apply in confidence below or get in touch with me for a confidential discussion about the position via [e-mail].