Planning & Land Manager (Major Projects)

Yorkshire Water; Leeds, Bradford; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water utility provider in the UK is seeking a Planning and Land Manager to join their team in managing major projects. The role involves strategic planning advice, securing land rights, and stakeholder management. With a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package, this position offers flexible working arrangements and a chance to contribute to providing essential water services across Yorkshire.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Company car lease/allowance scheme

Annual incentive related bonus

Private health care

Attractive pension scheme

Life assurance cover

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Gym membership discounts

Online GP service

Cycle to work scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in property legislation and process.
• Ability to build and maintain stakeholder relationships.
• Strong ability to work under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic town planning advice for projects.
• Advise on land rights acquisition and mitigate risks.
• Manage inputs from external consultants.
• Liaise with various stakeholders for project success.
• Review planning applications and land rights documents.
• Ensure project compliance with budget and timeline.
• Advise on biodiversity net gain implementation.
• Maintain health and safety standards at work.

Skills

Professional membership of the RTPI and/or RICS

Proven experience securing planning permission and land rights

Knowledge of legal and regulatory requirements

Excellent negotiation skills

Customer service skills

Time management skills

Competence with IT systems

Job description

Select how often (in days) to receive an alert:

Planning and Land Manager (Major Projects)

We offer a competitive salary, depending on experience up to £64,000.

A company car lease/allowance scheme (£2,510 cash allowance).

Annual incentive related bonus (up to 10% of annual salary).

Private health care (self only).

Attractive pension scheme (up to 10% company contribution).

Life assurance cover of 4 times pensionable salary.

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays – plus an extra wellness day!

A great benefits package – choose from health cash plan scheme, critical illness insurance, dental insurance, life assurance flex and partner cover.

Retail savings scheme.

Online GP service, cycle to work scheme, gym membership discounts and many more!

Location

Bradford / Hybrid Working (one to two office a week – Bradford plus there will be the necessity to travel to our sites, our consultants offices or stakeholders across Yorkshire from time to time). Pending office move to Leeds (LS10) from summer 2026.

Work type

Permanent. 37 hours per week, Monday – Friday.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Planning and Land Manager to join the Land and Property team at Yorkshire Water and be a part of helping Yorkshire Water to provide the best service to our customers. Could this be you?

What we do!

Everyone has an idea of what a water company does. Here in Yorkshire, we make sure that over 5.4 million people living in the region and the millions of people who visit our region each year, can rely on our services, and have clean and safe drinking water on tap and that their wastewater is taken away. But for us, it’s so much more than this.

We look after communities, protect the environment, and plan to look after Yorkshire’s water, today, tomorrow 24/7, 365 days a year. We provide essential water and wastewater services to every corner of the Yorkshire region, and play a key role in the region’s health, wellbeing, and prosperity.

New environmental legislation, unprecedented levels of investment and changing expectations from customers means that this is an exciting time to discover opportunities within the water industry. Major Project DPC schemes are a key part of how we plan to meet the changing expectations of customers and regulators.

Where you fit in!

• Strategic town planning advice (including Development Consent Orders/Town and Country Planning applications) to support the delivery of the SRO major projects to mitigate planning risk, delivering great customer service and meet the business strategy.
• Strategic land rights acquisition advice (including statutory powers, Compulsory Purchase (CPO) and Development Consent Orders (DCO)) advising required for the delivery of SRO major projects to minimise risks, reduce costs (incl compensation) when securing land rights, delivering great customer service and meet the business strategy.
• Instruct and manage the associated inputs and outputs from any external planning and land acquisition consultants, including regular liaison, review performance, monitor value for money and the effectiveness of their performance in line with the company’s policies and procedures.
• From inception through to completion on site, liaise with YW project teams, YW design/construction partners, local authorities, stakeholders and landowners/agents to secure relevant planning permission (including permitted development, Town and Country Planning Act, DCO where appropriate) and land rights (including statutory powers, CPO and DCO, where appropriate) to deliver Strategic Resource Option projects.
• Provide strategic advice to YW project teams on the scheme design, planning and land risks and associated mitigation.
• Provide input, as required, into any reports to support the RAPID Gated Process and requests from OFWAT or other regulators.
• Review planning application and land rights acquisition documents prepared on behalf of Yorkshire Water to ensure all submissions are prepared in association with business processes and procedures and associated reporting and assurance.
• Liaise with YW project managers and construction partners to ensure SRO projects are progressed in line with programme and on budget, and all risks with associated mitigation captured on the Risk Register.
• Provide strategic advice on the implementation of biodiversity net gain (BNG) for SRO projects to minimise costs and risk to Yorkshire Water with support the Technical Specialist (Ecology and BNG) and the project environmental advisor.
• Drive excellent standards, behaviours and performance in Health & Safety, Risk Management and conduct at work ensuring compliance with YW safety policy.

What skills & qualifications you will need:

• Professional membership of the RTPI and/or RICS.
• Proven experience in relation to securing planning permission and/or land rights in relation to major infrastructure projects.
• A sound knowledge of the legal and regulatory requirements relating to the planning application process (including DCO and, Town and Country Planning Act) and/or the acquisition of land rights associated to major infrastructure (including the Yorkshire Water Code of Practice, CPO, DCO and statutory powers).
• A track record of delivering results against challenging targets with excellent negotiation skills.
• A demonstrable ability to develop and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders using your excellent customer service skills.
• Able to deal with agile prioritisation and realignment of priorities, as the project needs evolve.
• A proven ability to work under pressure to meet tight timescales by good prioritisation and time management skills.
• Clearly able to demonstrate Yorkshire Water’s behaviours.
• Strong competence with IT systems.

Although we operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, it’s important to us that we support flexible working patterns and job share options (when we can), to help you make the best of both your work and home life. We know that juggling childcare responsibilities or getting that ideal work/life balance isn’t always easy!

If you’ve got experience in property legislation and process and want to help us deliver great service for our customers whilst looking after the environment, then be sure to apply today to find out what a career with Yorkshire Water can offer you.

If successful for the role, you will be required to undergo pre-employment checks that will include a Basic Disclosure Check, carried out through a Third-Party Company, prior to commencing employment. Depending on the role, you may also be required to go through the security vetting process for either a Counter Terrorist Check or Security Check clearance.

All our roles are subject to a medical questionnaire, and further medicals when required.

We are committed to removing barriers and ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We offer a range of adjustments to make your application experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition that requires changes to the recruitment process, please include this information in your application. We will then discuss any reasonable adjustments required.

Kelda Group reserve the right to close this position before the published closing date, should the need occur. We therefore advise that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible.

Closing date for this role is the 31st January 2026.

Interviews will be ongoing throughout this period.