Regional Land Lead — Associate Director

WSP; Greater Manchester; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

WSP Land seeks a talented Land Consultant or Delivery Manager at Associate Director level to lead regional land referencing, engagement and consents across Manchester and Leeds.

You will drive delivery of projects across North of England and wider UK&I, manage multi-disciplinary teams, develop client relationships and bids, and uphold quality, safety and data protection standards while enabling business growth.

Qualifications

• Experience managing land services delivery (referencing, orders, landowner engagement).
• Experience with multi-disciplinary teams across locations and stages of schemes.
• Ability to reduce land risk and advise through all project stages.
• Experience in Public Inquiries/Oral Hearings and managing objections.
• Experience developing business with existing and new clients.
• Knowledge of the Manchester, Leeds and North of England infrastructure markets.
• Experience in bid writing and approvals process.
• Knowledge of regional resource strategy, team development and recruitment.
• Knowledge of rural environment, property and agricultural practices.
• Strong landowner and public engagement skills.
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills.
• Team working across levels and with senior clients.

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of WSP Land business development across Manchester, Leeds and the wider northern region.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Engagement, Environmental and Planning teams to identify opportunities and grow the business.
• Raise the profile of WSP Land with clients, partners and regional networks.
• Act as trusted advisor to clients; engage with client capture teams and KCMs.
• Lead bid/tender writing to secure opportunities.
• Manage regional resource strategy, recruitment and workload planning.
• Provide regional leadership at Project Director level to deliver on time and within budget.
• Review project delivery for risk, opportunities and client alignment.
• Provide technical direction on Land projects across the region and relevant statutory processes.

Skills

Leadership

Bid writing

Stakeholder engagement

Project management

Communication

Negotiation

People development

Business development

Education

Geography, Agriculture, Land and Estate Management degree

Job description

What if you could do the kind of work the world needs?

At WSP, you can access our global scale, contribute to landmark projects and connect with the brightest minds in your field to do the best work of your life. You can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates new ideas and diverse perspectives. You can experience a world of opportunity and the chance to shape a career as unique as you.

WSP Land is seeking a talented Land Consultant or Delivery Manager, at Associate Director level, to provide regional leadership across Manchester and Leeds. This is an exciting opportunity to play a visible leadership role within our Land team, supporting the delivery of land referencing, landowner engagement, consultation management, land access, formal consents, statutory orders, compensation agreements and land acquisition for strategic infrastructure development projects across the North of England and wider UK and Ireland.

We support high-profile infrastructure projects across the Energy, Water, Road, Rail and Local Authority sectors, with particular focus on regional growth, client relationships and delivery capability across Manchester, Leeds and the wider northern market. Many of our projects are critical to the deployment of renewable energy, infrastructure resilience, economic growth and the transition to Net Zero carbon emissions.

We are the largest Land Referencing business in the UK and Ireland, with over 390 Land colleagues. As part of WSP Land, you will work closely with colleagues across Manchester, Leeds and our wider UK and Ireland offices, alongside multidisciplinary teams made up of land consultants, highways engineers, environmental and planning specialists, engagement professionals and water engineers.

Associate Director role – regional leadership in Manchester and Leeds…

• Lead the delivery of WSP Land business development across Manchester, Leeds and the wider northern region, focusing on electricity, highways, rail, water, telecoms, gas and renewable energy sectors to secure new projects, extensions to projects and new clients.

• Work closely with WSP disciplines including Engineering, Engagement, Environmental and Planning teams, to identify multidisciplinary opportunities, strengthen regional collaboration and grow our business.

• Raise the profile of WSP Land across Manchester, Leeds and the wider northern market, building visibility with clients, partners, public bodies, target sectors and regional professional networks.

• Be a trusted advisor to clients (externally and internally). Actively engage with client capture teams and Key Client Managers (KCMs)

• Lead the writing of bids/tenders to secure opportunities

• Manage regional resource strategy, including staff retention, succession planning, recruitment and workload planning, to ensure the Manchester and Leeds teams have the skills, capacity and leadership needed to deliver successful projects and grow the business.

• Lead at Project Director level, successful delivery of projects on time, within budget and to the highest standards.
• Undertake project reviews to support risk and opportunity management as appropriate. Routinely review task/project delivery to ensure alignment with client needs and objectives. Seek client feedback, proactively share it, and ensure feedback is acted on

• Provide technical direction on Land projects across the North of England and wider UK, including relevant statutory processes to acquire land and land rights such as CPO, DCO, Transport and Works Act Orders, compulsory acquisition, wayleaves and access arrangements.

• Contribute to positive team & project outcomes. Engender collective purpose to achieve project/team goals. Excellent team working with other members of senior leadership in WSP Land.

• Promote our WSP culture of health, safety & wellbeing (HS&W).
• Promote our adherence to Quality Assurance and development of our processes.
• Promote our adherence to Data Protection and development of our processes.

• Act as a regional champion for a core pillar such as sector strategy, client growth, people development, operational excellence or technical leadership.

• Regular travel between Manchester, Leeds and other UK offices and project locations.

What we will be looking for you to demonstrate…

• Experience managing/directing the delivery of Land services including land referencing, Orders production, acquisition of consents, consultation and landowner engagement on infrastructure development schemes
• Experience working with multi-disciplinary teams across a range of sectors and locations and through all stages of scheme development
• Experience of reducing land risk for clients and advising them on land related matters throughout all stages of a project lifecycle.
• Experience of Public Inquiries/Oral Hearings and managing Objections
• Experience of developing business and services with existing clients
• Experience of securing and developing business with new clients

• Knowledge of the target regional market across Manchester, Leeds, the North of England and relevant UK infrastructure sectors.

• Experience in Bid writing and approvals process

• Experience of regional resource strategy, team development, succession planning and recruitment.

• Knowledge of rural environment, property, communities and agricultural working practices

• Strong landowner and public engagement skills
• Ability to communicate effectively with strong influencing and negotiating skills
• Excellent team working skills at all levels

• Ability to develop strong relationships with senior clients, regional stakeholders, management colleagues and multidisciplinary teams across Manchester, Leeds and the wider UK and Ireland business.

• Ability to work under pressure and deliver high quality outputs

• Good business and IT skills
• Excellent adherence to quality assurance, data protection, Health and Safety
• A degree in Geography, Agriculture, Land and Estate Management or similar
• Chartership or membership or a Professional body would be advantageous.
• The ability to travel effectively to various sites/locations is a necessary function of this role

Imagine a better future for you and a better future for us all.

Join our close-knit community of talented individuals who share your passion for making a positive impact. Our global team includes more than 69,000 employees, working together to make a difference in communities both close to home and around the world.

With us, you can. Apply today.

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