Land Acquisition Manager

Irving Knight Group; Savannah (GA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Irving Knight Group seeks an experienced Land Acquisition Manager to identify, evaluate, and secure residential land opportunities in Savannah, GA. The role requires sourcing land, building relationships with landowners and partners, and guiding acquisitions through due diligence and closing.

The ideal candidate has knowledge of Savannah’s residential market, strong financial modeling, and the ability to move opportunities forward with urgency while coordinating with finance, development, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field is preferred.
• Several years of land acquisition, residential development, or real estate investment experience.
• Strong financial modeling and analytical capabilities.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Willingness to travel throughout the Savannah market and surrounding areas.

Responsibilities

• Identify and source land opportunities in Savannah and surrounding markets.
• Develop and maintain relationships with landowners, brokers, developers, and stakeholders.
• Monitor market conditions, zoning changes, and development trends.
• Evaluate acquisitions based on location, feasibility, and financial metrics.
• Prepare analyses, underwriting models, and investment recommendations.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams through acquisition process.
• Negotiate purchase, option, and joint venture structures.
• Manage timelines and contractual milestones.
• Assess site constraints, permitting, and development risks.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in real estate, finance, business, civil engineering, urban planning, construction management, or related field

Land acquisition experience

Residential development knowledge

Financial modeling

Negotiation

Relationship-building

Communication

Organizational skills

Excel

PowerPoint

Travel willingness

Independent work

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

MS Office

Job description

Location: Savannah, Georgia - candidates must have local experience

Employment Type: Full-time

Reports To: Region President

Position Overview

A growing production homebuilder entering the Savannah, Georgia market is seeking an experienced Land Acquisition Manager to identify, evaluate, negotiate, and secure residential land opportunities that support the company’s growth strategy.

This individual will play a key role in establishing the company’s presence in the market by sourcing new land opportunities, building relationships with landowners and development partners, coordinating due diligence, and helping guide acquisitions from initial evaluation through closing.

The ideal candidate will have strong knowledge of the Savannah-area residential real estate market, a solid understanding of land acquisition and residential development, excellent financial and analytical skills, and the ability to move opportunities forward with a strong sense of urgency.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify and source land acquisition opportunities throughout Savannah and surrounding markets.
• Develop and maintain relationships with landowners, brokers, developers, investors, municipalities, consultants, and other industry professionals.
• Monitor market conditions, population growth, employment trends, infrastructure investment, zoning changes, and competing new-home developments.
• Evaluate potential acquisitions based on location, product type, market demand, pricing, entitlement status, development costs, timing, and overall financial feasibility.
• Prepare preliminary land analyses, acquisition summaries, underwriting models, and investment recommendations.
• Coordinate with finance, development, construction, sales, marketing, legal, and executive leadership teams throughout the acquisition process.
• Negotiate purchase agreements, option agreements, joint ventures, takedowns, and other transaction structures.
• Manage acquisition timelines and ensure that key contractual milestones are met.
• Title and survey review
• Environmental assessments
• Geotechnical investigations
• Wetland and floodplain considerations
• Civil engineering and site planning
• Utility availability
• Traffic and access requirements
• Zoning and entitlement review
• Municipal and agency requirements
• Assess site constraints and development risks, including drainage, wetlands, flood zones, soil conditions, access, utility capacity, easements, and permitting requirements.
• Work with internal and external partners to evaluate land plans, lot counts, product placement, density, phasing, and community design.
• Assist with zoning, rezoning, annexation, variance, entitlement, and permitting strategies as needed.
• Maintain an accurate and current pipeline of potential acquisition opportunities.
• Present acquisition recommendations, market updates, and project status reports to senior leadership.
• Support the transition of acquired land into the development and construction process.
• Ensure acquisition activities comply with company policies, legal requirements, and approved investment criteria.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in real estate, finance, business, civil engineering, urban planning, construction management, or a related field preferred.
• Several years of experience in land acquisition, residential development, homebuilding, real estate investment, or a related discipline.
• Experience acquiring land for production residential communities is strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of the Savannah, Coastal Georgia, and surrounding residential markets preferred.
• Demonstrated understanding of residential land valuation, development feasibility, entitlements, and project underwriting.
• Experience reviewing purchase agreements, option agreements, development plans, budgets, and due diligence materials.
• Strong financial modeling and analytical capabilities.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to manage multiple transactions and priorities simultaneously.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
• Willingness to travel throughout the Savannah market and surrounding areas.
• Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation.

Preferred Experience

• Experience with production homebuilding and community development.
• Existing relationships with landowners, brokers, developers, municipalities, and consultants in the Savannah market.
• Experience with coastal Georgia development considerations, including wetlands, floodplain requirements, stormwater management, drainage, and utility availability.
• Familiarity with local zoning, entitlement, permitting, and development processes.
• Experience taking land opportunities from initial identification through acquisition and handoff to development.