Sr. Manager or Director, Land Acquisition

Avantus; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 124,000 - 172,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) matching

Comprehensive medical and dental plan

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Avantus is seeking a Senior Manager or Director of Land Acquisition to lead negotiations, due diligence, and land-related agreements for solar and storage projects in California. This role reports to the VP of Land Development and requires strong negotiation, legal reading, and cross-functional coordination.

The ideal candidate holds a JD or equivalent, 7+ years of real estate experience in utility-scale renewables, and resides in the western US (preferably San Diego).

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree; JD preferred.
• 7+ years of real estate experience on utility-scale renewable energy.
• Proficient in Google Earth and MS Office; AI tools usage.
• Excellent written and oral communication.
• Understanding of real estate issues in energy development/financing.
• Ability to read and interpret legal documents and contracts.
• Detail-oriented, resourceful and investigative.
• Strong analytical reasoning and critical thinking with large data.
• Self-motivated with initiative.
• Personable and able to interact with diverse personalities.
• Experience leading real estate workflow from greenfield to closing.
• Experience managing ALTA surveys and title issues.
• Experience managing large greenfield siting campaigns.
• Willing to travel up to 2 times a month.
• Residence in the western US, preferably San Diego.

Responsibilities

• Lead negotiations for real estate entitlements underlying Avantus’ solar/storage portfolio.
• Lead due diligence tracking and project status reporting for workflows.
• Assist with market/site analysis including land development criteria and ownership.
• Assist with review and resolution of title matters to support financing (encroachments, liens, etc.).
• Coordinate among landowners, attorneys, surveyors, utilities, title companies and stakeholders.
• Assist with drafting, abstraction, and execution of purchase/lease and other agreements.
• Prepare land project budgets and upkeep of cost projection spreadsheets.
• Resolve cross-functional project hurdles with legal, permitting, engineering, finance and others.

Skills

Real estate experience

Juris Doctor

Bachelor’s degree

Communication skills

Analytical reasoning

Legal document analysis

Travel readiness

Self-motivated

Interpersonal skills

West US resident

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Juris Doctor

Tools

Google Earth

MS Office Suite

Job description

ABOUT AVANTUS

Avantus develops, owns and operates utility-scale clean energy projects across California and the Desert Southwest. Our development pipeline of solar with integrated storage will generate enough dispatchable power to serve more than 10 million Americans, day and night. Backed by strategic investment from KKR and EIG, and building on more than a decade of industry leadership, Avantus is growing its position as an independent power producer, delivering affordable, reliable clean energy solutions to meet America’s growing energy demand.

ABOUT THE POSITION

We are seeking a highly motivated and organized candidate for a Sr. Manager or Director of Land Acquisition position. The successful candidate will demonstrate sound industry knowledge, critical thinking and problem solving skills, superior communication and negotiation capability, and detail-oriented contract analysis and organizational skills. This role reports to the VP, Land Development.

The land team is a highly talented, hard-working, dynamic group with extensive legacy knowledge in the renewable energy industry. The ideal candidate will have the right mix of skills, experience and enthusiasm to succeed in early-stage development and ongoing asset management of large-scale solar projects.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead negotiations for all real estate entitlements underlying Avantus’ portfolio of solar and storage projects.
• Lead due diligence tracking and project status reporting for all assigned project workflows.
• Assist with new market and site analysis including investigation of land development criteria and land ownership.
• Assist with review, resolution, and reporting of title matters to support financing of projects, including encroachments, mineral rights mitigation, liens, and other critical matters
• Coordinate efforts among landowners, attorneys, surveyors, utilities, title companies, and other key project stakeholders.
• Assist with drafting, abstraction, and execution of agreements including purchase and lease agreements, surface waiver agreements, easements, crossing agreements, estoppels, subordination agreements, affidavits, etc.
• Preparation of land project budgets and upkeep of other various spreadsheets in connection with cost projections, including option payment spreadsheets.
• Solve cross-functional project hurdles in coordination with other functional groups in the company, including legal, transmission, permitting, engineering, origination, and finance teams.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree, preference given to candidates with Juris Doctor.
• Minimum of 7+ years of real estate specific experience on utility scale renewable energy projects.
• Highly proficient in Google Earth, MS Office Suite, including use of advanced features and AI tools.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Comprehensive understanding of real estate issues specific to energy development and renewable energy financing requirements.
• Ability to read, understand and interpret legal documents and real estate contracts.
• Resourcefulness, a meticulous eye for detail, and investigative skills are essential.
• Strong analytical reasoning and critical thinking skills with the ability to read and analyze large amounts of project data.
• Self-motivated, possesses an eagerness to learn and take initiative.
• Highly personable demeanor, able to connect with and deal with all personality types
• Direct experience leading real estate workflow for utility scale solar projects from greenfield siting to financial closing.
• Experience managing ALTA surveys mapping out and resolving complex title issues.
• Experience managing large scale greenfield siting campaigns.
• Willingness to travel up to (2) times a month.
• Resides in western United States, preferably San Diego.

NICE TO HAVES

• Experience managing large mineral rights mitigation efforts on solar projects and has a demonstrated comprehension of mineral rights and how to mitigate mineral rights risk.
• Experience providing clear and concise updates to executive teams and creating simple and effective tools to provide said updates.

Avantus offers competitive compensation with an excellent benefits package, including 401(k) matching; comprehensive medical and dental plan options; and flexible PTO. We are an equal-opportunity employer.

The base salary range for this full-time position is listed below (plus bonus and benefits). Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position in California. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the applicable location during the hiring process. Please note that the compensation details listed reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus and benefits.

#LI-Hybrid

Pay Range

$123,590 — $171,840 USD

Job posting details for Sr. Manager or Director, Land Acquisition at Avantus in (Hybrid) San Diego, CA, USA. Compensation / salary range: $123,590—$171,840 USD. ClimateTechList gathers 16,000+ job openings from over 767 climate tech companies and updates them daily.