Vice President of Land Development

Meritage Homes; Scottsdale (AZ); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Meritage Homes is seeking a VP of Land Development to lead the Land Development team, directing all phases from tentative tract maps to turnover of finished lots for homebuilding. You will oversee budgets, schedules, approvals, and HOA turnover while ensuring regulatory compliance and strong team performance.

Ideal candidates have a BA/BS in Real Estate, Finance, Construction Management, or Civil Engineering and a minimum of ten years in land development with a proven track record of delivering

Qualifications

• Experience leading land development for residential communities.
• Strong budgeting and schedule management experience.
• Ability to review surveys, easements, and development agreements.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Land Development team to open new communities on time and on budget.
• Oversee land development budgets, schedules, and compliance with permits.
• Coordinate with municipalities, utilities, and HOAs; manage JDAs and agreements.
• Review engineering estimates and liaise with civil engineers and planners.
• Direct department operations, staffing, and pro-forma management.

Skills

Land development

Budget management

Project scheduling

Contract negotiation

Team leadership

Education

BA/BS in Real Estate, Finance, Construction Management, or Civil Engineering

Job description

Responsibilities

The VP of Land Development is responsible for leading the Land Development team and opening new communities on time and on budget. Direct all aspects of new subdivision development from tentative tract map to turnover of finished lots for homebuilding operations. This includes but is not limited to all required oversight of land development activities, acceptance by municipalities and turnover to the HOA's. Strict adherence to division budgets and schedules is mandatory.

• Strong understanding of Tentative Maps, Final Maps, Soils Conditions, Dry Utility Design and Civil Improvement Drawings.
• Strong understanding of government approval processes necessary to obtain preliminary approvals and construction permits required for residential infrastructure construction.
• Ultimate responsibility for all land development budgets and schedules. This includes preparation of land development budgets and schedules during feasibility for submission to Corporate Land Committee, as well as maintenance throughout community development.
• Assist Land Acquisition with the review of survey/title issues and evaluate the overall technical and financial feasibility of a potential project.
• In collaboration with Forward Planning/Entitlements, manage the preparation of joint development agreements (JDA's), agreements with municipalities and private utilities, easements, licenses, and approvals necessary to allow a land deal to proceed.
• Manage preparation and verification of site development budgets, tentative/final maps and improvement drawings.
• Review engineering estimates and work directly with engineers and municipalities in the design and processing of civil plans.
• Prepare, and/or review all easements, maps, purchase agreements, governmental agreements, and legal documents.
• Oversee the negotiation of contracts for services to be performed by land development contractors such as grading, wet utilities, dry utilities, streets, curb and gutter, sidewalks and landscaping.
• Supervise/coordinate with outside consultants including civil engineering, landscape architecture, dry utilities and soils engineering in preparation of required construction applications.
• Coordinate with vertical, architecture, and purchasing on lot fit, utility locations, and access for sales and production start. Formulate land use plans.
• Oversee the preparation and creation of HOAs including CCRs and related documents and act as a liaison and board member as needed. Support HOA turnover.
• Work with construction department to resolve finished lot deficiencies.
• Direct the Land Development Department including department operations, budgets, staff development and oversight.
• Provide strong, visible leadership to the Land Development team by setting clear priorities, reinforcing accountability, developing talent, and fostering a collaborative, high-performance culture.
• Oversee all budgeting and cash flows and continually review all accounting relative to active developments. Monitor financial information and performance on each phase of development.
• Ensure that all active construction sites comply with regulatory and safety requirements of jurisdictional agencies and corporate policy.

Qualifications

• BA/BS degree in Real Estate, Finance, Construction Management, or Civil Engineering.
• Ten years of related experience; strong understanding of acquisitions and land development.
• Local real estate knowledge extremely beneficial.
• Supporting familiarity required in reimbursement agreements, purchase and sales contracts, entitlement issues, engineering and planning, and zoning issues.
• Extensive experience in managing development of new communities.
• Strong management capabilities with experience in managing people, department operations, budget preparation and pro-forma management, and a track record of managing and growing a strong team.

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Overview

Are you looking for an incredible career opportunity? Then Meritage Homes is the place for you! From the homes we build to the careers we offer, we are focused on delivering a Life.Built.Better.. Meritage is committed to building energy-efficient and affordable entry-level and first move-up homes across the US. We are looking for candidates who are excited about furthering their careers, as well as bringing their authentic self every day to be part of an inclusive organization. Meritage was certified a Great Place To Work for a fourth year in a row. Meritage has delivered over 210,000 homes in its 41-year history, and has a reputation for its distinctive style, quality construction, and award-winning customer experience. Meritage is looking for professionals who are self-starters and want to help our organization grow by providing new and innovative ideas.

When joining Meritage Homes, you and your career can benefit in several ways, including:

• A work environment that encourages creativity and innovative ideas from every level
• An organization that lives by its core values everyday
• Team atmosphere where every individual is considered a vital asset
• State of the art technology to provide an optimal working environment
• A competitive pay structure
• Strong benefits
• Flexibility in work-life integration
• Team-oriented environment where all individuals play an integral role in the company
• Opportunity to further your career in a growing national organization
• Maintain a competitive drive to be the best