Senior Land Consultant
Location: Scotland – may be positioned in Edinburgh, Glasgow or Perth with hybrid flexibility.
We offer flexible working patterns, competitive salaries and other benefits.
Responsibilities
* The position focuses on securing land, land access, arranging surveys and building strong relationships with stakeholders and landowners via statutory powers and/or negotiation
* Ideally have experience of managing land referencing and land access projects
* Lead audits and quality assurance reviews of land referencing documentation and processes
* Drive integration of land requirements with engineering, planning, and environmental strategies
* Provide senior-level advice to clients and project boards on land acquisition risks and opportunities
* Oversee compliance with statutory processes and ensure projects meet regulatory and legal obligations, including those relating to data security and privacy
* Resolve disputes and elevate sensitive issues with diplomacy and authority
* Contribute to commercial strategy and risk management for land-related contracts
* Establish training programmes and succession planning within the Land team
* People management and team leadership
* Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to engage with landowners, communities, and stakeholders
* Ability to arrange and coordinate land surveys, ensuring compliance with legal and environmental standards
* Experience working on infrastructure, utilities, or energy projects (preferred)
* Consult landowners to explain proposed schemes, program, discuss potential impacts and ensure accurate consultation notes are taken and uploaded to the consultation database
* Skilled in stakeholder engagement, building trust and maintaining positive relationships
* Ensure that WSP H&S procedures are adhered to for all site work
* Knowledge of land access permissions, s172 licences and site safety experience (preferred)
* Manage junior members of the Land team, providing support and technical training by contributing to and participating in the CPD-accredited Land Academy
* Use statutory powers and other mechanisms to acquire land
* Prepare and quality‑assures technical documents related to identification of land interests and rights, negotiation of access for surveys, consents and acquisition of land rights
* Negotiate Heads of Terms to secure land for projects
* liaise with landowners, land agents, auctioneers, legal representatives, planning authorities, key stakeholders, contractors and clients
* Work closely with Land team colleagues and collaborate with internal and external engineering, environmental, and planning teams
* Experience working with multi‑disciplinary teams across a range of sectors and locations in the UK and/or Ireland
* Develop efficient working practices and promote innovation to provide industry‑leading, best‑value services to clients
* Manage and develop a team of early‑career professionals, providing both technical training and career development support
* Contribute to business development and the delivery of the business strategy
* UK and Ireland travel plus the possibility of travel to WSP’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) in India
Qualifications
* Degree or equivalent experience in Geography, Land/Estate Management, Agriculture or a relevant discipline
* Worked to deliver land referencing, land access, landowner engagement services and statutory processes on major infrastructure projects
* Experience negotiating with landowners and knowledge of the legal process for acquiring wayleaves/easements/servitudes (desirable)
* Experience working with multi‑disciplinary teams across a range of sectors and locations in Ireland and/or the UK
* Demonstrable experience reducing land risk for clients and advising them on land‑related matters throughout all stages of a project lifecycle
* Proven track record of developing Orders or equivalent and/or acquiring consents and interests in land, and knowledge of relevant legislation
* Experience with infrastructure development schemes, particularly in the energy, highways, rail, water and/or aviation sectors
* Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships with colleagues, landowners and clients at all levels
* Strong influencing and negotiating communication skills
* Knowledge of urban and/or rural environment and farming practices (desirable)
* Chartership, membership, or a professional body (advantageous)
* Ability to travel effectively to various sites/locations is a necessary function of this role
#J-18808-Ljbffr