Principal Land Consultant
WSP’s Land team is seeking talented Land professionals to join the largest and most successful team in our industry. The role involves delivering land services such as land referencing, urban and rural landowner engagement, consultation management, land access, formal consents, statutory orders, compensation agreements, and land acquisition across major strategic infrastructure projects in the UK and Ireland.
We offer flexible working patterns, competitive salaries and other benefits.
Responsibilities
* Ensure successful delivery of projects, securing them on time, within budget, and to high standards.
* Be a trusted advisor to clients (externally and internally) and manage relationships.
* Advise on land issues across the UK and Ireland, including relevant statutory processes such as DCOs, DNOs, hybrid Bills, Scottish Bills, TWA, T&CPA, CPOs, Motorway Orders, and Vesting Orders.
* Secure land rights for high‑profile, strategic infrastructure projects across all sectors.
* Liaise with landowners, land agents, legal representatives, planning authorities, key stakeholders, contractors and clients.
* Work with Land team colleagues and collaborate with engineering, environmental, and planning teams within WSP and in project supply chains.
* Undertake quality assurance of deliverables related to land interests and rights, negotiation of access for surveys, consents, and acquisition of land rights for large‑scale development projects, and prepare land acquisition and planning applications.
* Support quality and the sharing of knowledge and lessons across regions and projects.
* People management as a leader and role model: manage, motivate, mentor and develop staff and contribute to the delivery of business strategy.
* Support the writing of bids/tenders to secure opportunities from internal and external clients.
* Deliver training on technical topics by contributing to and participating in our CPD‑accredited Land Academy.
* UK and Ireland travel plus the possibility of travel to WSP’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) in India.
Qualifications
* Expertise in urban and/or rural environments, property, communities and stakeholders.
* Experience working on infrastructure development schemes with multidisciplinary teams across a range of sectors and locations.
* Experience negotiating commercial terms with landowners and knowledge of the legal process for the acquisition of wayleaves, easements and negotiated access.
* Demonstrable experience of reducing land risk for clients and advising them on land‑related matters throughout all stages of a project lifecycle.
* Track record of the development of orders, consents and interests in land, and knowledge of relevant legislation.
* Strong influencing and negotiating skills with effective communication.
* Ability to work in a team and on own initiative, delivering high‑quality outputs under pressure.
* Strong landowner and public engagement skills.
* Good business and IT skills.
* Adherence to quality assurance and good document management skills.
* A degree in Geography, Land/Estate Management, Agriculture, or similar.
* Chartership or membership of a relevant professional body is advantageous.
* The ability to travel effectively to various sites/locations is a necessary function of this role.
If you do not meet all the criteria, we encourage you to apply and we will assess how your experience aligns to this role and other opportunities within the team.
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