Head of Strategic Land - UK Property Company ( Preston )

Head of Strategic Land - UK Property Company ( Lancashire ) c. £80-£100,000k + Significant Performance Related Bonus

Spence Looker Recruitment has been r etained exclusively by a substantial and highly successful UK property company to appoint a Head of Strategic Land to lead its established strategic land team and drive the next phase of its ambitious growth strategy.

This is a rare senior-level opportunity to join a well-capitalised, entrepreneurial property business with significant existing property and land assets and the financial capability to acquire and promote strategic land opportunities across the UK.

The successful candidate will take responsibility for an existing strategic land team and portfolio, whilst significantly growing the land pipeline through the acquisition and promotion of short, medium and long-term opportunities.

The Role

Reporting directly to the senior leadership team, the Head of Strategic Land will lead the identification, acquisition, promotion and ultimate disposal of residential strategic land opportunities, as well as assessing opportunites for other areas of activity include commercial, regeneration, storage and renewables.

You will

• Lead, manage and develop the existing land team, providing commercial and strategic direction across the portfolio.
• Identify and acquire short, medium and long-term strategic land opportunities capable of delivering significant value through planning and development.
• Proactively originate new opportunities through relationships with landowners, agents, developers, planners and professional advisers, as well as direct approaches to landowners.
• Negotiate the acquisition and control of land through promotion agreements, options, conditional contracts and direct acquisitions.
• Work across the full lifecycle of land promotion, from early-stage site identification, appraisal and landowner negotiations through to planning strategy, application, appeal and disposal.
• Lead the promotion strategy and vision for individual sites, determining the optimum planning and commercial approach to maximise value.
• Manage the promotion of small, medium and large-scale residential and other uses through complex planning and policy environments.
• Lead and coordinate multidisciplinary consultant teams including planning, masterplanning, highways, engineering, environmental, ecology, viability and legal advisers.
• Manage planning, technical, infrastructure, environmental and commercial risk throughout the promotion process.
• Drive sites through Local Plan promotion, planning applications and, where appropriate, planning appeals.
• Overcome complex issues surrounding planning policy, infrastructure, viability and deliverability to secure commercially attractive planning outcomes.
• Maintain a strong commercial focus on maximising land value and return on investment throughout the promotion process.
• Develop and execute appropriate disposal and exit strategies, working with housebuilders, developers, investors and agents to maximise value following planning success.

We are seeking an Senior Strategic Land and Land Promotion professional operating at either Director or Senior Land Manager level. with a demonstrable track record of identifying, securing and successfully promoting residential-led development opportunities.

You are likely to have gained your experience within a major land promoter, housebuilder, residential developer, property company or specialist strategic land business.

Of particular interest will be candidates who combine strong planning and technical knowledge with genuine commercial land acquisition expertise and an established network of landowners, agents and advisers.

The Opportunity

This an opportunity to take control of an existing strategic land platform, team and portfolio, backed by a substantial property business with the appetite and financial resources to acquire land and invest in opportunities capable of delivering significant returns.

For an ambitious and commercially minded strategic land professional, this represents an opportunity to build a major short, medium and long-term land pipeline and play a central role in the future growth of the business.

All approaches will be handled in the strictest confidence by Spence Looker Recruitment Limited, retained executive search consultants for this appointment.