Principal Land Consultant

Job Description

At WSP, you can access our global scale, contribute to landmark projects and connect with the brightest minds in your field to do the best work of your life. You can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates new ideas and diverse perspectives. You can experience a world of opportunity and the chance to shape a career as unique as you.

The role is based in our Leeds or Newcastle offices, with the flexibility of hybrid working between one of these locations and from home. The candidate should ideally be located within North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, County Durham, Teesside, Tyne and Wear or North Lincolnshire.

WSP’s Land team is seeking talented Land professionals to join what is already the largest and most successful team in our industry. This is an exciting opportunity to develop or begin a career with a team that enjoys a successful reputation for the successful delivery of major strategic infrastructure projects across the UK and Ireland through the support provided by land referencing, urban and rural landowner engagement, consultation management, land access, formal consents, statutory orders, compensation agreements and land acquisition.

The role supports land referencing, securing powers or negotiating land acquisition and land access to support infrastructure development. The team provides Property Cost Estimates, agrees Heads of Terms and compensations, manages disposals, payments and client accounts, and offers the full range of property‑related services to assist clients in planning, securing and exercising construction, operation and maintenance powers.

• Ensure successful delivery of projectssecurely, 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 at least some of the relevant statutory processes to acquire land such as DCOs, DNOs, hybrid Bills, Scottish Bills, TWA, T&CPA, CPOs, Motorway Orders, Vesting Orders, etc
• 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 both within WSP and as part of project supply chains
• Undertake quality assurance of deliverables in relation to the identification of land interests and rights, negotiation of access to land for surveys, consents and acquisition of land rights for large scale development projects, as well as 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 development and delivery of the business strategy
• Support the writing of bids/tenders to secure opportunities from internal and external clients
• Delivery of training on technical topicsby 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

• Expertise in urban and/or rural environment, property, communities and stakeholders
• Experience in working on infrastructure development schemes with multi‑disciplinary teams across a range of sectors and locations
• Experience of negotiating commercial terms with landowners and knowledge of the legal process for the acquisition of wayleaves and easement 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, etc and/or acquisition of consents and interests in land, and knowledge of relevant legislation
• Ability to communicate effectively with strong influencing and negotiating skills
• Ability to work in a team and on own initiative, being able to work under pressure and deliver high quality outputs
• Strong…