Principal Land Consultant

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.

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 reputation for the successful delivery of major strategic infrastructure projects across the UK and Ireland. We do this through the support provided in land referencing, urban and rural landowner engagement, consultation management, land access, formal consents, statutory orders, compensation agreements and land acquisition.

We are the largest and most successful Land business supporting infrastructure development in the UK and Ireland, with 300+ specialist professional colleagues consisting of land consultants, property specialists, project managers and utility and topographical surveyors. We have the widest portfolio of projects available in our industry, offering unrivalled opportunities to both develop and diversify careers, working on some of the most exciting and challenging projects across the whole of the UK and Ireland.

Our land referencing professionals identify land and legal interest in land and use this data to secure powers and/or negotiate land acquisition and land access to support infrastructure development. We provide clients with all the land‑related statutory documentation needed to comply with planning processes as they develop, plan, secure and exercise powers to construct, operate and maintain their infrastructure assets. Using the land referencing data, we ensure projects not just comply with legislation but also fulfil their data security obligations, engage meaningfully with landowners and other affected stakeholders, and maximise the benefits of the landed data we provide throughout the project lifecycle, ultimately registering the new rights in the name of the client.

• Ensure successful delivery of projects securely, 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, TCPA, CPOs, Motorway Orders, Vesting Orders, etc.
• 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 such as book of reference, land plans and statement of reasons in relation to 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 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

• In depth knowledge of land referencing practices such as detailed HMLR interpretation, book of reference production and delivery of quantitative data analysis
• Experience in working on infrastructure development schemes with multi‑disciplinary teams across a range of sectors and locations
• Demonstrable experience of reducing land risk for clients and advising them on land‑related matters throughout all stages of a project…