Location
Manchester, with travel across the UK and Ireland

Hours
Full Time

Salary
Negotiable

About the Role
What if you could do the kind of work the world needs? 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 the largest and most successful team in our industry. This is an exciting opportunity to develop or begin a career with a team renowned for delivering major strategic infrastructure projects across the UK and Ireland through land referencing, urban and rural landowner engagement, consultation management, land access, formal consents, statutory orders, compensation agreements and land acquisition.

As Technical Director Land, you will provide strategic leadership and technical direction on WSP Land projects. You will demonstrate excellent stakeholder engagement to ensure successful land identification, securing of land rights and land acquisition through negotiation and statutory powers. You will drive a high-performance culture within the team, fostering collaboration and a shared sense of purpose to deliver exceptional project and organisational outcomes.

You will serve as a trusted technical advisor to internal and external clients, proactively engaging with client capture teams and Key Client Managers to strengthen client relationships and identify new opportunities. You will oversee project delivery ensuring completion on schedule, within budget and to the highest technical and quality standards.

Leading business development initiatives in the Energy, Water and Rail sectors, you will target new projects, extensions and clients by leveraging technical expertise and industry insight. Collaboration with other WSP disciplines including Engineering, Engagement, Environmental and Planning teams will be key to identifying multidisciplinary and strategic growth opportunities.

You will champion the profile and technical reputation of WSP Land across public forums, social media, targeted business sectors and professional and academic circles. You will lead the preparation and review of high-quality bids and tenders, ensuring technical excellence and competitiveness.

Succession planning, targeted recruitment and maintaining technical capabilities will be part of your remit. You will conduct high-level project and business reviews to support effective risk and opportunity management, ensuring long-term success and resilience.

Championing WSP’s culture of health, safety and wellbeing, quality assurance, data protection and digital innovation will be essential to your role.

WSP Land supports the highest-profile infrastructure projects across Energy, Highways, Water, Rail, Local Government and Aviation sectors. Our projects include renewable energy deployment, major road and rail schemes, water resilience projects and local government land and property asset management. Join us and make a positive impact on the economy and communities these projects serve.

Experience
- Proven leadership in delivering Land services including site identification, land access and acquisition strategies at senior level
- Expertise in land consents, stakeholder consultation and landowner engagement for major infrastructure projects
- Extensive collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams across sectors and geographies
- Success in mitigating land-related risks and providing strategic advice throughout project lifecycles
- Significant involvement in Public Inquiries and Oral Hearings, managing objections and complex stakeholder issues
- Track record of fostering repeat business and expanding service offerings
- Proven ability to secure and develop new business opportunities
- Experience authoring, managing and approving bids and tenders at senior level
- Expertise in resource strategy, talent development and succession planning
- Outstanding engagement skills with landowners and the public, building trust and positive relationships
- Exceptional communication, influencing and negotiation skills
- Strong team leadership and collaborative working skills
- Ability to cultivate robust relationships with senior clients, stakeholders and executive colleagues
- Resilience and composure under pressure, delivering high-quality outputs to demanding deadlines
- Advanced business acumen and IT proficiency
- Commitment to quality assurance, data protection and exemplary Health and Safety standards

About you
You are a strategic and inspirational leader with a passion for infrastructure development and land services. You thrive in a collaborative environment and are motivated by delivering high-impact projects that benefit communities and the economy. You have excellent interpersonal skills and can represent the business confidently at the highest levels. You are adaptable, resilient and committed to continuous improvement and innovation.

Qualifications
- Degree qualified in Geography, Agriculture, Land and Estate Management or a closely related discipline
- Chartered status or membership of a recognised professional body is highly desirable
- Full, clean driving licence is essential