Cobalt Recruitment
Land Manager or Senior Land Manager
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About the Role
Join an established national retirement-living developer in a hands-on land acquisition role covering Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, East Anglia, and Northamptonshire. Source and progress brownfield opportunities through to exchange, build relationships with agents and landowners, and benefit from commission, a company car or allowance, private medical cover, and additional benefits.
Cobalt is working with an established national retirement-living developer to appoint a Land Manager or Senior Land Manager. This is a hands-on acquisition position for someone who enjoys finding opportunities, developing agent and landowner relationships, and progressing sites through to exchange. The business combines a structured approach with the freedom to pursue opportunities across the region.
The Organisation
Our client is a national retirement-living developer operating across the UK through a network of regional offices and the business is strengthening its land function with this appointment.
The developer focuses on independent-living schemes, typically acquiring brownfield sites of approximately 0.5 to 2 acres for developments of around 50 apartments.
The business is also increasing its work with complementary users, including supermarkets and care-home providers, creating further opportunities to unlock suitable sites through partnerships.
The Package
- Competitive basic salary
- Commission for each site secured, enhanced-deal top-ups, and a team bonus
- Company car or cash allowance
- 25 days’ holiday plus birthday leave
- Private medical cover and health screening
- Pension and life assurance
- Long-service awards and wellbeing benefits
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The Role and Responsibilities
You will manage land acquisitions for retirement-living developments, working with internal architecture, planning, technical, legal, commercial, and construction teams.
This is a sourcing-led position where you will spend time across your territory identifying opportunities, meeting agents and landowners, and developing a regional pipeline.
Key responsibilities include:
- Generating opportunities through an established network of contacts
- Identifying potential sites through targeted direct marketing and approaches to landowners
- Building productive relationships with agents, landowners, and professional advisers
- Conducting desktop research, data analysis, and Land Insight searches
- Visiting target towns and assessing potential sites against customer and development requirements
- Completing site appraisals and preparing acquisition reports and proposals
- Managing offers, negotiations, and contracts through to exchange
- Working with the Land Director to help formulate the regional acquisition strategy
- Guiding and supporting Land Buyers and Land Coordinators where appropriate
The territory covers Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, East Anglia, and Northamptonshire. You will combine office-based work with regular travel to sites and target locations, alongside attendance at the office.
At Senior Land Manager level, you will be expected to analyse opportunities independently, produce and defend your own appraisals, and progress deals without close supervision.
You will manage acquisitions through to exchange, when the relevant bonus becomes payable. The subsequent legal process is overseen by senior leadership, supported by the client's in-house planning team.
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The Skills and Experience Needed
This opportunity could suit an established land professional or a Senior Land Buyer ready to take the next step. Those joining at senior level will need to demonstrate greater independence across appraisal, analysis, and decision-making.
You will need:
- Proven end-to-end land acquisition experience, from identifying sites through negotiation to exchange
- A working knowledge of site appraisal and assessing the commercial viability of an acquisition
- The ability to source opportunities directly through agents, landowners, targeted approaches, and an established network
- Effective relationship-building and negotiation skills
- The willingness to spend substantial time visiting sites, agents, and target locations across the region
- A valid UK driving licence
Your wider background could include residential development, commercial property, retail, hospitality, or land agency, provided you can demonstrate the required hands-on acquisition experience.
The position will suit someone comfortable with a traditional approach to land buying: building relationships, contacting landowners directly, and personally progressing opportunities from initial identification through to exchange.
Interviews are expected to progress quickly, so apply now to be considered.
Due to the volume of applications received, if you don’t hear back from us, please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
If you require any adjustments or additional support during the recruitment process for any reason whatsoever, please let your Cobalt consultant know.
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