Manager, Land Administration

Purpose

An opportunity to join a dynamic team driving the acquisition, management, and protection of land and right-of-way (ROW) interests critical to the Company’s success. This role oversees all aspects of land rights for major capital and O&M projects, ensuring timely delivery, regulatory compliance, and strong relationships with landowners and stakeholders.

Accountabilities

This position reports to the Sr. Director, Engineering and Project Management. This position oversees the company’s operations and activities regarding the need for additional land, right-of-way or office space. Responsible for researching, negotiating and obtaining land or right-of-way for construction that meets the company’s goals. Oversees all land related legal issues, including transfers of titles and deeds. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Effectively manage department personnel and activities.

Key responsibilities:

• Responsible for creating and managing departmental O&M and Capital budget. Monitor monthly to ensure that budgets are at or under budget.

• Negotiation & Stakeholder Engagement: Oversee landowner communications and negotiations, resolve claims and encroachments, and coordinate with regulators, surveyors, engineers, and legal counsel to secure property rights.

• Exercise managerial skills to direct and monitor the timely acquisition of real estate, rights-of way, easements, leases, and permits for the construction of new facilities required by the Company. 

• Team & Vendor Leadership: Manage internal ROW staff and external agents, ensuring workload distribution, performance, safety, and compliance with policies and laws.

• Institute a level of action planning that ensures the efficient administration of land rights, purchased land, easements, and lease agreements, optimizes the coordination of related activities, and results in positive impacts on internal and external customers.

• Exhibit a level of discretion commensurate with potential risk to create a schedule for and oversee the regular inspection of all Empire real estate for encroachments, hazards, and general conditions of the property and resolve infractions or initiate appropriate legal action.

• Records & Compliance: Maintain accurate databases of ROW, easements, leases, and company owned property; oversee title/curative work; ensure compliance with applicable permitting, regulatory, and eminent-domain requirements. Optimize technical expertise by aiding internal and external customers in need of information relative to department responsibilities, including training assistance to employees in other departments. Coordinate and participate in the development and preparation of contracts, agreements, document templates, and other department-related documents. 

• Lead and direct the department to function as a customer focused group that emphasizes high quality service while maintaining normal responsibility for direct expense control.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent

• Five years of progressively responsible experience in land, ROW or real estate acquisition, including demonstrated experience with utilities, pipelines or infrastructure projects

• One plus years of management experience

• Professional certifications (IRWA SR/WA or equivalent) and/or real estate license strongly preferred

• Proficiency with GIS/land management systems

• Familiarity with regulatory framworks, eminent-domain processes and multi-jurisdictional ROW requirements.