Lead, Land Administration

Purpose

Liberty Utilities’ CalPeco Electric division is seeking a Lead, Land Administration to own and execute the California real estate and land rights program that supports all aspects of our electric utility operations. This is a hands-on technical role responsible for all land rights activities across Liberty’s California service territory: researching and securing easements, negotiating with property owners, obtaining permits from local, state, and federal agencies, recording legal documents, coordinating field activities with project teams and contractors, and maintaining Liberty’s land records.

This role bridges Engineering, Operations, Construction, and the external stakeholders—property owners, agencies, contractors, and attorneys—that determine whether Liberty can build, access, and maintain its electric infrastructure. The position involves a roughly even split between office and field work.

We are open to candidates from a range of backgrounds—right-of-way acquisition, land surveying, utility land programs, permitting, or related fields. What matters is hands-on experience getting land rights secured, permits issued, and documents recorded in support of utility or infrastructure operations.

Accountabilities

Easement & Land Rights Execution
• Research property ownership, title history, and existing encumbrances to determine land rights requirements for capital projects, new business jobs, and O&M activities.
• Prepare, negotiate, and execute easements, right-of-entry agreements, license agreements, and other land rights instruments with private property owners, developers, banks, and attorneys.
• Prepare and review legal descriptions, survey plats, exhibit maps, and drawings required to document and record land rights.
• Record executed easements and land rights documents with the appropriate county recorder’s office; ensure all filings are complete, accurate, and indexed in Liberty’s records system.
• Coordinate with title companies and attorneys to clear title issues, resolve encumbrances, and complete transactions.
Field Coordination & Customer Interaction
• Serve as Liberty’s field representative for land-related activities including property owner coordination, easement route verification, survey staking, and resolution of access issues.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Construction, and Operations to ensure land rights and permits are secured ahead of project schedules; identify and escalate risks and constraints early.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for property owners and customers on utility easement questions, facility placement, and construction impacts; coordinate with construction contractors and crews on easement boundaries, access routes, restoration requirements, and property owner expectations during active builds.
Permitting & Agency Coordination
• Obtain encroachment permits, use permits, and other approvals from Caltrans, El Dorado and Placer Counties, local municipalities (City of South Lake Tahoe, Town of Truckee, etc.), and other jurisdictions as required.
• Navigate agency-specific permitting requirements; prior familiarity with Caltrans is a plus but not required.
• Build and maintain working relationships with agency staff to facilitate timely permit issuance and reduce rework cycles.
Contractor & Consultant Oversight
• Engage and manage licensed land surveyors, right-of-way consultants, and other specialty contractors to supplement internal capacity across the full scope of Liberty’s lands workload.
• Support the RFP process, evaluate proposals, negotiate contracts, and provide day-to-day oversight of consultant deliverables, schedules, and quality.
• Self-perform survey staking, boundary analysis, and field verification where possible; deploy consultants for work beyond internal capacity.
Records Management & Program Support
• Maintain, organize, and improve Liberty’s land rights records system including easement documents, deeds, permits, franchise agreements, survey records, and correspondence.
• Ensure all recorded documents are properly filed with county agencies and cross-referenced in Liberty’s internal systems for retrieval by Engineering, Operations, and Legal.
• Provide land rights feasibility input during capital project planning: identify easement constraints, flag high-risk parcels, and recommend alternative routing where needed.
• Support regulatory proceedings and data requests related to land rights, easements, and right-of-way as needed.

Education and Experience

Required
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience. Relevant fields include land management, surveying, geography, planning, natural resources, or similar.
• Minimum 3 years’ experience in land rights, right-of-way acquisition, surveying, permitting, or utility land programs within an electric utility, municipality, or infrastructure environment.
• Working knowledge of easement instruments, legal descriptions, property research, title review, and county recording procedures.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, plat maps, and survey data.
• Strong interpersonal and negotiation skills with experience working across property owners, agency staff, attorneys, and field crews.
• Valid driver’s license and willingness to perform regular fieldwork in varying terrain and weather conditions throughout Liberty’s California service territory (Lake Tahoe / Sierra Nevada region).
Preferred
• Experience working within a CPUC-regulated investor-owned utility.
• California Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) license.
• SR/WA or IRWA certification.
• GIS and CAD software proficiency (ArcGIS, AutoCAD, or similar).
• Familiarity with Caltrans encroachment permit processes, similar agency permitting frameworks.
• Experience managing consultants and contracted services in a land rights or survey context

What We Offer

As a valued member of our team, you will enjoy competitive pay that reflects your skills and experience. You will also have access to a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• • Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage & a 401K plan with a 5% match, effective day one
  • Annual bonus and merit increase eligibility
  • Life insurance, and short-term & long-term disability
  • Employee Stock Purchase Program 
  • Free Employee Assistance Program & Headspace account
  • 3 weeks of vacation, 5 sick days, 12 paid company holidays, & 3 paid volunteer days 
  • Tuition reimbursement, professional development opportunities, & reimbursement for certification costs
  • Reward & recognition programs, service awards, a great company culture, and a collaborative & flexible work environment

Compensation

Full salary range: $112,754 - 169,132 per year

*Liberty considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and responsibilities, a candidate's work experience, education, training and skills, and geographic location.