senior land manager

Company: tdm recruitment
Apply for the senior land manager
Location: York
Job Description:

A well-regarded regional housebuilder with a strong pipeline across Yorkshire is looking for an experienced Senior Land Manager to join a lean, high-performing land team. This is a number two role to the Land Director — but in practice you will lead the land function day-to-day and own the biggest and most complex bids on the patch.

Land is genuinely the engine of this business. You will have real autonomy, a credible platform to work from, and direct access to board-level decision-makers. The business is acquisitive — there is budget to move on the right sites — and you will be the person identifying and securing them.

This is a role for someone who wants to run a land function, not just contribute to one.

What you’ll be doing

  • Leading on all major land bids across the Yorkshire geography, from initial identification through to heads of terms and legal completion
  • Acquiring open market sites across a range of scales — strategic, allocated, and consented
  • Structuring and negotiating partnership and affordable-led acquisitions including Section 106, registered provider deals, and land-led joint ventures
  • Managing and developing a small land team, setting the tone for how the function operates
  • Building and maintaining relationships with agents, local authorities, RPs, and landowners across the region
  • Producing appraisals, land committee papers, and bid strategy documentation to a high standard
  • Working closely with the Land Director on pipeline strategy, budget, and market positioning

What we’re looking for

  • Significant residential land experience gained within a housebuilder, developer, or land trader
  • A genuine track record of buying open market land — sites you have identified, appraised, bid on, and exchanged
  • Strong knowledge of partnership and affordable housing routes to land — you understand how these deals are structured and have closed them
  • Commercial sharpness: you can run an appraisal, spot the risk, and present a clear rationale for your bids
  • Established agent and landowner relationships across Yorkshire, or the credibility to build them quickly
  • Experience working at a senior level, either managing others or operating as the lead on complex multi-site pipelines
  • Ambition — this is a stepping-stone to a Land Director role for the right person

Posted: July 1st, 2026