Description
The Head of Land Acquisition leads the land strategy that supports one of the UK’s most complex and nationally significant infrastructure programmes. This role ensures that Heathrow can secure the freehold, leasehold, and statutory land rights required to deliver Expansion, while also safeguarding the airport’s long‑term operational flexibility.
Operating as Heathrow’s senior expert in land acquisition, this role provides clarity, sound judgement, and authoritative guidance across a portfolio characterised by legal complexity, commercial sensitivity, and significant public and political scrutiny. Working directly with the Property Director, the role shapes Heathrow’s acquisition strategy, advises on the commercial and statutory implications of major decisions, and ensures that all acquisitions are delivered with integrity, transparency, and value for money.
Responsibilities
- Set the overarching strategy for Heathrow’s land acquisition activities, ensuring alignment with Expansion requirements, statutory obligations, and long‑term operational priorities.
- Provide authoritative advice to senior leadership, informing decisions that involve complex commercial, legal, and political considerations.
- Integrate the land acquisition strategy with masterplanning, planning policy, environmental constraints, and statutory undertakings.
- Lead the delivery of a multi‑billion‑pound land acquisition portfolio, establishing asset‑specific strategies, portfolio sequencing, valuation assumptions, and negotiation pathways.
- Act as Heathrow’s senior negotiator for the most complex, high‑risk, or sensitive acquisitions, shaping strategies for voluntary agreements, compulsory purchase, relocations, and extinguishments.
- Ensure all negotiations and statutory processes are robust, evidence‑based, compliant with legislation, and supported by defensible evidence for inquiries or tribunals.
- Maintain strong governance, financial stewardship, and risk management across the portfolio, including the resolution of complex or disputed cases and clear communication of risks at senior levels.
Qualifications
- Extensive experience leading major land acquisition programmes for complex or nationally significant infrastructure projects.
- Deep expertise in valuation, land economics, compensation law, and compulsory acquisition processes.
- Strong commercial judgement and experience navigating sensitive, high‑value, and politically exposed environments.
- Proven ability to lead complex negotiations and manage contentious or high‑profile cases.
- Experience influencing senior executives and working directly with statutory bodies or regulators.
- Demonstrated leadership capability, including the development and support of specialist teams.
- Exceptional communication, negotiation, and stakeholder‑management skills.
Ideally, you will also have
- Professional qualification (e.g., RICS, RTPI, legal qualification or equivalent).
- Experience participating in CPO inquiries, tribunal hearings or similar statutory processes.
- Experience within regulated or nationally significant infrastructure environments.
- Understanding of planning policy, environmental constraints and statutory undertakings relevant to major infrastructure projects.
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