Associate Land Consultant

Job Description

At WSP, you can access our global scale, contribute to landmark projects and connect with the brightest minds in your field to do the best work of your life. You can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates new ideas and diverse perspectives. You can experience a world of opportunity and the chance to shape a career as unique as you.

WSP Land is seeking a talented Land Consultant, at Associate level, to join our teams in Birmingham / Manchester. This is an exciting opportunity to become part of our Land team in the delivery of land referencing, landowner engagement, consultation management, land access, formal consents, statutory orders, compensation agreements and land acquisition in support of strategic infrastructure development projects across Ireland and the UK.

We support high‑profile infrastructure projects across the Energy, Water, Road, Rail and Local Authority sectors such as East West Rail, Heathrow, as well as HS2 and many other high‑profile infrastructure development schemes in GB. Many of our Energy projects are critical for the deployment of renewable energy, helping Ireland and the UK economies to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions.

Delivering the Development Consent Order (DCO) for East West Rail is a critical project for us. When successful, it will enable one of the UK's most significant infrastructure projects to create a fast, sustainable connection between Oxford and Cambridge, unlocking economic growth, supporting up to 100,000 new homes, and improving access to jobs, education, and services across the region. The project aligns with national net‑zero targets while strengthening the UK's transport network.

• Lead the delivery of WSP Land business development across the UK electricity, highway, rail, water, telecoms, gas and renewable energy sectors to secure new projects, extensions and new clients.
• Work closely with WSP Disciplines in the UK – Engineering, Engagement, Environmental and Planning – to exploit opportunities at multidisciplinary and strategic level and grow our business.
• Raise the profile of WSP Land in Birmingham / Manchester across public, target business sectors and academia.
• Act as a trusted advisor to clients (externally and internally); actively engage with client capture teams and Key Client Managers (KCMs).
• Lead the writing of bids and tenders to secure opportunities.
• Manage resource strategy including staff retention, succession planning and recruitment to ensure the Ireland team has the necessary skills and resources to deliver projects and grow the business.
• Lead at Project Director level, ensuring successful delivery of projects on time, within budget and to the highest standards.
• Undertake project reviews to support risk and opportunity management; routinely review task/project delivery to ensure alignment with client needs and objectives.
• Provide technical direction on land projects within the UK, including relevant statutory processes to acquire land and land rights such as Vesting Order, CPO, Motorway Order, Wayleaves, etc.
• Contribute to positive team and project outcomes; engender collective purpose to achieve project/team goals; work effectively with senior leadership in WSP Land.
• Promote WSP culture of health, safety & wellbeing (HS&W); adhere to quality assurance and data protection processes.
• Champion a core pillar (e.g., sector strategy, people development) UK/Ireland‑wide.
• Travel to sites and remote locations across Ireland and the UK as required.

• Experience managing and directing the delivery of Land Services, including land referencing, orders production, acquisition of consents, consultation, and landowner engagement on infrastructure development schemes.
• Delivered a Development Consent Order (DCO) project, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements and successful coordination across multidisciplinary teams.
• Extensive experience with Linear Land Referencing projects, managing complex datasets and supporting legal and planning processes.
• Experience working with multi‑disciplinary teams across a range of sectors and locations at all stages of scheme development.
• Proven ability to reduce land…