Vice President, Land Acquisition; Residential

We are seeking a seasoned Vice President of Land Acquisition to lead and execute our residential land acquisition strategy. This executive role is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, negotiating, and securing land opportunities while overseeing a team of Land Acquisition Managers. The ideal candidate brings a minimum of 5 years of direct land acquisition experience preferably with a major home builder, a strong leadership background, and a proven ability to build a long-term, high-quality land pipeline aligned with company growth objectives.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The essential functions include, but are not limited to the following:

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute the company’s land acquisition strategy to support short- and long-term residential development goals
• Lead, mentor, and oversee Land Acquisition Managers and related staff
• Establish acquisition targets, underwriting standards, and deal approval processes
• Partner with executive leadership to align land strategy with capital planning and market expansion

Land Acquisition & Deal Execution

• Identify, evaluate, and secure land opportunities suitable for future residential development
• Maintain strong relationships with landowners, brokers, developers, municipalities, and builders
• Oversee feasibility analysis including market studies, pricing, absorption, entitlement risk, and infrastructure costs
• Lead or support negotiations for land purchase agreements, options, takedowns, and joint ventures
• Assist with due diligence efforts including zoning, entitlements, environmental, utilities, and development constraints

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Coordinate with planning, engineering, construction, legal, finance, and sales teams to ensure deal viability
• Review and approve financial pro formas and investment overview prepared by the acquisition team
• Assist with presenting land deals, strategy updates, and pipeline reports to executive leadership and investment committees
• Monitor market conditions, land pricing trends, competitor activity, and regulatory changes
• Manage acquisition risk related to entitlements, timing, capital exposure, and market cycles
• Ensure disciplined underwriting and return thresholds are consistently applied

Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

• Minimum of 5 years of direct land acquisition experience preferably with a major home builder or large-scale residential developer
• Demonstrated success sourcing and closing residential land transactions
• Prior experience managing or mentoring land acquisition professionals
• Deep understanding of zoning, entitlements, land use regulations, and residential development economics
• Strong negotiation skills with experience structuring complex land deals
• Proven ability to evaluate and approve development pro formas and investment assumptions

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate, Finance, Business, Urban Planning, or related field
• Experience with publicly traded or large private homebuilders
• Familiarity with land banking, option structures, and entitlement-heavy projects
• Established network of land brokers and industry relationships within target markets