Director of Land Development

Sanctuary • Austin, TX

2d • $150,000 - $210,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Sanctuary is building a wellness-centered residential community in the Texas Hill Country focused on healthy homes, regenerative land planning, nature, and intentional living. Across 135 acres, we’re developing a modern village designed around clean air, clean water, thoughtful architecture, and meaningful human connection. We’re not building traditional suburban housing. We’re creating a new way of living. We are seeking a Director of Land Development to own development outcomes across the portfolio, advancing every project from acquisition close to construction readiness on schedule, within budget, and in alignment with company objectives. You'll operate at both the strategic and execution level: understanding development constraints across the portfolio while breaking complex projects into actionable plans, coordinating stakeholders, and driving them to completion. You'll work closely with Capital, Finance, Construction, Design, and Executive Leadership.

Requirements

• 8–10+ years in residential land development, including large-scale master-planned communities
• Have run multiple simultaneous projects in Texas
• Proven entitlement and permitting track record
• Real MUD, PID, and public financing experience
• Operate as an owner, not a manager, balancing strategy, execution, and economics while leading consultants and teams at scale.
• Highly proactive and a clear communicator, surfacing risks with solutions up and across the org.
• Thrive in a lean, fast-moving, high-ambiguity environment, building scalable systems while executing in parallel.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with the Central Texas / Hays County context is required.
• TLAP and septic familiarity a plus.
• Know the Central Texas / Hays County landscape inside out (strongly preferred).

Responsibilities

• Lead the development function and the advancement of projects across the portfolio: building and maintaining roadmaps, identifying and mitigating risks, validating feasibility, and ensuring alignment across internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Lead all entitlement and permitting efforts: platting, construction plans, site development approvals, septic approvals, utility approvals, development agreements, and all municipal, county, and regulatory approvals. Proactively manage agency relationships and approval pathways, anticipating and resolving obstacles before they impact schedules, while maintaining productive relationships with municipalities, reviewing agencies, utility providers, and regulatory stakeholders.
• Oversee all development consultants: civil engineers, surveyors, land planners, environmental, geotechnical, and utility consultants, attorneys, district consultants, and other partners. Establish scopes, review deliverables, monitor budgets, maintain accountability, and lead them toward a shared project outcome.
• Lead the planning and coordination of project infrastructure: water, wastewater, electric, telecommunications, drainage, roadway systems, and off-site improvements. Translate strategic and technical requirements into actionable plans, coordinating with utility providers, municipalities, consultants, contractors, and internal teams so infrastructure delivery aligns with project schedules and financing assumptions.
• Own development budgets and financial assumptions across each project's lifecycle: infrastructure and consultant budgets, utility cost estimates, development forecasts, and feasibility analyses. Understand how schedule decisions, entitlement delays, infrastructure requirements, and scope changes impact project economics. Working with Capital, Finance, and FP&A, keep development assumptions accurate and give executive leadership clear visibility into risks and opportunities.
• Lead public financing initiatives: Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs), Public Improvement Districts (PIDs), development agreements, reimbursement programs, and other infrastructure financing mechanisms. Coordinate closely with legal, engineering, financial, and governmental stakeholders so these initiatives support project execution and long-term value creation.
• Lead and develop the Land Development team, creating clear accountability structures, reporting systems, and project ownership. This includes leadership of Development Project Managers, Designers & Masterplanners, Architects, and future support functions as the portfolio grows. Build scalable systems, develop talent, and create a culture of ownership and execution.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed