Director of Origination

Black & Veatch Family of Companies•Olathe, KS

About The Position

The Director of Origination – Real Estate Development leads the Origination function and is accountable for sourcing, evaluating, negotiating, and advancing development opportunities that contribute to portfolio growth. The role owns origination strategy, pipeline development, and opportunity management, aligning these efforts with company growth objectives and investment criteria. It exercises independent judgment in identifying, prioritizing, negotiating, and advancing opportunities and has responsibility for at least one direct report. The Director develops land acquisition strategies; evaluates market, site, and competitive conditions; reviews ownership, title, easements, encumbrances, and development constraints; assesses risks and mitigation options; and structures transactions to balance project economics, schedule, risk, and stakeholder interests. The position leads negotiations and interprets real estate and development documents, while coordinating with internal teams and external stakeholders to advance projects from origination through acquisition and development. The role monitors pipeline and portfolio performance and reports status, risks, milestones, and strategic recommendations to leadership. Diode Ventures, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Black & Veatch, provides turnkey solutions for industrial, commercial, and technology interests, including data centers and green energy solutions. The position is full-time. Hybrid or flexible work options may be offered after the first 90 days, at the manager’s discretion and depending on performance and work assignments. Travel may be necessary for site evaluations, negotiations, public meetings, and project development activities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
At least 10 years of experience in commercial real estate, land acquisition, real estate development, infrastructure development, or a related industry.
At least 5 years of experience in a leadership role.
Demonstrated experience sourcing, structuring, negotiating, and closing complex land and real estate transactions.
Strong knowledge of land development processes, including due diligence, title review, survey analysis, zoning, entitlements, environmental review, utility infrastructure, and site development.
Experience evaluating development opportunities and preparing acquisition recommendations, investment memoranda, and executive-level presentations.
Working knowledge of purchase and sale agreements, option agreements, development agreements, easements, utility agreements, title commitments, restrictive covenants, and other real estate-related contracts.
Ability to identify, assess, and mitigate development, entitlement, acquisition, infrastructure, and project execution risks.
Strong financial acumen, including experience with project feasibility analysis, land valuation, acquisition underwriting, pro forma development, and investment evaluation.
Demonstrated success building and maintaining relationships with landowners, brokers, economic development organizations, utility providers, municipalities, and regulatory agencies.
Excellent negotiation skills and a record of achieving favorable business outcomes while maintaining strategic relationships.
Ability to manage multiple projects and acquisition opportunities simultaneously while meeting aggressive development schedules.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting to executive leadership, investment committees, public agencies, and external stakeholders.
Willingness and ability to travel as necessary for site evaluations, negotiations, public meetings, and project development activities.
Ability to complete applicable pre-employment onboarding requirements, which may include background checks, drug screening, and motor vehicle records searches.

Nice To Haves

Experience in large-scale industrial, data center, energy, mixed-use, logistics, or commercial real estate development.
Familiarity with large-scale infrastructure planning.
Professional certifications or memberships in real estate, planning, development, or economic development organizations.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage the origination team in sourcing and evaluating development opportunities.
Develop and implement strategies to identify, evaluate, and secure land acquisition opportunities aligned with the development pipeline and investment criteria.
Build and maintain relationships with landowners, brokers, economic development organizations, utility providers, municipalities, local governments, consultants, regulatory agencies, and strategic partners.
Oversee market research, site selection, and competitive analysis to identify strategic development opportunities.
Support business development initiatives and acquisition pursuits with expertise in land acquisition, development feasibility, and project risk.
Review land ownership, title matters, encumbrances, easements, and development constraints; identify risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
Lead negotiations for land purchases, purchase and sale agreements, options, easements, development agreements, surface use waivers, and other real estate transactions.
Develop acquisition strategies and structure transactions that balance project economics, schedule objectives, development risk, and stakeholder interests.
Collaborate with engineering, legal, development, finance, commercial, and other project teams to advance projects from site origination through acquisition and development.
Review, negotiate, analyze, and interpret real estate contracts, title commitments, development agreements, utility agreements, easements, restrictive covenants, permits, and other development-related documents.
Work with project teams to identify, manage, and resolve acquisition, entitlement, title, utility, and stakeholder issues that could affect schedule, feasibility, or investment objectives.
Monitor development opportunities and portfolio performance; report pipeline status, key risks, acquisition milestones, and strategic recommendations to leadership.
Lead the Origination function and serve as its liaison with Business Development, Project Management, Power, Legal, Community Engagement, the Leadership Team, and Finance.
Manage multiple projects and acquisition opportunities while meeting development schedules.