Land Manager

Schell Brothers • Hendersonville, TN

2d

About The Position

Schell Brothers Nashville is looking for a Land Manager to join the team! The Land Manager is responsible for leading the land function for Schell Brothers’ Nashville division, overseeing land acquisition, entitlements, development, and lot delivery across a growing portfolio of communities. This position will lead and develop the Land Acquisition Manager and Land Development Manager while serving as the primary point of contact for land-related strategy, performance, and reporting. The ideal candidate has strong residential land experience, understands the full lifecycle from acquisition through finished lot delivery, and can balance strategic leadership with hands-on management of entitlements, budgets, schedules, and municipal relationships.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in residential land acquisition, land development, or a related field.
• Strong experience managing projects through municipal entitlements, including rezoning, planning commission approvals, plat approvals, and other local government processes.
• Previous experience leading employees, teams, or a significant business function.
• Strong understanding of land acquisition, development budgets, proformas, project schedules, and financial performance.
• Ability to manage multiple communities and projects at different stages of the land development lifecycle.
• Strong communication, negotiation, relationship-building, and problem-solving skills.
• Comfortable presenting project updates, risks, and recommendations to senior leadership.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in the Tennessee or Southeast residential development market preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate, Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience will also be considered.

Responsibilities

• Lead the entitlement and approval process for new communities from initial concept through final approvals and grading permits.
• Represent Schell Brothers at planning commission, county/BOMA, neighborhood, and other municipal meetings and hearings.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with municipalities, elected officials, land-use attorneys, engineers, consultants, and other development partners.
• Partner with the Division President to review and approve development budgets, schedules, and major project decisions.
• Identify potential entitlement, development, budget, and delivery risks and proactively develop solutions.
• Oversee the division’s land pipeline and ensure adequate lot supply to support current and future sales goals.
• Partner with the Land Acquisition Manager on new opportunities, due diligence, contracts, proformas, and overall deal strategy.
• Monitor land under contract, deposits at risk, lot supply, acquisition timing, and future community needs.
• Ensure a smooth transition of projects from acquisition through entitlement, development, and finished lot delivery.
• Lead, coach, and develop the Land Acquisition Manager and Land Development Manager.
• Establish clear goals, expectations, and KPIs for the Land team.
• Conduct regular 1:1s and pipeline reviews to ensure projects remain on schedule and within budget.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for land-related decisions and challenges.
• Partner with leadership on hiring and developing future Land team members as the division grows.
• Review and challenge land proformas, development budgets, schedules, and project assumptions.
• Monitor development costs, change orders, finished lot costs, margins, and schedule performance.
• Track key metrics including lot supply, entitlement timelines, development progress, lot delivery, and overall pipeline health.
• Ensure finished lots are delivered on time and in alignment with the division’s sales and construction plans.
• Serve as the primary Land representative to the Division President and executive leadership team.
• Provide regular updates on land pipeline health, development progress, upcoming milestones, risks, and opportunities.
• Maintain clear and accurate reporting that allows leadership to quickly understand project status and make informed decisions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager