Sr. Manager or Director, Land Acquisition

Avantus•San Diego, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Avantus develops, owns, and operates utility-scale clean energy projects across California and the Desert Southwest. The Sr. Manager or Director of Land Acquisition will lead real estate entitlement negotiations and support early-stage development and ongoing asset management for large-scale solar and storage projects. The role calls for industry knowledge, critical thinking, problem-solving ability, strong communication and negotiation skills, and careful contract analysis and organization. The position reports to the VP, Land Development and works with a dynamic land team with extensive renewable energy industry experience. The role also supports new-market and site analysis, land and title due diligence, agreement preparation and execution, project budgeting, and coordination across internal teams and external stakeholders. The position is based in the western United States, preferably San Diego, and requires travel up to twice a month.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree; preference given to candidates with a Juris Doctor.
At least 7 years of real estate-specific experience on utility-scale renewable energy projects.
High proficiency in Google Earth and MS Office Suite, including advanced features and AI tools.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Comprehensive understanding of real estate issues specific to energy development and renewable energy financing requirements.
Ability to read, understand, and interpret legal documents and real estate contracts.
Resourcefulness, meticulous attention to detail, and investigative skills.
Strong analytical reasoning and critical-thinking skills, including the ability to read and analyze large amounts of project data.
Self-motivation and eagerness to learn and take initiative.
Personable demeanor and ability to connect with and work with people of varied personality types.
Direct experience leading real estate workflows for utility-scale solar projects from greenfield siting through financial closing.
Experience managing ALTA surveys and mapping and resolving complex title issues.
Experience managing large-scale greenfield siting campaigns.
Willingness to travel up to twice a month.
Residence in the western United States; San Diego is preferred.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing large mineral-rights mitigation efforts on solar projects, with demonstrated understanding of mineral rights and how to mitigate related risk.
Experience providing clear, concise updates to executive teams and creating simple, effective tools to support those updates.

Responsibilities

Lead negotiations for real estate entitlements underlying Avantus’ solar and storage project portfolio.
Track due diligence and report project status for assigned workflows.
Assist with new-market and site analysis, including investigating land development criteria and ownership.
Assist with reviewing, resolving, and reporting title matters supporting project financing, including encroachments, mineral rights mitigation, liens, and other critical matters.
Coordinate with landowners, attorneys, surveyors, utilities, title companies, and other project stakeholders.
Assist with drafting, abstracting, and executing agreements, including purchase and lease agreements, surface waiver agreements, easements, crossing agreements, estoppels, subordination agreements, and affidavits.
Prepare land project budgets and maintain spreadsheets for cost projections, including option payments.
Resolve cross-functional project hurdles in coordination with legal, transmission, permitting, engineering, origination, and finance teams.