Land Manager
Posted
Schell Brothers’ mission is to bring happiness to ourselves and our homeowners by not only creating exceptional homes and communities but also providing an extraordinary home buying experience. Our employees are passionate about their jobs and believe in happiness, positivity and collaborating with others. 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. Key Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Land Entitlements & Development
- 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.
Land Acquisition & Pipeline Management
- 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.
Team Leadership
- 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.
Financial & Operational Management
- 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.
Leadership Communication
- 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.
Qualifications
- 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.
- 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.