Wayleave Manager

Role purpose

The Wayleave Manager is a critical delivery role responsible for driving the pace, discipline and completion of wayleave applications needed to protect Wildanet’s build schedules. The role holder leads the cadence across the wayleave pipeline, ensuring applications are progressed with urgency, blockers are actively removed, risks are escalated early and agreements are secured in time to support network deployment. Success in this role depends on strong ownership, relentless follow-through, commercial awareness and the ability to turn complex stakeholder activity into timely permissions that enable build delivery.

Core responsibilities

• Lead the wayleave function with clear delivery cadence, setting priorities, managing team workloads and ensuring applications are actively progressed in line with build programme requirements.
• Drive wayleave applications through to completion, maintaining grip on pipeline movement, ageing items, critical dependencies and non-negotiable delivery dates.
• Act as a senior point of contact for landowners, local authorities, housing associations and other stakeholders, building productive relationships and resolving issues professionally.
• Negotiate, secure and manage wayleave agreements, easements, consents and related permissions to support fibre network deployment.
• Maintain a strong working knowledge of legal and regulatory requirements relating to land, property rights, wayleaves, easements and consents, ensuring agreements are compliant and appropriately documented.
• Identify, unblock and mitigate risks that could delay build activity, escalating material issues early with clear options, ownership and recommended actions.
• Work collaboratively with design, planning, legal, build, surveying, sales and operational teams to ensure wayleave requirements are integrated into project workflows and build schedules.
• Use regular review rhythms, performance data and proactive follow-up to hold internal and external stakeholders to agreed actions and delivery commitments.
• Maintain accurate records of agreements, correspondence, permissions, risks and progress for audit, reporting and compliance purposes.
• Develop and improve wayleave processes, templates and ways of working to increase consistency, efficiency, pace and delivery confidence.
• Produce accurate, timely and meaningful reporting on wayleave progress, risks, blockers, ageing applications and performance against agreed measures.
• Provide coaching, guidance and support to Wayleave Officers, Coordinators and internal stakeholders to improve understanding of wayleave processes, urgency and best practice.
• Ensure all activity is carried out safely and in line with Wildanet’s health, safety and wellbeing requirements, including when attending sites or stakeholder meetings.

Qualifications

• Degree-level qualification or equivalent professional experience in a relevant discipline such as planning, law, property, surveying, engineering, telecommunications or utilities.
• Relevant property, land law, surveying or project management qualification, such as RICS, PRINCE2, APM or equivalent professional development (Desirable).

Experience

• Experience in wayleaves, land access, property rights, permissions, easements or related agreement management. Proven experience managing workloads, deadlines, stakeholder expectations and delivery-critical pipelines in a pressured operational environment.
• Experience negotiating and finalising agreements with landowners, local authorities, housing associations or similar stakeholders.
• Experience in telecommunications, broadband, utilities, infrastructure build or another regulated operational environment (Desirable).
• Experience leading cross-functional activity, managing external contractors or implementing process improvements to improve delivery pace (Desirable).

Skills

• Strong negotiation, conflict resolution and stakeholder management skills. Highly organised, resilient and able to manage multiple priorities, deadlines and dependencies.
• Driven by results, with strong follow-through, escalation discipline and the ability to maintain grip on progressing applications to completion.
• Confident producing accurate reports, correspondence and agreement documentation. Able to lead, coach and support a small team.
• Experience using project management, mapping, GIS, land referencing or wayleave tracking systems such as Nimbus Maps or similar tools. Strong written drafting skills for legal or formal correspondence (Desirable).

Knowledge

• Good understanding of wayleaves, easements, consents, property rights and associated legal or regulatory frameworks.
• Understanding of planning, permissions and stakeholder processes relevant to telecommunications, utilities or infrastructure delivery.
• Knowledge of local authority processes, housing association frameworks, property valuation principles, compensation negotiation or telecoms infrastructure deployment (Desirable).

Working Circumstances

Primarily based from Wildanet’s Liskeard office, with regional travel to sites, landowner meetings, local authority meetings and stakeholder engagements as required. The role will usually operate during standard office hours, but flexibility may be required during periods of high delivery pressure, urgent negotiation or time-critical project activity.

Equal Opportunities

Wildanet is committed to fair, inclusive and lawful recruitment. We welcome applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Reasonable adjustments will be considered throughout the recruitment process and in employment, in line with business needs and legal requirements.