Job Description Summary:
Salary: $98,176.00 - $147,264.00
The Senior Land Agent directly supports the Land and Right of Way Manager in performance of complex real estate transactions supporting infrastructure and public projects. This role provides land acquisition, easement negotiations, and property management activities while coordinating with legal, engineering, and project teams. The position ensures regulatory compliance, oversees title and appraisal processes, supports condemnation when needed, and may mentor junior staff and provide oversight of consultants.
Job Description
Essential Functions and Responsibilities:
The duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to this position. Key responsibilities:
Land & ROW Management
- Assist Land & ROW Manager in acquisition of land rights, including fee title, easements, licenses, permits, leases, rights of entry for District projects
- Negotiate with private landowners, tenants, developers, and governmental entities for property interests
- Manage and enforce right-of-way corridors for canals, pipelines, reservoirs, detention facilities and other TRWD infrastructure projects
- Oversee encroachment agreements, damage claims, crossings and permits affecting District property
Title & Due Diligence
- Conduct and oversee title research, curative, and abstracting for surface and subsurface rights
- Review title commitments, appraisals, surveys, plats, and legal descriptions for accuracy and completeness
- Resolve title defects and coordinate with legal counsel on complex ownership issues
Project Support
- Work closely with Engineering, Legal, Operations, Environmental Services, Purchasing and GIS teams to support capital improvement projects
- Identify property needs early in project planning and anticipate acquisition risks
Landowner & Stakeholder Relations
- Serve as point of contact for landowners impacted by District operations or projects
- Handle sensitive negotiations and resolve disputes professionally.
- Represent the District in internal as well as public meetings, hearings and community outreach
Records & Data Management
- Maintain accurate land records, GIS data, deeds, leases, easements and other agreements and contracts
- Support implementation of land management systems and digital records
- Ensure proper filing of instruments in county records
Leadership & Oversight
- Provide guidance and supervision to staff land agents, consultants, and contract ROW agents
- Manage outsourcing of land services and review contractor performance
- May supervise staff land agents or contract land agents and consultants
Other
- Maintain familiarity with strategic district levels of service
- Continuous improvement monitoring and innovation efforts
- Perform other duties as required
Required Experience:
- Eight to ten (8-10) years of land experience, including significant time in Texas
Desired Experience:
- Experience in public infrastructure, utilities, water districts, or pipeline ROW strongly preferred
- Negotiating complex surface agreements and easements
- Working knowledge of Texas real property law, title practices, eminent domain procedures and the Unform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (URA)
- Easements, ROW acquisition, and condemnation support
- Surveying principles and legal descriptions
- Excellent negotiation and conflict-resolution skills
- Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, plats and GIS mapping
- Strong organizational and project management capabilities
- High level of professionalism dealing with the public and elected officials
Required Education/Certification/Licenses:
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Real Estate, or related field
- Valid Texas Driver’s License
Desired Education/Certification/Licenses:
- Course work and/or experience in accounting, civil engineering, Texas real estate marketing, management, appraisal, Texas real estate law, and/or land surveying
- Senior Right of Way Agent (SR/WA) Designation from International Right of Way Association (IRWA)
Success Factors/Job Competencies:
- Self-motivated – ability to perform tasks without direct supervision
- Teamwork – ability to collectively work together as a team for common goal
- Leadership – demonstrated ability to effectively supervise people to obtain desired results through others
- Planning – ability to think ahead and plan, sometimes over a multiple year time span
- Exercise discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance
- Time Management – Managing one’s own time and the time of those under their supervision
- Commitment to district values and goals
- Character – trustworthy, respectful, ethical, responsible, fair, caring, good citizen
Physical Demands and Work Environment
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Physical demands: While performing duties of job, employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hand to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; balance; stoop; talk and hear. Employees must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
- Work environment: While performing the duties of this job, the employee typically resides within an office or cubicle and may have occasional fieldwork that will expose the employee to weather conditions prevalent at the time.