WHAT DOES A LAND MANAGER DO?

Published: Jan 07, 2026 - The Land Manager identifies and secures sites for renewable and flexible energy projects, avoiding competition and aligning with strategic goals. This role prepares development concepts, budgets, and landowner agreements while supporting cross-functional teams. The manager also represents the company externally and builds key internal and external relationships to drive project success.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Land Manager

1. Land Manager Responsibilities

  • Lease Acquisition: Acquiring oil and gas leases at federal and state auctions, direct from landowners, through the use of lease brokers by purchase from third parties, or through farming, pooling, joint ventures, etc.
  • Lease Maintenance: Overseeing the maintenance of leases by Land staff through the payment of lease rentals, minimum royalties, shut-in royalties, and other required payments.
  • Proceeds Management: Overseeing the proper distribution and timely payment of proceeds from wells to the rightful owners thereof.
  • Asset Mapping: Overseeing the mapping of True Oil LLC assets, making recommendations on where to buy leases and on what basis.
  • Contract Negotiation: Handling all negotiations on farmouts (farmins), options, pooling, JOAs, unitizations, joint ventures, etc., and writing the contracts or approving the contracts written by third parties.
  • Title Management: Working with outside lawyers to obtain drilling title opinions, cure title defects, and obtain division order title opinions and cure title defects.
  • Deal Review: Reviewing drilling deals presented by third parties, investigating all land issues, explaining, and making recommendations to management.
  • Land Coordination: Coordinating all land issues and bringing them to fruition for the wells to be drilled.
  • Prospect Presentation: Making presentations to third parties on land issues for prospects in trying to sell or promote.
  • Team Collaboration: Working with in-house attorneys, tax specialists, accountants, engineers, and geologists.
  • Assignment Oversight: Overseeing the preparation of all assignments in and out of the company
  • Order Verification: Verifying all division orders prepared internally or by third parties.
  • Data Input: Overseeing the input of lease data into the land system.
  • Commission Representation: Appearing before the Oil and Gas Commission on behalf of the company and/or industry-related matters.
  • Application Filing: Filing applications with the Oil and Gas Commission for exception locations, spacing matters, unitizations, etc.

2. Land Manager Accountabilities

  • Land Management: Manage the process of maintaining land assets, acquiring permits, authorizations, and agreements for business line operations by local issuing authorities or the government.
  • System Strategy: Lead land system strategy for safe record keeping, compliance, and continuity, including the Land Information System (LIS)
  • Leader Relations: Develop relationships with operational leaders, communicate and train, and develop practice and procedures.
  • Process Development: Establish process and procedure with regional and local land advocates
  • Planning Input: Provide necessary inputs to the strategic land planning and total facility budget process for the operations.
  • Compliance Liaison: Monitor and liaise with environmental compliance for the operations with responsible parties.
  • Asset Transactions: Coordinate and manage property acquisition and divestment
  • Agreement Oversight: Monitor and manage land agreements, leases, and contractual requirements
  • Stakeholder Relations: Develop and maintain good working relationships with regulators, neighbors, and local groups
  • Property Evaluation: Support evaluation of mineral properties, acquisitions, and mine development options.
  • Permit Support: Support permitting, environmental, and reclamation activities.

3. Senior Land Manager Functions

  • Acquisition Support: Work with the acquisitions team to ensure sites are of good quality
  • Site Appraisal: Financially appraise sites and provide information to the relevant Land Manager
  • Deal Assistance: Assist negotiations with landowners to secure deals
  • Opportunity Sourcing: Source development opportunities through existing contacts
  • Site Acquisition: Work with landowners to successfully acquire sites
  • Project Management: Ensure projects are managed successfully, efficiently, and profitably using strong management, administrative, and entrepreneurial skills
  • Activity Reporting: Report activity in a comprehensible way to the principal of the business
  • Project Liaison: Liaison with consultants and members of the team on project delivery to time, budget, and quality.
  • Issue Communication: Communication of project-related issues to the relevant team members.
  • Contact Development: Maintain and expand the Division's key contact base, e.g, land agents, land owners, local authorities

4. Land Manager Details and Accountabilities

  • Project Identification: Identify new renewable generation and flexible energy projects for the company
  • Site Sourcing: Identify sites pre-planning, and avoid competition
  • Concept Preparation: Prepare the initial development concept, identify, and approach landowners
  • Strategy Review: Agree and review the site finding strategy and requirements with the Development Director
  • Financial Appraisal: Prepare financial appraisals and prepare and obtain approval for initial budgets to progress sites
  • Team Liaison: Liaise with the wider company team members to support the delivery of projects
  • Company Representation: Represent the company at liaison meetings and landowner meetings
  • Deal Negotiation: Work with senior members of the team to negotiate deals
  • Relationship Development: Develop relationships with internal and external parties

5. Land Manager Essential Functions

  • Land Sourcing: Source land directly from landowners, lead the land acquisition process.
  • Land Relations: Forge and maintain relationships with landowners in order to achieve preferential deals for the business.
  • Deal Assessment: Carry out an objective and thorough assessment on each land deal, considering the realistic financial return and risk profile of each deal, current market conditions, the constraints the business operates under, and making sure the deal fully aligns with business plans.
  • Capital Coordination: Work closely with the Capital team on the appraisal process.
  • Performance Support: Support the delivery of key business performance targets in alignment with the business plans for the year.
  • Deal Reporting: Work collaboratively with other SS departments and external consultants to produce land assessment reports and presentations for each deal for Senior Management and Board approval.
  • Project Briefing: Provide a proper brief to the project team to produce a cost-effective feasibility plan for any prospective land purchases.
  • Opportunity Sourcing: Report to the Land and plan Director, responsible for sourcing new residential land opportunities through a diverse network of contacts.
  • Policy Compliance: Plan approval and acquisition, whilst adhering to strict policies and procedures and Business ethics.

6. Land Manager General Responsibilities

  • Opportunity Appraisal: Work with the Commercial and Technical Team to appraise development opportunities for approval pre and post-site purchase.
  • Business Promotion: Promote the business to agents, landowners, and financial institutions.
  • Network Building: Maintain a high profile with external property contacts and establish relationships with the main aim of extracting new land/development opportunities.
  • Authority Relations: Maintain effective working relationships with local authorities, local agents, land owners, and other developers within the divisional geographical area, in pursuit of opportunities for the company.
  • Acquisition Support: Assist with site appraisals, ensure that acquisition proposals are presented objectively and professionally, with required input from other departments before being presented to the Board of Directors.
  • Portfolio Management: Manage a project portfolio at different stages of development, managing schemes at land/planning stages, through design and construction.
  • Planning Management: Instruct and manage the planning application process from inception to completion in line with the strategic land plan.
  • Consent Management: Manage the preparation and submission of planning applications and securing other necessary consents
  • Promotion Liaison: Liaison with landowners over progress on site promotion

7. Land Manager Responsibilities and Key Tasks

  • Acquisition Management: Manage, coordinate, and assist, using both external service providers and internal employees, in the acquisition of all necessary real property rights needed to develop, construct and operate Pattern’s projects.
  • Vendor Oversight: Oversee right-of-way acquisition companies and other land-related vendors, such as appraisal, survey and title companies
  • Stakeholder Meetings: Meet with key landowners and stakeholders to secure real estate agreements.
  • Process Establishment: Establish and manage formal processes, procedures, systems, and tools for tracking, signing, managing, status reporting and inventorying all of the real estate agreements for projects.
  • Payment Coordination: Coordinate with Land Administration to ensure the accurate and timely payment of all real estate payments.
  • Team Coordination: Coordinate with Development, Legal, Environmental and Engineering teams throughout the landowner negotiations process.
  • Vendor Evaluation: Evaluate and review right-of-way acquisition companies to ensure goals and targets are being met consistently and within the required parameters.
  • Documentation Support: Assist with the transfer, inventory, and review of real estate documentation in connection with acquisitions.
  • Partner Interface: Interface with outside partners on joint ventures to ensure coordinated administration and management of real estate matters.
  • Legal Collaboration: Work closely with Real Estate Legal and Land Administration groups and assist with projects
  • Relationship Support: Work with the Development and Land Administration group to ensure strong and positive landowner relationships and communication during the development and construction phases.
  • Software Proficiency: Become proficient in land management software being utilized for each project.
Relevant Information
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