Land Engagement Lead

When you choose AusNet, you’ll join genuine people working together making Real Progress

At AusNet, we’re the link between renewable energy sources and local communities, playing a key role in the clean energy transition and providing essential energy to every Victorian family.

Help us lead the way, while enriching your career with real people who encourage you to bring your best and make real impact – for your career, our communities, and Australia’s cleaner energy future.

Purposeful work with genuinely good people. That’s refreshing.

Join the team as a Land Engagement Lead, where you will spearhead best practice landholder engagement across Development and Future Networks (DFN) projects. Leading a dynamic team, you will manage the ongoing engagement with potentially impacted landholders on various projects throughout both project development and delivery phases.

In this key leadership role, you will ensure landholders have access to dedicated regular, consistent and high-level engagement through maintaining an ongoing relationship and account management.

You will oversee and report on landholder engagement activities and issues, including management of consulting firms, developing and supporting process including field work activities, reporting and safety management and advocate for positive engagement and relationships across a variety of projects.

This role will primarily be based in Southbank and is part of the DFN Land Access and Engagement Team.

This role will deliver real outcomes. Key accountabilities require, but are not limited to, the following:

• Allocate land engagement support and resources appropriately to DFN projects in development and delivery, ensuring landholders have access to dedicated, consistent and high-touch engagement throughout the project lifecycle
• Lead and deliver regular engagement and contact with potential impacted landholders through utilisation of the team of resources and/or by taking accountability for a portfolio of project landowners as necessary
• Assist, the Land Engagement team with their contributions into the preparation of reports and contracts and requests for tenders including scoping, cost estimates, evaluations and reviews.
• Coordinate, manage and report on landholder engagement activities and issues with input from your team of resources
• Advocate for positive engagement and relationships across the project, both internally and with landholders and other stakeholders
• Manage budgets and forecasts in accordance with the delegation of authority
• Ensure that landholder engagement activities are coordinated with relevant environmental, technical investigations and construction activities, related land access requirements and transaction activities relating to access, future easement establishment and future land acquisition
• Develop, implement and evaluate landholder engagement delivery plans in line with the project stakeholder engagement strategy and DFN’s stakeholder engagement framework
• Support project development and delivery teams by facilitating and coordinating specialist activities, reviewing specialist reports or communications materials, providing and reviewing landowner related reports and materials, and ensuring landholder and community feedback is shared accurately and in a timely manner with project teams to influence and contribute to decision making
• Review and advise on complex land engagement matters, leaning on subject-matter expertise and experience.
• Monitor and report on land engagement initiatives and updates, including identifying, reporting on and mitigating risks; brief leadership and report at DFN level as necessary
• Identify gaps in land engagement processes and improve them with buy-in and support from relevant teams
• Guide and mentor a small team, fostering professional growth while managing key people-leadership responsibilities.
• Negotiate and execute land acquisition and easement options and contracts.

You don’t need to check every box; however, we are looking for a good combination of:

• Tertiary qualification not prescriptive and can be from business, engineering, construction, agriculture, local government, social work or other relevant discipline
• IAP2 Certificate of Engagement
• Extensive proven experience in agriculture and related sectors, or regional development, regional government and community engagement (with minimum 3 years in a leadership role)
• Demonstrated experience with impacts and benefits to landholders, communities and stakeholders, and appreciation for challenges that come with operating in complex political environment
• Proven track record in engaging with a wide range of individuals and organisations across local and regional communities
• Commercial and financial acumen to enable cost-effective decision making and resourcing to meet business needs and demand
• Ability to communicate clearly and logically about statutory planning matters, particularly in written report formats and offer clear advice to stakeholders for successful project delivery
• Leadership capability including ability to mentor, develop and manage teams of direct and indirect reports
• Understanding of legislative requirements related to land access (ESC Land Access Code of Practice), land tenure and planning approvals will be beneficial.
• Established ability to contribute to, support and lead multiple projects simultaneously, while achieving milestones and coordinating effectively with other disciplines within project teams

A real place to belong

We celebrate unique voices, refreshing perspectives and diversity in our team. Engage and connect through our social club, family day, wide range of events or by joining one of our Employee Network Groups.

We believe in more than just competitive pay. Here’s what sets us apart:

• Flexibility: whether this is hybrid work, flexible hours, or part time arrangements, we’ll work with you to help balance work and life.
• Leave: more than typical personal leave and a generous 14 weeks of paid parental leave, with no minimum service.
• Community giving: a paid day to volunteer with our social impact partner, Foodbank, or for a cause that matters to you.
• Perks: we offer all the other perks you’ve come to expect like purchased leave, income protection insurance, novated leasing, corporate discounts, private health cover discounts and more.

As an industry in transformation, we’re excited by the possibilities ahead.

So, if you’re passionate about our purpose and committed to making real progress, bring your energy and join AusNet. Together, we can shape a new way forward.