Title:  Director, Land Access & Assembly

Director, Land Access and Assembly

We bring the energy – through purpose and people

Not just through the infrastructure we operate, but through the way we show up for each other, our customers’ and our communities. The future of energy is in our hands. Let’s shape it together.

We’re in it together. Sound like the kind of team for you.

The Director, Land Access and Assembly leads the land access and assembly strategy for the WRL Project, with responsibility for planning and executing all activities related to land access, landholder engagement, property acquisition, easement negotiation, and site assembly.

This role plays a critical part in ensuring the project secures timely, lawful, and socially responsible access to land while minimising project risk and maintaining strong relationships with landowners and the community to support successful project delivery.

Leading a dedicated team, you will focus on building and maintaining positive working relationships and supporting commercial and delivery teams to establish effective engagement with landowners. The role involves negotiating licences, leases, easements, and other property agreements with a wide range of stakeholders, applying sound land tenure, property law, and valuation principles throughout the process.

What you’ll be doing in this role:

• Contribute to and support delivery of the project business plan, ensuring directorate priorities align with project strategies, governance frameworks, and operational objectives.
• Work collaboratively across directorates to manage interdependencies, promote systems thinking, identify risks early, and support consistent, informed decision‑making.
• Lead the Land Access & Assembly strategy across the full project lifecycle, ensuring alignment with regulatory frameworks, environmental approvals, and Victorian planning requirements.
• Oversee landholder engagement, property acquisition, easements, compensation frameworks, and negotiations, ensuring compliance with the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act (Victoria) and relevant standards.
• Lead the development of acquisition methodologies, valuation approaches, negotiation protocols, and governance frameworks for land access activities.
• Partner closely with Engagement & Communications to ensure transparent, respectful engagement with landholders, Traditional Owners, councils, community groups, and government agencies.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate land access risks impacting schedule, cost, or approvals, acting as a senior escalation point for complex or sensitive issues.
• Build team capability in negotiation, conflict resolution, regulatory compliance, and safe, ethical land access practices.

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

• Tertiary qualification in law, urban planning, or property related discipline including land economy, land survey or valuation
• Minimum 8+ years’ experience in relevant discipline and/or similar role
• Minimum 3+ years’ experience in people-management
• Electricity infrastructure, renewable energy or energy background
• Geographic Information Systems knowledge and use
• Demonstrated experience in property research and knowledge of land tenure systems, including easement, property, valuation, and contract law including land acquisition statutes
• Demonstrated knowledge of Lands Titles Office processes
• Experience in landowner/stakeholder engagement and negotiation of property transactions
• Experience in and demonstrated understanding of external planning and approvals in infrastructure context

The AusNet experience is all about…

• Growing your impact: We’ll support you to build your career through real opportunities and strong connections.

• When life happens, knowing we’ve got your back: Whether it's life's big moments or the unexpected little ones, we get it - sometimes you just need to be there.

• Building an energy future to be proud of: We’re a trusted leader, with deep expertise, driven to do what’s right for our communities and customers.

We’re committed to building an inclusive culture and a diverse workforce. We believe different perspectives are essential to our success, and we encourage all applicants to apply. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we're happy to discuss how we can support you.

AusNet. We bring the energy. Want to be part of it too? Apply now.