Strutt & Parker - Rural Land Manager (Inverness)

Role overview

Rural land management is an exciting sector, currently seeing significant change, with wide interest in Scotland’s landscapes and rural properties and the opportunities they provide to tackle some of the challenges society currently faces, including rural housing, climate change and the biodiversity crisis.  

Due to demand for services provided by our Rural Land Management teams in Scotland, we are looking to grow the skill sets and capacity. This exciting opportunity is ideally suited to those who enjoy all that life in the Highlands has to offer both professionally and personally, out with working hours.  

This opportunity allows for a combination of an office base in Inverness working amongst the team and time spent working individually on client properties across the Cairngorms and Banffshire, liaising with tenants, contractors and other client stakeholders. 

The Rural team undertakes a wide range of estate, farm and property management and provides professional advice to private, commercial and institutional clients. Rural Land Management involves working collaboratively as part of a team with a range of complementary skills and experience to manage clients’ rural assets. The team often includes consultancy support from other Strutt & Parker / BNP Paribas Real Estate specialist services or additional third-party consultants, as well as working collectively with clients and their teams. 

Rural property includes natural habitat, forestry, in hand and let farms, residential property with a range of occupation and other rural commercial enterprises. These properties include a range of assets with different occupation including new and traditional agricultural buildings, residential farmhouses and cottages, small-scale commercial property, properties of historic significance and a wide range of rural infrastructure such as bridges, roads, tracks and paths. 

The ideal candidate should be enthusiastic, professional and well organised and should possess excellent communication, interpersonal and management skills. The ability to join with a can do attitude, contributing positively, effectively completing tasks, solving problems, managing time effectively, prioritising and following systems and processes. 

Key deliverables

•    Integral member of the team for a large institutional client providing land management services.

•    An appreciation for the importance of exemplary health, safety and compliance and able to identify issues and hazards and manage risks appropriately. 

•    Attending client, contractor, tenant and other stakeholder meetings to understand issues and opportunities, process and achieve follow up actions. 

•    Identifying and delivering opportunities to add value to clients’ properties whether environmental, social or economic. Presenting cases to the client for authorisation and progressing to completion.

•    Supporting the team in the delivery and planning of maintenance, improvement and compliance works in relation to a wide range of rural assets.

•    Following processes to ensure a high standard of tenant support, care and lease management.

•    Adherence to internal and client process and standards.

Responsibilities

•    Regular liaison with team members, clients, tenants, contractors and stakeholders. 

•    Ensuring achievement of delegated key client deliverables / projects timeously and on budget.

•    Ensuring added value and value for money for the client. 

•    Performing a delivery and managerial role within a high performing team on principal instructions.

•    Scope to develop/support the wider Rural Land Management team in Scotland.

•    Ability to track, prioritise and provide team and client updates.

Key Skills

•    Sound business skills to effectively support the management of client and Strutt & Parker businesses.

•    Experience and understanding of property fabric and the related issues arising. 

•    Excellent financial business skills to support with budgeting and financial planning.

•    Ability to manage many projects, cases and jobs at any one time across a range of asset types, prioritising effectively and working to high standards under pressure.

•    Able to follow procurement processes and work to delegated limits in line with budget. 

•    An eye for detail adhering to project briefs and the vision to deliver client strategies and policies. 

•    Excellent communication skills capable of building and maintaining strong relationships with team members, other colleagues, clients and stakeholders.

•    Efficient and effective management to make best use of a wider consultancy team.

•    A diligent and dependable approach to all professional work. 

•    Seeking opportunities to leverage skill and expertise to develop new business for the wider team.

•    Familiar with Microsoft software and able to quickly learn and understand new software packages.

•    Full Drivers Licence

Desirables

•    Relevant formal training / undergraduate / postgraduate degree or equivalent 

•    Professional accreditation / MRICS / CAAV qualification 

•    Practical on-site experience from a rural business  

•    An entrepreneurial attitude with an aspiration to contribute to the growth and performance of the wider business.