Director of Land Acquisition

About the Company MatchBuilt is an executive search firm partnering with a leading home builder with operations in Indianapolis, IN, seeking a Director of Land Acquisition to help lead land strategy, acquisition activity, underwriting, due diligence, and pipeline growth in alignment with the division’s business plan. About the Role A strong background in residential land acquisition, real estate development, financial analysis, and market evaluation is required for this role, and only candidates with relevant homebuilding or residential development experience will be considered. In this role, the ideal candidate will identify, evaluate, and help secure land and lot opportunities that support the company’s growth strategy. Responsibilities Identify, evaluate, and pursue land and lot acquisition opportunities that support the division’s growth strategy, community count, delivery goals, and long-term market position.Build and maintain strong relationships with landowners, brokers, developers, engineers, consultants, municipal officials, and other market contacts to create a consistent pipeline of potential opportunities.Conduct market research, competitive analysis, and submarket evaluations to determine the strength, timing, pricing, and strategic fit of potential land acquisitions.Perform site visits with division leadership and key internal stakeholders to evaluate location, access, visibility, constraints, surrounding uses, development potential, and marketability.Lead or support the preparation of land acquisition requests, investment summaries, financial models, feasibility reports, and executive-level recommendations for potential acquisitions.Evaluate project assumptions, including lot yield, development costs, absorption pace, sales pricing, margins, timing, entitlement risk, and overall financial return.Partner with land development, construction, purchasing, sales, finance, and operations teams to ensure acquisition assumptions are realistic, complete, and aligned with division objectives.Coordinate due diligence efforts with engineers, land planners, environmental consultants, attorneys, title companies, municipalities, and other outside resources.Support the entitlement, zoning, permitting, annexation, and approval processes as needed to advance acquisition opportunities from initial evaluation to final approval.Review and monitor land pipeline activity, acquisition status, development timing, land spend, and forecast assumptions for division planning and budgeting.Assist with contract negotiation, letters of intent, purchase agreements, amendments, easements, and related land transaction documents in coordination with legal and division leadership.Represent the company professionally with sellers, brokers, consultants, municipalities, industry contacts, and community stakeholders throughout the acquisition process. Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, real estate, construction management, engineering, land planning, accounting, or a related field preferred.7-10+ years of experience in land acquisition, real estate development, residential development, homebuilding, or a closely related field.Experience working with a homebuilder, residential developer, land developer, or real estate organization with exposure to division-level land strategy is preferred.Strong understanding of residential land acquisition, entitlement, zoning, permitting, due diligence, land planning, site feasibility, and development economics.Demonstrated ability to source opportunities, evaluate sites, analyze financial returns, negotiate deal terms, and support acquisition approvals.Strong financial and analytical skills, including the ability to review pro formas, development budgets, land residuals, pricing assumptions, absorption forecasts, and return metrics.Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to summarize complex land opportunities clearly for division, regional, and corporate leadership.Strong relationship-building skills with brokers, landowners, developers, consultants, municipalities, internal teams, and external stakeholders.Ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, transactions, and due diligence processes in a fast-paced homebuilding environment.High integrity, sound judgment, strong work ethic, and a leadership style rooted in accountability, collaboration, and long-term business performance.