Land and Rights Specialist – Centurion

To conduct due diligence and develop the project-specific land and rights acquisition strategies and plans prior to acquiring the land and servitude rights to enable the implementation of capital projects in line with the relevant policies and within the project agreed timelines.
Acquire land and servitude rights in a timeous and economically viable manner, taking into account the applicable laws and local and international standards and in line with the agreed strategies and plans.
Proactively identify and manage land and rights risks throughout the project planning and implementation phase until the project is handed over to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) for the operation and maintenance phase.

Minimum Requirements

• B Degree/ B Tech or equivalent, in one of the following disciplines Surveying (Geomatics)/Real Estate/ Property Valuation/Town and Regional Planning/ Environmental Science/ Law at NQF 7
• Eight (8) years minimum experience in land and rights acquisition-related field.
• Experience in linear infrastructure-related projects in both private and public sector
• Working experience in the water environment/sector is advantageous
• Knowledge of key relevant legislation such as Expropriation Act 63 of 1975, Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000, and National Water Act 36 of 1998
• Knowledge of basic property valuation and property law principles.

Key Performance Areas

1. Facilitate the acquisition of land and servitude rights
   • Provide land and rights acquisition expertise to the integrated team (project management, engineering, environment, and social) to optimize the design aspects of the project location and route selection.
   • Initiate and maintain negotiations with landowners’ parties and/or holders of real rights in respect of any land, for the acquisition of land and/or servitude rights required over such land before construction.
   • Address landowner's complaints and other queries relating to construction impacts on affected land before, during, and after construction.
   • Ensure the survey diagrams are approved by the Surveyor General office and registration of land and servitude rights at the Deeds Office.
2. Participate in project governance
   • Develop land and rights-related procedures.
   • Provide project-specific land and rights progress reporting into monthly and quarterly management reports.
   • Provide land and rights-related input into the EIA process to ensure compliance with environmental laws.
   • Participate in the Public Participation Process (PPP) to ensure that interested and affected parties, such as landowners' concerns, are addressed adequately.
   • Facilitate the applications of SPLUMA and site development plans with the local municipality and obtain approval thereof.
3. Provide project management and contract management functions for land and rights activities within a project
   • Procure and manage the project-specific land acquisition service providers (property valuers, land surveyors, relevant specialists, and panel of experts)
   • Monitor deliverables and contractually manage the land acquisition service providers.
   • Issue instructions from time to time to the conveyancing attorneys to undertake the transfer and registration of land and rights acquired and manage their performance.
4. Land & Rights Document Management
   • Ensure that the maintenance of the land and rights records, such as assets registers and landowners database, are accurate and up to date.
   • Ensure that legal documents such as Notices of Expropriation and PAJA, Agreements, Survey Diagrams, and Deeds are safeguarded.
5. Land & Rights planning activities
   • Provide land and rights advice and support to DWS: land matters where there is an advisory directive.
   • Provide awareness and information to lenders, auditors, independent assurers, and interested and affected parties regarding land and rights acquisition process.