Generation Dev Real Estate Project Manager

JOB TITLE: Generation Development Real Estate Project Manager
DEPARTMENT: Generation Development
LOCATION: Topeka, KS / Kansas City, MO / Wichita, KS
PAY RANGE:
Proj Mgr II $74,700 - $93,400
Sr Proj Mgr $84,500 - $112,600
Lead Proj Mgr $99,500 - $132,600

Scheduled Work Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with additional hours as project needs require.

Summary of Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
The Generation Development Real Estate Project Manager leads real estate, site-control, and land-related activities for new conventional and renewable power-generation projects. The position evaluates prospective sites, secures options, leases, easements, rights-of-way, and fee ownership, coordinates title, survey, and related due diligence, supports land-use approvals and manages land-related budgets, schedules, risks, consultants, records, and stakeholder relationships.

The position works across multidisciplinary development teams that may include engineering, environmental, transmission, gas supply, legal, regulatory, finance, public affairs, permitting, project controls, construction, and operations. The role structures and administers real estate transactions to preserve project flexibility, establish practical decision points and exit rights, and reduce unnecessary land, title, schedule, and development risk.

Major responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Lead site-control and acquisition strategy: Develop and execute real estate strategies for power plants, battery storage facilities, renewable generation, interconnection facilities, gas and water infrastructure, access roads, laydown areas, and other project needs. Select the appropriate mix of options, leases, purchases, easements, licenses, and rights-of-way based on project timing, probability, capital exposure, and approval strategy.
• Negotiate and administer real estate agreements: Lead commercial negotiations with landowners and their representatives. Coordinate the preparation, execution, amendment, renewal, assignment, exercise, and termination of purchase options, leases, easements, access agreements, crossing agreements, memoranda, and related instruments.
• Coordinate land and title due diligence: Review ownership information, title commitments, exception documents, deeds, encumbrances, mineral interests, liens, existing easements, and land-use restrictions. Coordinate title curative work and escalate material defects or restrictions with recommended resolution or avoidance strategies.
• Direct surveys, mapping, and technical real estate work: Procure and review ALTA/NSPS surveys, boundary surveys, legal descriptions, easement exhibits, parcel maps, appraisals, and GIS deliverables. Confirm that the controlled property supports the full project footprint and associated infrastructure.
• Manage land-related schedules and milestones: Maintain an integrated land schedule tied to site selection, environmental studies, interconnection, permitting, regulatory approvals, construction access, financial approval, and notice to proceed. Track option expiration dates, notice periods, required payments, decision points, and other critical dependencies.
• Develop and control land-related budgets: Forecast and track option payments, rents, purchase prices, damages, crop-loss payments, title and survey costs, consultant fees, closing costs, and other land commitments. Structure staged commitments and decision points to limit capital at risk before required project approvals.
• Manage landowner and local stakeholder relationships: Serve as a primary company contact for participating landowners. Maintain timely, respectful, and fact-based communications and coordinate resolution of access, drainage, fencing, agricultural operations, crop damage, road use, restoration, payment, and other property-related concerns.
• Support land-use approvals and agency coordination: Coordinate real estate inputs for zoning applications, conditional or special-use permits, plats, road agreements, and other local approvals. Support negotiations and documentation with municipalities, counties, utilities, and public agencies.
• Lead external land consultants and service providers: Develop scopes, budgets, schedules, deliverables, and performance expectations for land agents, brokers, appraisers, title companies, surveyors, GIS providers, abstractors, and right-of-way consultants. Review consultant work for quality, completeness, and compliance with company protocols.
• Manage real estate risk and decision support: Maintain land and title risk information and evaluate parcel alternatives, mineral conflicts, severed estates, restrictive covenants, access limitations, fragmented ownership, landowner concentration, and other material risks. Prepare recommendations supporting site advancement, redesign, additional acquisition, or termination.
• Coordinate project closings and transaction readiness: Coordinate title policies, endorsements, surveys, estoppels, consents, recordable documents, closing statements, and funds flow. Support project-company transfers, build-transfer acquisitions, joint developments, assignments, financing diligence, and regulatory diligence.
• Maintain records, reporting, and project handoff: Maintain authoritative records of ownership, agreements, obligations, notices, payments, communications, surveys, title documents, and approvals. Provide concise status reporting and complete documented handoffs to construction, operations, property accounting, legal, and corporate real estate functions.
  

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in real estate, business, finance, economics, construction management, engineering, geography, legal studies, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum of two years of experience in land acquisition, right of way, utility real estate, infrastructure development, project management, energy development, or a related field.
• Experience negotiating easements, rights of way, leases, purchase agreements, or similar real estate instruments.
• Working knowledge of title review, surveys, legal descriptions, ownership research, real estate transactions, and land due diligence.
• Experience managing multiple projects, contracts, schedules, budgets, and deadlines while working with a variety of stakeholders, including landowners, attorneys, consultants, engineers, and public agencies.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting utility, power generation, renewable energy, natural gas, industrial, data center, or other large infrastructure projects.
• Knowledge of Kansas and Missouri real estate practices, permitting processes, and land use considerations.
• Experience with title insurance, ALTA/NSPS surveys, appraisals, environmental assessments, GIS mapping, or site development activities.
• Relevant professional certifications, licensure, or credentials.

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

• Strong negotiation, written communication, verbal communication, presentation, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to translate complex title, contract, landowner, and development issues into clear alternatives and recommendations.
• Ability to work independently while coordinating effectively across a high-performance, cross-functional project organization.
• Sound judgment in handling confidential negotiations, commercially sensitive information, and community relationships.
• Ability to prioritize multiple projects and deliverables in a changing development environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and experience with project tracking, document management, mapping, GIS, or land-management systems.
• Demonstrated commitment to safe work practices in office, field, and project-site environments
• Expected to model Evergy's Talent Framework Behaviors, the foundation for HOW we do our jobs at Evergy. At a minimum, incumbents should be able to demonstrate their ability to progressively develop and exhibit these skills at a proficient level:
  • Evergy's People First Values: Safety, Integrity, Ownership, Adaptability
  • Operational Excellence/Execution: Exerts personal effort and enables the team to achieve performance goals and exhibits a continuous improvement mindset
  • Decision Making: Makes informed, objective, timely and ethical decisions
  • Talent Management: Takes initiate to develop self and team, acts with a mindset of diversity, equity and inclusion and creates an environment to attract top talent
  • Strategic Mindset: Demonstrates sound strategic thinking, knows the business, exercises judgment, influences and persuades.

Licenses, Certifications, and/or Testing:
Valid driver's license required.

Working Conditions:
Work is performed in both office and field environments and may include uneven terrain, active agricultural property, construction environments, and variable weather conditions. This position requires regular travel to project sites, courthouses, landowner meetings, local government meetings, and other locations within the service territory. Occasional evening meetings, overnight travel, and work beyond normal business hours may be required to support negotiations, public meetings, closings, or project milestones.

Evergy has a clear mission - To empower a better future. Evergy chooses to live this mission by valuing People First. We know that to lead the responsible energy transition and provide affordable, reliable, and sustainable service to our customers and communities, we need a team with a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills. We are committed to building a team where everyone - regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status - has a voice and can bring their best every day. Evergy is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer.

Disclaimer: The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.