Hiring guide: Site Selection, Land & Development
Data Center Headhunters recruits critical facilities, data center operations, construction and delivery, commissioning, power and cooling, and executive talent for colocation, hyperscale and enterprise sites. We research the market, contact working people and qualify a shortlist for your opening. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Hiring into land and development is hard because the titles overlap, the work is long-cycle, and a candidate's best deal may have taken years to show results, so you need a way to read the record.
This is what we do all day: recruit data center professionals.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Data centers only, construction to operations
- Local and 100% travel candidates
- Replacement guarantee on standard searches
What does this hire really come down to?
This desk covers the people who find and secure ground, prove it can be powered, win the approvals and money, and then manage it. Directors of development, due diligence managers, analysts, incentive specialists, community affairs managers, capital markets managers and portfolio asset managers all sit here, and each owns a different risk.
Start by deciding which risk worries you most: land, power, public approval, money or operating return. That choice tells you which seat to fill first. Many companies open a director search when the real hole is a single missing skill, such as utility negotiation or lender relationships.
What do we check before you see anyone?
Ask what a candidate personally signed, filed or presented, and what was done by someone else. Ask for one dead deal and what they learned from it. Separate power experience from land experience. They are different skills and often held by different people.
- Ask what a candidate personally signed, filed or presented, and what was done by someone else.
- Ask for one dead deal and what they learned from it.
- Separate power experience from land experience. They are different skills and often held by different people.
Where do we find these candidates?
We draw from industrial and logistics developers, utility and energy development teams, environmental and engineering consultancies, public sector planning and economic development offices, and infrastructure investment groups. Each background is strong in one risk and thin in another, which is why we state which one we are testing before introducing anyone.
Which hiring mistakes should you avoid?
Do not write a title instead of a remit. Two directors of development can have entirely different authority. Do not hire a closer when you need someone to deliver entitlement after the signing. Do not let each interviewer ask about a different thing, so nobody compares the same evidence.
- Writing a title instead of a remit. Two directors of development can have entirely different authority.
- Hiring a closer when you need someone to deliver entitlement after the signing.
- Letting each interviewer ask about a different thing, so nobody compares the same evidence.
How the search runs
Name the risk
We begin with the risk you most need to remove and the seat that owns it.
Write the remit
We note what the person decides, who they report to and which sites or regions they cover.
Screen on evidence
Each candidate describes one real site, financing or approval from start to finish.
Brief your panel
We give interviewers different probes, so their notes can be compared.
Which title to open first
If you have land but no path to power, hire someone who has worked with utilities on load studies and interconnection before you hire an analyst. If you have power but no public support, a community and government affairs manager comes ahead of capital markets help. If you have both and need money, structure is the next gap.
Analysts and due diligence managers are the right first hire when the problem is volume. They screen parcels and review studies so senior people spend time on the sites that deserve it.
Mechanics of the search
This kind of search often involves people who are quietly working on live transactions. Confidentiality matters, and approaches should be discreet. Expect candidates to ask about the strength of your pipeline, since they will not want to join a team with no sites to work.
Interview questions
Which parcel did you take furthest, and what did the utility tell you about delivery dates? A strong answer names the study, the engineer and the date that moved. A vague answer about strong relationships suggests the power work sat with someone else.
What did you recommend against, and who disagreed? Candidates who have held real decision weight describe the objection and the outcome. Those who only supported decisions talk about the final result.
Which commitment to a county, a lender or a public agency was hardest to keep after signing? Listen for dates, owners and what it cost. People who administered the obligation remember it in detail, while those who negotiated and moved on speak in general terms.
What would you want to know before treating this land as buildable? Good answers start with power, access to fiber, flood and zoning. Weak ones start with price per acre.
Questions
How soon will I see a shortlist for a development hire?
It depends on how specific the seat is and how rare the power or entitlement background you need. We send profiles as they pass a deal-level screen. We will not quote a day count.
How do counteroffers affect land and development searches?
They are frequent because live pipelines make people hard to replace. We ask early what the person wants that their current employer cannot provide. Authority and market scope usually matter more than a raise.
Do development people relocate?
Some will move for a defined market, while others prefer a home base with travel. Because relationships are regional, we ask about it before the first interview.
How should I set travel and per diem expectations?
Site visits, public hearings and utility meetings are normal for several of these roles. State the expected pattern and how costs are handled. Candidates compare it against family needs.
How do I decide between a specialist and a generalist?
Specialists suit a known problem, such as utility interconnection or incentives. Generalists suit a small team with many unknowns. Ask which gap would cost you most in the next year.
How are fees handled across these searches?
Our agreement sets out fee and replacement terms and is sent before work begins. You may ask for it ahead of sharing any role detail. We will explain any clause.
Titles in this family
- Every Site Selection, Land & Development title
- Site Selection, Land & Development hub
- Site Selection Manager
- Land Acquisition Manager
- Development Manager, Data Center
- Director of Development
- Entitlements & Zoning Manager
- Due Diligence Manager
- Development Analyst
- Economic Development & Incentives Manager
- Community & Government Affairs Manager
- Capital Markets / Investment Manager
- Asset Manager, Data Center Portfolio