Land Use & Permitting, Senior Manager

About the role

You will own the end-to-end land use and permitting strategy for Rowan Digital Infrastructure's data center portfolio, driving entitlement activities from initial concept through final approval. You will serve as the primary internal expert responsible for navigating complex local, state, and federal regulatory landscapes to secure necessary approvals on schedule. This role requires you to develop and execute permitting schedules that directly support project delivery dates and mitigate regulatory risk. You will collaborate directly with project leads to ensure permitting strategies are integrated into overall project planning and execution. You will manage relationships with consultants and external experts to resolve complex land use and regulatory challenges. You will frequently communicate with key stakeholders to align on priorities and provide updates on permitting progress and potential obstacles. You will ensure that all appropriate team members or contractors are leading specific permitting efforts to maximize efficiency and accountability.

Key facts

What you'll do

Lead local permitting and entitlement efforts for a portfolio of data center projects, ensuring alignment with Rowan's strategic development goals.

Lead land use approvals, including annexations, rezoning, use permits, variances, and subdivisions, ensuring land is fully prepared and aligned with construction schedules.

Partner with key development leads to act as a primary liaison between Rowan and city and county Authority Having Jurisdictions (AHJs) on identifying and tracking local permitting and approvals requirements.

Understand, interpret, communicate and manage permitting risks in critical areas related to land use and construction permitting for internal teams and stakeholders.

Develop and maintain local permitting matrices for each site in Rowan's portfolio to track requirements, statuses, and deadlines.

Act as the subject matter land use expert and local permitting requirements in internal and external reporting, responding to inquiries from finance, economic development, government affairs, lenders, and AHJs.

Support the growth of Rowan by helping establish good project diligence and reporting practices and improving processes and systems as the company scales.

Train and coach other project leads to support AHJ engagement, entitlements, and permitting in support of Rowan's growth and execution goals.

Evaluate new regions, policies, and participate in economic development and government affairs review and risk analysis of new potential projects.

Provide critical inputs to schedules, budgets and other organizational documentation managed by finance and operations teams.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a related field (planning, environmental, real estate), preferably a Master's Degree in a related field, and at least 7 years of experience leading large-scale complex site development projects.

Experience analyzing local regulations and leading local AHJ permitting efforts while collaborating effectively with Planning Staff.

Experience researching permit requirements, utilizing online regulatory reporting platforms, and leveraging online GIS databases to support land use and permitting workflows.

Experience developing permitting matrices and entitlement strategies, with the capability to support or lead multiple efforts concurrently without losing focus on critical path items.

Experience communicating with senior leaders and executives at all levels of the organization, ensuring clarity and alignment on complex permitting topics.

Experience leading complex cross-functional efforts across engineering, construction, operations, and government affairs teams to advance shared objectives.

Experience working with engineers to ensure alignment on deliverables and permitting schedule adherence for data center projects.

Ability to travel up to 30% to project sites to conduct due diligence, attend meetings, and build relationships with key stakeholders.

Practical notes

Travel: Ability to travel up to 30% to project sites

Location: Denver, CO (Hybrid, 3 days/week)

About Rowan

Rowan is hiring for Land Use & Permitting, Senior Manager. The listing location is Denver, CO Office.

This Land Use & Permitting, Senior Manager opening is posted for Denver, CO Office.