ABOUT THE LAND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

The Land Development Agency (LDA) is the State’s affordable housing delivery body. Its main role is to acquire and develop State and other land to deliver affordable homes, supporting the creation of thriving communities and delivering ongoing positive social impact. It is overseen by an independent Board of Directors and has total capitalisation of up to €8.75bn. To date €6.25 billion of equity capital has been committed by Government and a further €2.5bn capitalisation is permitted under legislation from other sources/debt.

The LDA is active on more than 20 State Land sites and has a delivery pipeline in excess of 25,000 homes. The Agency also works in partnership with the country’s largest and most experienced homebuilders and will deliver a further 8,000 homes under its Project Tosaigh initiative.

Additionally, the LDA is working on large-scale longer-term strategic areas by master-planning and bringing forward planning applications in locations such as Limerick Colbert Quarter, the Digital Hub in Dublin and Sandy Road in Galway.

Role Summary

The Business Manager role is a senior role within the Delivery function, sitting on the management team and working alongside the Director of Delivery (DOD) and the Head of Construction (HOC).

The Delivery Team is responsible for the management and delivery of all LDA projects, including both the direct delivery and the Project Tosaigh programmes. The Delivery Team is currently managing the delivery of over 6,500 homes across 17 live projects and that number is expected to increase significantly through 2026 and 2027.

The successful candidate will be tasked with ensuring that the Delivery functions operations align with the strategic objectives of the LDA. This role supports organisational effectiveness by working closely with the Delivery Team and engaging with internal and external stakeholders. The role will necessitate collaboration across LDA departments, providing for a consistent approach for the execution of priority initiatives.

This position is ideal for a collaborative, motivated and organised professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is eager to broaden their skillset whilst contributing to strategic and day-to-day project and business management activities. The role holder will likely have some exposure to confidential and sensitive information and will be expected to demonstrate ethical and professional judgement, discretion and confidentiality. This role will report directly to the Director of Delivery.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic

To be an effective leader able and willing to work at both a strategic level, working closely with DOD & HOC and lead on strategic operational issues across the Agency.
Demonstrate financial awareness and ensure the delivery of effective high level budgetary control and efficiencies within the organisation, always ensuring Value for Money.
Effectively communicate relevant business and performance data to the Board, Department of Housing and Local Government, customers and stakeholders as appropriate.
Assume responsibility for monthly Executive Leadership Team and Board reports.
Paying attention to the external environment for regulation or legislative changes that will impact on the Business Unit and advising key internal and external stakeholders re same.
Assist in the development of project, team and functional KPI’s and metrics.
Demonstrate financial awareness and ensure the delivery of effective high level budgetary control and efficiencies within the organisation, always ensuring value for money.

Functional (within Delivery Team)

The business manager will be required to lead or provide input into ad hoc projects, as required. This will require agility and strong multitasking capabilities to deal with projects such as managing various Audit programmes, annual budgeting, Risk management etc.
Act as a key point of contact, engaging with both internal and external stakeholders, when required
Carry out strategic post project reviews, revising procedures in response to operational lessons learned.
Conduct financial and procurement appraisals to support scaling, alongside development of organisational plans and resource planning across the Business Unit.
Be the principal internal point of contact and coordinating lead for the effective operational delivery of all Construction Department tasks.
Strategic Management of external consultants, contractors and suppliers to maximise service quality of service being provided
Managing and monitoring of projects from a H&S, Quality, Environmental, Cost & programme perspective
Review working practices and internal Delivery Team processes and procedures, systems and controls towards better and more efficient working practices and collaborate with Governance Framework Team to implement necessary changes.
Meet with Internal Auditor as required to monitor planning and progress of Delivery Internal Audit Plan.
Ensure Progress Tracking Reports for internal audits are kept up to date by relevant members of Delivery Team.
Proactively develop management and leadership skills across the Delivery team to ensure career development and succession planning, including assisting in recruitment.
Arranging and identifying CPD and department learning and development programmes.
To manage annual budgets ensuring corrective actions are taken to avoid unnecessary over or underspend at year end working in collaboration with finance.
Carryout lessons learned of completed projects from transaction to completion (including PT1, PT2 & Self delivery)
Other tasks which may occur and which require action as the role may reasonably require.

Cross Functional

Foster engagement, knowledge sharing and strong communication across functions within the Delivery area to promote cohesion and collaboration, while proactively addressing and removing any roadblocks.
Build and maintain strong collaborative relationships across the Agency to develop a deep understanding of day-to-day and strategic priorities, enabling effective support to the Delivery Team and wider business in delivery of the business agenda and workflow.
Collaborate with the Governance team to support the Governance Framework, assisting in the development, management and continuous implementation of organisational policies and procedures to ensure smooth. operation of business activities in compliance with the governance framework of the LDA
Educating LDA employees on new policy and procedures with the agency.
Contribute to working groups on Risk Management and Internal Control activities and support Business Unit SMEs in delivering presentations on strategic policies and procedures as appropriate.

Reporting

Lead the preparation and consolidation of monthly reports for Executive Leadership Team and Board meetings, and other ad hoc reporting requirements. This will include working with the ELT to track and report progress on the Agency’s key management initiatives.
Coordinate the compilation of the LDA annual report ensuring accuracy, consistency and timeliness
Prepare and coordinate the delivery of the Delivery functions annual work plan.

Requirements:

Third level qualification, or equivalent, in Business, Project Management or a related discipline.
Minimum five years’ experience working in a comparable senior role.
Deep experience in stakeholder relationship management.
Leadership experience in enhancing business unit, departmental and wider organisational collaboration and effectiveness.

Person Specification:

Sector knowledge an advantage but not a strict requirement.
Demonstrates exceptional communication and organisational skills.
Ability to plan and execute projects on time and within budget.
Proven ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities effectively.
A collaborative team player, with excellent interpersonal skills, who builds strong working relationships.
Skilled in stakeholder engagement, with the ability to foster long term partnerships.
Proven horizon scanning and anticipatory skills.
Adaptable and agile in a dynamic environment, comfortable navigating ambiguity.
Self-starter, who values autonomy and operates effectively with minimal direction.
Takes a strategic agency wide perspective.
Solution orientated with a can-do attitude.
Maintains composure under pressure.
Strong leadership skills, able to guide, influence and achieve outcomes through others.
Embraces the open nature of the role and thrives in an environment with broad scope and evolving challenges.

To Apply:

The closing date for applications is 5pm on the 6th of February 2026.

The Land Development Agency is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to promote and support a diverse and inclusive workforce, and we endeavour to provide reasonable accommodation as required.

Business Manager

Job Description