Right of Way Specialist

Position Summary

The Right of Way Specialist is responsible for assisting the department with real estate research, negotiations, and acquisition of land rights needed for the installation, use, and maintenance of the public utilities’ infrastructure and other real estate interests and assets. This position includes obtaining and analyzing property ownership information, land title documents, appraisal data, and preparing easement documentation to support utility capital improvement projects.

The Right of Way Specialist will assist in the acquisition activities through a defined process, including assisting with securing NBU easements, accomplishing easement encroachment and abandonment requests, answering easement questions, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely completion of assigned tasks.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Supporting in-house and contracted property and easement acquisition activities for large-scale utility capital improvement and relocation projects.
• Brokering electric, water, and sewer easement agreements with landowners to facilitate utility extension projects for all forms of local development.
• Analyzing and facilitating review of Easement Encroachment and Easement Abandonment applications and formulating associated legal instruments to ensure compliance with local development codes and ordinances.
• Ordering and analyzing reports from real estate appraisers.
• Engaging Registered Professional Land Surveyors to provide required surveying work for utility real estate matters.
• Reviewing civil engineering plans to analyze easement needs and identify potential conflicts for all forms of public and private projects involving utilities.
• Serving as real estate liaison for intergovernmental matters, and as a subject matter expert for proposal review and process improvement initiatives.

Secure NBU Easements

• Work with customers to determine easement needs based on electrical engineering and water systems engineering graphics 
• Coordinate with hired contractors to accomplish easement meets and bounds (if needed); coordinate with operations and engineering to understand and meet deadlines 
• Facilitate review, correction, and execution of subdivision plats in cooperation with local and county authorities. 
• Accomplish easement meets and bounds through ArcMap or Arc FM
• Coordinate with survey personnel to ensure proper quadrants are displayed for easement parcel information 
• Negotiate easement agreement information (size of easement, cost, timeframe) and relay information to supervisor 
• Meet with customers onsite to answer and inform them of easement concerns and placement on property 
• Draft easement agreements for customer signature and recordation at the Comal County Courthouse 
• Process check requests for easement payment to the customer and deliver a check if needed 
• Perform title research on historical easement information that may conflict with the proposed easement 
• Update all documents in various databases for proper record retention to occur 
• Schedule and attend appropriate meetings to ensure successful project management 
• Research historical data associated with easements 
• Coordinate internal review of document change requests

Accomplish Easement Encroachment and Abandonment Requests

• Engage customers to determine if encroachment or abandonment is necessary, inform them of NBU's process, and provide documents when needed 
• Coordinate customer questions with engineering departments regarding encroachment or abandonments 
• Log in customer information and create encroachment spreadsheets for NBU to track requests 
• Inform customers of status updates of encroachment requests 
• Guide request internally, through engineering, to the executive level for review 
• Inform customers of the request decision, if denied, facilitate further avenues of easement design possibilities

Internal And External Easement Questions 

• Investigate easement/Right-of-Way information needed by engineering departments or external customers utilizing the GIS archive 
• Resolve disputes with NBU customers regarding easement questions and established easement agreement terms and guidelines 
• Perform research on archived easement data to ensure the information given to the customer is correct and precise 
• Answer electric and water engineering questions regarding easement placement, directions, locations, and ownership 
• Consult with engineers to identify the correct placement of easements and ensure correct NBU easement practices are followed 
• Attend monthly city plat meetings and answer questions from contractors regarding NBU infrastructure and easement location 
• Attend weekly City of New Braunfels Pre-Development meetings and answer questions from contractors regarding NBU infrastructure and easement location.
• Research and communication with various state agencies on easement locations and historical ownerships 
• Schedule meetings and interviewing appropriate people to ensure communication and information flow

• Performs Notary Public responsibilities as required.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Acquisition Process:

This role supports the full Right of Way acquisition lifecycle. Key skill areas include:

1. Supporting other Real Estate Services staff in negotiating fee simple acquisition of properties for new municipal utility sites, and for expansion of existing sites.
2. Title/public records research
3. Preparation and coordination of NBU easement documents for CIP and developer projects
4. Assisting with developer-driven projects involving NBU easements, including surveying coordination and civil plan reviews as applicable

5. Facilitating Easement Encroachment and Abandonment requests
6. Internal and external easement questions 

These steps are considered critical to successfully performing the role.

General Responsibilities

• Maintain regular attendance; leave schedules should be managed to support deadlines, special projects, and assignments.
• Adhere to NBU safety guidelines and practices at all times and in all situations.
• Attend mandatory training coordinated by the NBU Safety Learning and Development departments and the International Right-of-Way Association (IRWA).
• Maintain a clean and safe work area, office, field site, and vehicle as applicable.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of business, employee, and customer information in written and oral communications and safeguard sensitive documents.
• Develop and maintain effective customer service skills for communications with coworkers, customers, and the public.
• Adhere to NBU policies and procedures.
• Exemplify NBU Core Values of Integrity, Stewardship, Team, and Safety.
• Participate in and support initiatives to meet annual NBU Performance Measures.

Formal Education and Work Experience Requirements

 Degree/Diploma Obtained: Bachelor’s Preferred

Work Experience Time Frame: 1-5 Years or More Field of Study: Geography, General Business, Computer Technology, or Land Surveying is required. . 

Other: Years of experience in excess of the minimum requirements may replace educational requirements.

Certification and Licensure Requirements

- Must have or be able to obtain a Notary Public License

- A Valid Driver's License is required to operate a company vehicle when needed

Other Minimum Qualifications

• 1–5 years of experience in the Right of Way field, including experience supporting acquisitions and real estate negotiations involving easements and land rights.

Demonstrated experience in the following critical skill areas:

• Title examination/title research
• Easement document preparation and supporting acquisition paperwork 
• Landowner communication and negotiation exposure

• Working knowledge of Microsoft suite tools is required
• Working knowledge of ArcMap or Arc FM is preferred.
• Experience with general surveying practices is preferred.
• Public records research experience is preferred
• Strong working knowledge of real estate documentation and the acquisition process, including working cross-functionally with legal, engineering, and external vendors.
• Strong organizational skills with close attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate documentation and records.
• Ability to communicate professionally and effectively with landowners, internal stakeholders, and external partners.

Important clarification:

• General real estate experience does not qualify as Right of Way experience unless it includes direct Right-of-Way acquisition work, title examination, easement preparation, and negotiation involvement.