Site Strategy & Development Director - Data Centre

About the role

A high-growth data centre developer expanding its European footprint and investing in scalable, AI-ready infrastructure is looking for a Site Strategy & Development Director. Reporting directly to the CEO, the role shapes market entry, site selection, power strategy, land acquisition, development feasibility and investment decisions. It offers visibility at leadership and board level and the autonomy to build the market intelligence and site origination function from the ground up.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and execute the European site strategy and market expansion plans, prioritising markets by customer demand, power availability, grid constraints, connectivity, land availability, regulation and speed-to-market.
• Build and lead a centralised market intelligence function, including a GIS-based mapping tool and a structured approach to identifying and qualifying future data centre opportunities.
• Maintain a pipeline of land, power and infrastructure opportunities for scalable, resilient and AI-ready developments.
• Lead site feasibility assessments and technical, commercial, environmental and regulatory due diligence, assessing grid capacity, connection routes, power delivery timelines, redundancy, energy costs and expansion potential with utilities, grid operators and energy partners.
• Lead negotiations on land options, acquisitions, development agreements, easements and strategic partnerships.
• Develop site-level financial assessments and prepare investment cases, CEO briefings and Board-level recommendations.
• Own the early-stage development process from identification through acquisition to ready-to-build and handover to design and construction.
• Coordinate Engineering, Operations, Design & Construction, Commercial, Legal, Finance and ESG teams, and manage early-stage risks.
• Build relationships with landowners, developers, utilities, authorities, municipalities, regulators, advisors and customers, and report regularly to the CEO and Leadership Team.

Required profile

• 5-10+ years' experience in data centre site selection, infrastructure development, real estate development, energy strategy, utilities, commercial development or technical real estate.
• Proven track record of identifying, evaluating and securing sites for data centre, mission-critical, energy-intensive or large-scale infrastructure projects.
• Experience with land acquisition, zoning, permitting, environmental due diligence, entitlements and local authority engagement across European markets.
• Strong commercial and financial understanding, including development cost modelling, total cost of ownership, lease-versus-own analysis and investment approval processes.
• Strong negotiation, stakeholder management and cross-functional leadership skills; excellent communication in a fast-paced, international environment.
• European language skills are advantageous.

Location: UK or Netherlands, with regular travel to Amsterdam, prospective sites, target markets, utility meetings and local authorities. Contact the recruiter for more information.