Estates Surveyor

Together we are Trusted to Serve Scotland.

Estates Surveyor – Commercial Land Management

It’s not every job where you make a difference for the people of Scotland. But it’s what’s behind every job here.

Our work keeps Scotland’s water flowing, from reservoir to tap – and from sewer to treatment plant.

Do your bit by joining our Commercial Land Management Team as an Estates Surveyor, based in Edinburgh. Our current Fairmilehead Office (EH10 6XH) is relocating to Waverly Court (EH8 8BG) later this year.

What you will do

As an Estates Surveyor, you will provide professional property and estate management advice across a varied portfolio. Your responsibilities will include managing disposals, leases, servitudes, wayleaves, estate management matters, occasional acquisitions, and supporting the administration of Scottish Water’s non-domestic rates portfolio.

Working closely with internal stakeholders and external customers, you will negotiate agreements, instruct and manage external agents and solicitors, and provide practical property solutions that balance commercial, operational and customer requirements.

You will be part of a skilled and supportive team, collaborating with colleagues across the business to deliver excellent outcomes and contribute to the effective management of one of Scotland's largest and most diverse property portfolios.

What you will need

First off, you will have plenty of experience, the right qualifications, and you are a people person through and through.

You will have experience of managing a broad range of property matters, ideally including leasehold management, property transactions, land rights, estate management and valuation matters. Experience of business rates would be advantageous, although not essential.

You will be comfortable building effective relationships with internal stakeholders, landowners, tenants, solicitors, agents and other external partners. Strong negotiation skills, sound commercial awareness and a pragmatic approach to problem-solving will be key to your success.

You will be self-motivated, organised and able to manage a varied workload while delivering high-quality outcomes. You will also be confident using IT systems and have strong analytical and report-writing skills

You will hold MRICS status, ideally within the Commercial Real Estate or Rural pathways, and will be able to demonstrate relevant post-qualification experience across a range of commercial property and estate management matters.

Looking out for you

While the work we do is important, we know it’s not the only thing that matters. That’s why we make sure you have everything you need to find a good work-life balance.

You’ll get plenty of time to recharge with 38 days of holiday every year (including public holidays). And you can even buy five more if you need a little extra time. You can also take paid time off to volunteer in your community.

When it comes to major life events we have family-friendly policies around adoption, maternity, and parental leave. And for the everyday? We embrace flexible working.

For your future, there’s our pension (the ‘know-what-you’ll-get-when-you-retire’ kind), as well as life assurance.

As for some nice extras? You will participate in a company bonus scheme. Not to mention access to SW Splash – handy rewards that can save you money on holidays, bills, and shopping.

The not-so-small print

This role will be a Grade 7. If you’re new to Scottish Water, you’ll join us on a starting salary of £45,699. Performance-driven pay progression would then allow you to move through the range to a maximum of £56,669.

If you’re interested in this role – or know someone else who might be - we’ll be accepting applications until midnight on the 16th August 2026.

We operate Balanced Hybrid working at Scottish Water and we encourage people to work half their time in a Scottish Water location.

Job offers at Scottish Water are conditional, and will be confirmed on completion of our pre-employment screening, e.g. referencing, criminal record checks, license checks, etc. Screening is conducted on our behalf by a third party, and must be completed before your start date. Don’t worry - we’ll only start these checks once you’ve accepted an offer.

A few final things worth knowing…

Research shows that some people avoid applying for jobs unless they can meet every single criteria. If you’re interested in this job, but don’t tick all the boxes, apply anyway! We hardly ever hire people who can do every part of a job from Day One. Everyone has a learning curve. So don’t rule yourself out!

Let us know if there are any changes we can make to our recruitment process to help you perform at your best. Lots of our people have disabilities or neurodiverse conditions (including some of our recruiters!). We're also aware that some people might be experiencing temporary challenges because of life events, like menopause. We’re very used to making adjustments, so please don’t be afraid to ask.

As part of our commitment to developing a flourishing Scotland, it’s important that all our employees are Scottish taxpayers. If you join us, your home address will need to be in Scotland. If you don’t already live here, you'll need to commit to moving here within your first three months.

Please note, Scottish Water takes the safety, health and wellbeing of our employees, colleagues and customers very seriously and as such you may be subject to Drug & Alcohol testing in line with our policy.

Finally (finally!), candidates who haven’t submitted an application in the last 12 months will have their records