Senior Project Manager - Planning

This Opportunity

WSP USA, Inc. (WSP) is looking for a motivated, highly skilled, and experienced Senior Planning Manager for our California Planning Practice.  This role is aligned with WSP’s Senior Vice President level and will focus on  transportation, housing, environmental, or land use planning for our California-based planning team. This leader will work closely with planning, environmental, civil, and transit/rail staff across WSP to research, analyze, document and present information related to various types of transportation and housing projects across the region and can be based out of any WSP California office. 

The Senior Planning Manager will organize, plan, and grow our Planning services in Northern California while serving as a client advisor, staff manager, and pursuit and project manager on Northern California and regional projects and programs. This manager will provide leadership, definition, and oversight pertaining to the consistent delivery of large scale/highly complex project management work within a sector or national business line, ensuring the application of capabilities and expertise, and that QA/QC practices are in alignment with corporate business strategy, operational performance, and risk management objectives.  Serves as a Project Management subject matter expert and champion for ensuring corporate compliance with all internal project management standards and successfully addressing current and future project management challenges within a large-scale and multi-faceted business organization.

Your Impact

• Lead our Northern California-based team of land use, housing, transit/transportation, and environmental (NEPA/CEQA) planners.
• Provide profit & loss leadership over projects, pursuits, and staff, including managing and directing successful outcomes for key performance indicators.
• Provide proactive and strategic leadership for the planning discipline and function, offering direction, expertise, and support to ensure technically proficient and high-quality planning deliverables are provided to our clients.
• Responsible for the contribution and management of multi-disciplinary project teams in all phases of the execution and delivery of feasibility studies, alternatives analyses, site selection reports, NEPA/CEQA compliance documents, locally preferred alternative selection, comprehensive plan updates, climate action plans, short/long range plans, etc. 
• Lead larger-scale more complex planning projects ensuring contributors know what they are required to do and by when, preparing and overseeing relevant project budgets, monitoring external events, tracking hours and expenses, ensuring profitability and satisfactory performance, and supervising subcontractors, contract work, and employees.
• Actively ensure compliance with applicable Federal, State, and Local Agency laws, policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Support the overall long-term strategy, growth, and pipeline development of transportation, housing, and environmental planning work for WSP in assigned area of responsibility, with a focus on opportunities in all disciplines (planning, design, strategic consulting, and program management).  
• Lead technical aspects of contract negotiation, presentations, and meetings.
• Assist with the preparation of an annual update to business tactical action plans within the specified area.
• Ensure that planning discipline certifications, accreditations, and value proposition is developed and continuously improved.
• Conduct needs analyses and client value surveys to align the planning discipline’s function with business and project strategy, identifying and addressing any skill gaps or risks within the sector business operations.
• Schedule planning discipline meetings, providing updates and recommendations to ensure that all reasonable and proper measures are taken to inculcate discipline expertise and innovation into project work.
• Serve as one of the planning discipline’s lead representatives/liaison to a variety of external entities including Federal, State, and Local Agencies, Clients, Subcontractors, industry-related groups, and various government and community entities.
• Develop and inform proposal and project scopes, timelines, pricing, and budgetary metrics.
• Interpret and summarize data, including reports and documents that result in sound planning and regulatory conclusions to minimize impacts to the community, population, local economy, and environment.
• Maintain and grow a client base for providing high level Transportation and Housing Planning services including identifying additional business development opportunities, and cross-selling of other WSP capabilities.
• Manage and provide performance guidance and leadership to assigned staff.
• Remain current in latest transportation, housing, urban design, urban and environmental planning subject matter, practices, regulations, and techniques.  
• Collaborate with professionals from a variety of disciplines to provide “trusted advisor” service and future ready solutions for clients.
• Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding company funds, resources and conduct, and adhere to WSP’s Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures.
• Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.  

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• A minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible experience in land use, transportation planning, housing planning, environmental planning, or policy work.
• The successful candidate will have worked on and led projects similar to those described above, overseeing the work of others successfully and/or managing staff
• A Bachelor’s degree in Transportation Planning, Urban Planning, Environmental Planning, Civil Engineering, Public Policy, or a related field.
• Ability to develop business and technical strategy with others as well as develop and manage high quality technical and professional deliverables on projects and proposals.  
• Experience with transit agencies, local municipalities, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and/or California regulatory agencies. 
• Experience with project administration and project management in the transportation sector.
• Possess strong communication skills, a high level of energy, enthusiasm, and positive attitude
• Proficiency with the transportation project development cycle, including from planning to implementation.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are necessary. Experience with MicroStation and/or GIS programs is highly desirable.
• Ability to effectively present and communicate ideas orally and in written form and excellent writing skills are required. The successful candidate may be requested to provide prior samples.
• Ability to work in the United States, and possession of a valid driver’s license is required.
• Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP’s health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.
• Occasional travel may be required. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree is preferred.
• Essential professional licensure/certification (e.g., AICP Certification). 

WSP Benefits: 

WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on a providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career. These benefits include coverage related to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life; retirement savings; paid sick leave; paid vacation (or other personal time); paid parental leave; and paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings. 

Compensation:

Expected Salary (all locations): $265,000 - $290,000

WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and offer for this position, based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities in addition to internal equity and specific geographic location. WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.

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