Associate Director/Technical Director - Building Performance & Sustainability (Building Services)

We have an exciting opportunity for an Associate Director/Technical Director – Building Performance & Sustainability, based in our London office. You will provide technical leadership in building performance and sustainability, supporting the delivery of complex, high-profile projects and major frameworks in London and across the UK. You will join our growing Building Performance team, contributing to a connected national network of specialists delivering energy, carbon and wider sustainability outcomes across the built environment.

The Building Performance team primarily supports the UK business in terms of energy, carbon and holistic sustainability advice within the Built Environment. The team covers a central role in Property and Buildings multi-disciplinary projects coordinating all WSP disciplines towards the delivery of sustainable designs. While the team works on single building projects it also provides sustainability & energy master planning advice for both urban and semi-rural developments, as well as supporting the delivery of BREEAM, LEED, WELL and NABERS consulting services.

Reporting to our London Building Performance Lead, you will help develop and grow the team’s offering across a range of sectors. The growing team will form a key part of our national Building Performance Network (BPN) within the Building Services Practice. The role will be client-facing, helping clients to understand how to define and fulfil their strategic goals towards net zero operational energy, embodied carbon and wider sustainability targets.

A little more about your role…

You will combine deep technical expertise in building performance, energy and carbon with client-facing leadership to grow and deliver WSP’s Building Performance & Sustainability offering in London and nationally. Working in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary and networked team structure and reporting to the London Building Performance Lead, you will lead project strategy and governance, coordinate multidisciplinary delivery on a day-to-day basis, and act as the sustainability focal point for clients and internal stakeholders.

Alongside hands-on technical leadership, you will support the effective running of the team: helping plan and prioritise resourcing, maintaining visibility of delivery performance and project financial health, and embedding consistent delivery frameworks and quality standards. You will contribute to major bids and frameworks—shaping win themes, scopes, programmes and resourcing plans—and play an active role as people manager in mentoring and capability development across the team, including senior colleagues through peer review, coaching and knowledge sharing.

What you’ll do

Technical leadership – building performance & sustainability

• Lead and assure energy and carbon strategies, performance modelling inputs and evidence-based reporting for complex projects.
• Provide technical direction on operational energy, operational carbon, embodied carbon and low-carbon design, influencing decisions from early strategy through design delivery.
• Advise on relevant UK legislation, planning policy and sustainability standards (e.g., BREEAM, WELL, NABERS; LEED where applicable).
• Set expectations for quality and consistency: review outputs, manage technical risk, and ensure robust assumptions and traceable evidence.

Project delivery & day-to-day coordination

• Coordinate day-to-day sustainability delivery across multi-disciplinary teams, aligning inputs to programme, design stage and client priorities.
• Act as the sustainability focal point between client teams, internal specialists and external stakeholders—driving actions, decisions and accountability.
• Translate client ambitions into practical, deliverable strategies; communicate trade-offs clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Support task planning and resourcing across live projects and bids, resolving clashes and prioritising workload to maintain delivery momentum.

Client engagement, work winning & market profile

• Build trusted-adviser relationships and represent WSP in client meetings, workshops and design reviews.
• Lead bids, proposals and major frameworks: shape technical approach, scope, programme, resourcing and value proposition.
• Identify cross-selling opportunities and collaborate across WSP disciplines to support account growth and strategic opportunities.
• Champion innovation and best practice, clearly articulating benefits, outcomes and delivery pathways to clients and colleagues.

People development, capability & team operations 

• Actively mentor and upskill consultants, and contribute to senior capability through peer review, coaching and technical challenge.
• Oversee and support the senior team with day-to-day resourcing coordination: short-term planning, resolving clashes, managing priorities and supporting workload balancing across live projects and bids.
• Lead inputs to delivery forecasting and financial awareness activities, supporting the team to manage budgets, fees and deliverables effectively.
• Play a key role in proposal development framework: shaping technical approach, resourcing and programme, and drafting/reviewing content to strengthen bid quality and consistency.
• Help drive consistent quality and continuous improvement via delivery frameworks, technical standards, training and knowledge sharing.

What we will be looking for you to demonstrate…

• Proven leadership in delivering sustainability and energy strategy for large/major projects, including complex and mixed-use developments.
• A technical grounding in building performance, energy strategy, operational carbon, embodied carbon and low-carbon design principles.
• Client-facing capability as a trusted technical lead; able to communicate complex technical topics clearly and credibly.
• An understanding of the design and construction process and the implications for sustainable design delivery.
• Experience leading work winning (bids/proposals) with commercial awareness; ability to provide inputs to fees, budgets and delivery forecasting.
• Knowledge of UK planning policy and sustainability requirements relevant to net zero and carbon outcomes.
• Experience with people management responsibilities (e.g., line management and/or mentoring) within a complex consultancy environment.
• Ability to mentor others and contribute to training and capability development.

• Must be able to obtain UK vetting level of Security Check (SC) 

Qualifications

• Degree in engineering, environmental, architectural or sustainability-related discipline.
• Membership of a relevant professional institution; chartered status (or working towards chartership) in a related discipline.

Don’t quite meet all the criteria? Apply, and we can see how your experience aligns to this role and other opportunities within the team.