Senior VP, West Region Water Dams Practice Lead

This Opportunity

WSP USA is currently initiating a search for a Senior VP, West Region Water Dam Practice Lead.  

WSP is investing in transformational growth in our Water business with a focus on continued growth of our ENR ranked Dams & Reservoir engineering team. We are seeking a passionate, driven leader who will drive excellence as we deliver our existing portfolio of work and will help continue to grow our footprint in the dam engineering/ water resources market. We are seeking a practice leader with a technical and sales background in water resources, structural, or geotechnical engineering focused on dams to provide leadership and expertise in the pursuit and delivery of complex dam, levee, civil works, and flood resiliency projects. Our ideal candidate has solid client relationships, a strong technical foundation, is committed delivering quality products, and is passionate about building cohesive, best-in-class teams. They will drive growth, deliver excellence, and mentor staff in a collaborative environment with the business line leaders across U.S. operations.

WSP has hundreds of US office locations. The successful candidate will have options to operate from a mutually agreed office within the West region.

Your Impact

• Lead the growth strategy for the Dam & Reservoir market for the West Region. Identify priority clients, strategic projects, and areas of market investments targeted at the growth of the practice.
• Lead the operations and project delivery for WSP’s dam practice in the west. This practice provides services on a wide range of projects including dams and appurtenant structures, levees, floodwalls, penstocks, dam removal, and licensing/permitting. 
• Supervise staff and manage their development and performance, enhancing their engagement in our greater organization and promoting their professional development. Track and manage financial KPIs and utilization goals. Manage backlog and staff workload.
• Recruit/hire staff and direct project staffing assignments to meet client, contract, and company business objectives.
• Drive technical excellence.
• Identify opportunities, position, and lead pursuit development to drive annual 15-20% growth objectives. 
• Manage projects to scope, schedule, and budget commitments, with health & safety and quality in the forefront of project delivery. Achieve target project metrics, including days sales outstanding and target direct labor multipliers.
• Travel occasionally to project sites, client meetings, public meetings, and professional conferences/meetings. 
• Strengthen WSP’s brand through engaging in professional organizations, giving presentations at industry events, and developing online communication assets. 
• 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 all other position related duties as assigned or requested.
• Perform and review work products developed and prepared by junior staff, including dam safety inspections and prepare reports in conformance with state or federal regulatory guidelines.
• Review and supervise development of the following: hydraulic, geotechnical, and structural design calculations, modeling studies, engineering drawings, reports, project standards and specifications, quantity take-offs, engineering cost estimates, and permit applications for projects involving hydraulic structures.
• Facilitate, direct, and/or perform field visits and site reconnaissance as dictated by project requirements. 
• Apply regulatory knowledge with USACE, FEMA, FERC, USBR, DSOD (CA), and other local, state, and federal agencies and regulators.
• Demonstrated experience with dam stability analysis, seismicity issues, flood hydrology, mechanical design knowledge, geotechnical knowledge, dam monitoring and instrumentation, dam operations, and risk assessment preferred.
• Help manage task scope, schedule, and budget while verifying quality standards are met.
• Develop client relationships, pursue prospective projects, prepare proposals, and present at client interviews and industry forums.
   

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in dam engineering, preferably with at least 3 years of related experience in the West Region 
• Bachelor’s degree in Civil and/or Structural Engineering, or related field
• Specialized dam engineering expertise with a strong background in the fields of geotechnical or structural engineering
• Strong analytical and design skills
• Experience building business through external client engagement and internal sales management processes
• Budget management / ent