Pursuit Manager

This Opportunity

WSP is currently initiating a search for a Pursuit Manager for our national team. All major city locations will be considered. Be involved in projects with our National Major Pursuits Team and be a part of a growing organization that meets our client’s objectives and solves their challenges.

Job Summary: Accountable to National Major Pursuits Director, this Pursuit Manager provides strategic leadership on the company’s most complex and impactful opportunities from lead identification through contract award. Responsible for engaging with and leveraging WSP’s entire Strategy and Growth Organization (Regional Leadership and Regional Development Directors, National Business Lines, SGT, Comms, GR, R&D, others) to inform decision making, develop strategies, and drive successful pursuits and strategic initiatives. Serves as an advocate and dedicated resource while partnering with pursuit teams to drive the execution of strategy. Leverages WSP global expertise and varied national experience, including contributing to/facilitating technical discussions, leveraging client knowledge and partner relationships, and bringing experience and ideas to local teams based on exposure to other client procurements/solutions across the country to develop compelling differentiators and value propositions. Leads the team in uncovering the client’s desired characteristics in a project manager and helps to assess and ensure the WSP project manager is vetted with the client. Builds and leverages relationships with teaming partners to help pursuit teams assess competition and build the best team to meet client needs. In some instances, builds and leverages external client relationships (staff and/or board/elected officials) to help pursuit teams understand client goals and project background, in some cases to help influence scopes and RFP language, and to ensure client goals are addressed within pursuit strategy. Engagement and leadership in national initiatives that may include new service offerings, expanded market share and market entry, advanced technology, and business expansion. Responsible for knowledge sharing, mentoring, and participating in trainings in coordination with the regional SGT teams. 

Your Impact

Pursuit Management and Leadership

• Dedicated Leader throughout the Pursuit Process - Works closely with the national business lines, Regions, and Districts to formulate and execute the capture plan, from the positioning phase through the interview, often a 12-18 month process. Ability to be the “champion” and lead the team regardless if a technical PM is identified yet; brings tactics and strategies, partnering and competitor strengths/weaknesses from pursuits around the country to help inform local teams and strategy development; as pursuit champion, responsibilities include strategic guidance for pursuit tactical action plan and schedule of activities; developing strategies to win; supporting technical champions in the testing and refining of strategies and approaches; collaborating with technical staff to write/review/edit proposal content.
• Client and Opportunity Awareness – Engage Client Program Account Leader when opportunity sits within a Key Client Account; conducts self-driven research through multiple sources (agency or industry documents, board reports, project documents and studies, competitor research, conversations with WSP team members) to be well informed about the opportunity or initiative; has the ability to explain the opportunity, initiative, or client goals to the firm’s leadership or engage in conversations with our competition/potential partners and when appropriate, our clients, to advance our positioning and develop our strategy.
• Collaborative Leader - In collaboration with local leadership, develops and drives the pursuit management process/timeline, including cadence of meetings and identifying/engaging national and global experts to bring unique perspectives/expertise to identify ways to differentiate WSP from the competition.
• Accountability/Judgement - Responsible and accountable for hands-on direction and guidance in leading both the technical and marketing team’s implementation of initiatives or pursuit efforts, including strategy development; technical and client-focused value propositions, competitive positioning; and collaboration between business lines. Guides the focus of proposal narrative to ensure key messages and strategy are well defined.
• National Perspective/Bringing Best Practices - Understanding and awareness of what our competitors are doing across the country – if not existing, then ability to engage with internal/external partners to uncover this; ability to bring tactics and strategies, partnering and competitor strengths/weaknesses from pursuits around the country to help inform locally; brings national and international SMEs to develop unique differentiators.
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