Senior Vice President - US Advisory and Planning Operations Director

Senior Vice President – US Advisory and Planning Operations Director 

The Business Line Operations Director is part of WSP USA's Advisory and Planning Leadership Team with primary responsibility for supporting the Business Line Executive (BLE) with all aspects of the P&L, including revenue generation, staff utilization, EBITDA, DSO, quality, safety, and project performance. The Operations Director, in addition to working closely with the BLE, works hand in hand with the Finance and Project Delivery team to deliver the business line’s KPIs. 

This position can be based out of any of our WSP USA offices. 

General Operations Duties

• Partner with the Business Line Executive on all operational aspects of the business.

• Communicate and coordinate with Local Leaders and other managers on operational aspects of the business. Assist in monitoring P&L, project performance, and staffing. 

• Collaborate with Strategic Growth Team (SGT), HR Partners, Finance Managers and Project Accounting.

• Oversee Regional Operations Leaders (ROL) and the Project Delivery Director. 

• Support and promote a consistent approach to project delivery, operational reporting, quality, and other key initiatives. 

• Deliver training and mentoring support for project managers and staff.

• Act as a key leader in the Business Line. 

People and Culture

• Work to support staff hiring and attrition goals

• Monitor staff billability/billable hour goals and take corrective action when needed 

• Assist in developing corrective plans to address deficiencies identified in project performance

• Support work sharing across regions/business lines 

• Support HR as needed with personnel issues. 

• Support programs such as Safety, Sustainability and Ethics & Compliance.

Operational Excellence

Profit and Loss (P&L) Duties:

• Monitor Business Line budgets and provide recommendations/corrective actions to stay within budgets.

• Effectively operationalize growth strategies, forecasting and funding strategy in collaboration with Business Line Executive.

• Track, support and report project funding

• Take necessary actions to lead and improve cash flow

• Participate in development of the annual budget process to include forecasting, monitoring, analysis and recovery planning.

• Responsible for executing on the Business Line P&L priorities and strategies, including revenue generation, project margin, EBITDA, DSO, project delivery, client satisfaction, staff billability/billable hour goals and safety and other financial metrics

Project Operations Duties:

• Coordinate with Project Delivery Director and Project Delivery Team to:

  • Monitor that appropriate Project Reviews are being conducted in the Business Line

  • Confirm that project directors (PDs) are performing their duties

    • Identification of project execution risk

    • Evaluation of Project Manager performance

    • Identification of challenged projects tracking, financial; impacts and corrective action plans

• Lead pricing strategies and pricing reviews for key projects.

• Lead Readiness Reviews for large or high-risk projects   

• Ensure appropriate proactive project reviews are being conducted on high risk/large value projects and any necessary follow up is done

• Identify projects that are in distress (challenged projects) and provide the oversight necessary to correct the issues

• Oversee aspects of Project Manager and Delivery Training are being conducted and the Project Delivery processes are being followed

• Provide independent research and contribution to the betterment of Project Operations procedures 

Key Performance Indicators include: 

• Net Revenue, EBITDA, utilization, Organic Growth, Margin Erosion, DSO, Billability, Funding (Backlog), and Headcount growth.

Qualifications

• 17+ years of experience

• BA/BS Degree in Engineering, Planning, Architecture, Business, or equivalent discipline

• Experience as a major project manager, or related role to understand project delivery issues and requirements.

• Strong understanding of project financials, team dynamics, client relationships, staffing and resource requirements, overhead elements, and performance expectations.

• Proactive problem-solving skills and helpful, open and candid communication skills.

• Leadership skills that portray commitment, reliability, and accountability to desired outcomes

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): $192,000 - $367,000

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.

Expected Salary (Colorado only): $205,000 - $344,000

WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and/or offer for this position within the state of Colorado, based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, and 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.