Manager, Client Services

Groundwater Environmental Management Services (GEMS); Vaughan; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Groundwater Environmental Management Services (GEMS) is seeking a Manager, Client Services to lead client relationships, deliver environmental projects, and drive team performance across a portfolio.

You will coach Project Managers, manage scope intake, change orders, and project financials, ensuring safety, on-time delivery, and alignment with GEMS core values, while improving profitability and client satisfaction.

Qualifications

• 5–8+ years running environmental or infrastructure projects end-to-end including scope, budget, schedule and delivery.
• 3–5+ years of direct people management experience, supervising Project Managers or senior staff.
• PMP designation preferred or equivalent demonstrated project management experience.
• Experience with budget-to-actual tracking, WIP, and profitability conversations.
• Experience managing change orders and client scope negotiations.

Responsibilities

• Build and own client relationships across the portfolio; serve as primary contact for portfolio-level conversations.
• Lead, coach, and evaluate Project Managers to ensure projects are delivered safely, on time, and within scope.
• Oversee day-to-day people management, time-off approvals, and accountability for margins and AR payment timeliness.
• Own scope intake, change order discussions, and ensure budget updates before work.
• Drive project delivery from start to finish and intervene on complex or high-risk projects as needed.
• Assist in HR-adjacent duties and coaching for performance and promotion.

Skills

Project management

People management

Budgeting & profitability

Client relationships

Change orders & scope negotiations

AR ownership & invoicing

Team coaching & 1-on-1s

Regulatory workflows knowledge

Job description

Groundwater Environmental Management Services (GEMS) was founded in 2005 to meet the growing demand for a practical, real-world approach to the increasingly complex environmental regulatory and compliance challenges faced by the construction and land development industry. Since then, regulations have only become more stringent, environmental obligations more demanding, and owner requirements more detailed, making environmental compliance a critical factor that can impact project budgets, timelines, and success.

The Manager, Client Services is responsible for leading client relationships, project delivery, and team performance across an assigned portfolio of environmental projects. This role serves as the primary point of contact for portfolio-level client relationships, ensuring a high level of customer service while partnering with the Director of Client Services to develop account strategies for key and repeat clients.

The Manager, Client Services provides day-to-day leadership, coaching, and accountability for Project Managers, ensuring projects are delivered safely, efficiently, on time, within scope, and in alignment with GEMS’ core values. The role also oversees scope intake and handoffs, change order management, project financial performance, invoicing, accounts receivable, and client satisfaction, while maintaining appropriate oversight of high-risk projects and supporting the team in resolving delivery challenges. Success in this role is measured through portfolio profitability, timely AR and invoicing, client satisfaction, team performance, adherence to core values, and effective people leadership.

Responsibilities

Client Relationship Ownership

• Ensure there is a positive client relationship through all clients within the portfolio, increasingly for clients with multiple awarded projects within the Manager’s segment
• Serve as the primary point of contact for portfolio-level conversations with clients
• Coordinate with the Director of Client Services on account planning for key repeat clients and action plans

Team Leadership & Coaching

• Oversee, mentor, and coach subordinate project managers through managing projects, achieving KPIs, and with mindset
• Set expectations and track results through monthly 1-on-1 meetings with each direct report
• Evaluate effectiveness of communication between PMs and PCs / Technicians

People Management & Team Performance

• Approve time off requests for direct reports and ensure team capacity to continue executing on portfolio
• Own day-to-day people management for the team; escalates policy exceptions to the Director of Client Services
• Set clear expectation that are in line with the direction of Director CS and own accountability on team’s project margins
• Set clear expectation that are in line with the direction of Director CS and own accountability on the team’s AR payment timeliness
• Set clear expectation and own accountability on the team’s positive client feedback
• Set clear expectation and own accountability on the team’s on-time and optimized invoicing
• Set clear expectation and own accountability on upholding all GEMS core values across the team

Scope Intake & Handoff

• Receive scope, RFPs, and work requests from Sales Team
• Clarify contract scope, fees, and terms as well as client signature before execution
• Own change order conversations on own projects; review with Director of Client Services before submission
• Ensure POs cover requested work and ensure budget updated prior to work on any scope

Project Delivery

• Decide on which scopes to self-perform and which to hand off to subordinates to run.
• Run own projects beginning to end
• Step in to support PM-led projects as needed
• Own client-facing commitments and deadlines on own projects
• Monitor customer service and delivery on subordinate projects
• Review major deliverables before release on high-risk projects, whether own or PM-led
• Flag financial risk early, ie. slow pay, disputed invoices, scope-fee mismatch

Decision Rights & Approval

• Change order costs to be estimated by sales team
• Manager to approve all change orders of their portfolio prior to submission
• Director of CS to approve all change orders that have the potential to add risk or impact margin
• Director of Client Servies to approve any AR write-off requests

Systems & Tools

Backup Coverage

• When the Manager is unavailable, the Director of Client Services is the default escalation point
• When a team PM is unavailable, the Manager coordinates interim coverage across the team

KPIs

• Core values adherence, team and individual
• Monthly 1-on-1 completion rate with direct reports

Skills and Abilities

• 5 - 8+ years running environmental or infrastructure consulting projects end-to-end including establishing project scope, budget, schedule, and delivery
• 3 - 5+ years of direct people management experience, ideally supervising Project Managers or similarly senior technical staff
• PMP designation preferred, not required — equivalent demonstrated project management experience will be considered in lieu of certification
• Demonstrated ownership of project margins, not just technical delivery. Experience with budget-to-actual tracking, WIP, and profitability conversations
• Experience managing change orders and scope negotiations with clients, including pushing back on scope creep
• AR ownership experience — has chased payment, understands invoicing cadence and aging, and can speak to the cash-flow impact of a slow-pay client
• Comfortable in commercial conversations with clients — rates, terms, contract review — without needing every interaction brokered by Sales
• Hands-on delivery experience across GEMS’ core business lines — ECA / Aquatech, Groundwater & Dewatering, Excess Soils, Air Quality, Hazardous Materials, and Settlement Monitoring
• Working familiarity with Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks and Environmental Activity and Sector Registry regulatory workflows, or a clear ability to ramp quickly given the client-facing accountability of the role
• Comfortable reviewing and approving technical deliverables and scope without needing SME-level depth in every discipline — judgment over technical mastery
• Prior experience serving general contractors in the infrastructure sector is a strong asset, particularly with demanding, high-volume accounts similar to Aquatech
• Prior experience directly supervising a team — ideally Project Managers or similar technical staff — not just informal mentorship
• Track record running structured 1-on-1s that translate into real coaching, not just status updates
• Experience with HR-adjacent duties — approving time off, performance conversations, balancing workload and capacity across a team
• Has navigated at least one difficult people situation — underperformance, conflict, attrition risk — and can speak concretely to how it was handled
• Experience mentoring junior staff toward promotion or career growth, given the role’s explicit KPI on 1-on-1 completion and coaching effectiveness

This is a new position within the organization.

GEMS is committed to providing an inclusive, accessible, and barrier-free recruitment process. If you require accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your accessibility needs.