Strategic Lead – Transportation Planning & Strategy

Dillon Consulting Limited; Oakville; Hybrid; CAD 125,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hours

Hybrid work arrangement

Employee ownership

Profit distributions

Overtime directive with premium pay

Health benefits

Retirement savings plan

Student loan repayment assistance

Wellness allowance

Paid vacation

EFAP

Goodlife Fitness corporate membership

Job summary

Dillon Consulting Limited is seeking an experienced leader to expand its Transportation Planning & Strategy team in Ontario. The role blends market strategy with staff development, directing projects as Project Director or Senior Advisor across multi-modal planning, EA, TOD and regional infrastructure.

You will guide business development, client relationships, and strategic planning while mentoring staff and building a strong team culture in a 100% employee-owned firm.

Qualifications

• Bachelor or higher degree in civil engineering, transportation engineering, or urban planning.
• Minimum 12 years of progressive professional experience, preferably in consulting.
• Proven leadership, people management and business development capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Transportation Planning and Strategies team to grow market presence.
• Guide multi-modal projects, environmental assessments and TOD/secondary plans.
• Oversee proposals, client relations and pursuit of major opportunities.
• Mentor staff and contribute to career development.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders for city/regional plans.

Skills

Leadership

Business development

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Public speaking

Education

Degree in civil engineering or transportation/urban planning

Job description

Dillon Consulting’s Integrated Mobility Discipline is looking for an experienced leader to guide the expansion of our Transportation Planning & Strategy team. Designed for a planner or engineer with over 12 years of experience, this role carries a dual role: shape the market strategy to grow our transportation planning service and guide the professional development of the staff who execute it.

As a key senior resource, you will also serve as Project Director, Project Manager or Senior Advisor on multi-modal planning assignments, environmental assessments, secondary plans, transit oriented development, and regional infrastructure strategies.

About Dillon

Unlike many consulting firms that operate as fragmented profit centres, Dillon operates as a single, unified team across our 27 offices with more than 1,300 staff nation-wide. Furthermore, Dillon is 100% employee-owned. Here, your entrepreneurial drive directly impacts the business, allowing you to champion technical excellence, drive change, and reap the rewards of your leadership. In addition to the compensation outlined for this role, you would also be eligible for employee ownership as a member of staff. Owners benefit from annual profit distributions and the ability to have a say in how the business evolves. Employees who demonstrate a strong understanding of the business and exhibit positive leadership while contributing to the growth and success of the company are also rewarded with the opportunity to advance to Associate and Partner ownership levels and receive performance-informed profit allocations. Working within our employee-owned model, you will leverage existing client relationships and cultivate new client opportunities to advance Dillon’s transportation planning practice.

The successful candidate can be based at any one of our following Ontario offices: Toronto, North York, Hamilton, Oakville, Vaughan, Guelph, Kitchener, Kingston, Ottawa, London and Windsor, with flexible work hours and hybrid work arrangements to help balance the competing demands of work and personal life.

Responsibilities

Business Development

• Identify, develop, and secure new business opportunities to grow the Integrated Mobility Discipline in Canada, with a focus on southwest, Ontario, eastern Ontario, the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area and/or Atlantic Canada.
• Act as a trusted advisor to key public and private sector clients, maintaining and expanding long-term client relationships.
• Develop and implement strategic plans to enhance Dillon’s market presence and thought leadership in transportation planning and strategy.
• Lead proposal development and statements of qualifications for major transportation planning opportunities.
• Business travel to other Dillon offices upon request.

Project Management & Design

• Advise, lead and/or manage project teams in the delivery of multi-modal transportation projects, including:
  • Functional and preliminary design studies for roadway and rapid transit corridors.
  • Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (EA) studies for complex transportation master plans and/or urban infrastructure projects.
  • Complete street, multi-modal and roadway safety policy studies.
  • Transportation planning for secondary planning and site plans.
  • Macro and microscope modelling.
• Liaise with multidisciplinary project teams (including transportation, municipal and structural engineers, transportation systems planners, planners, environmental scientists and technical support staff).
• Participate in stakeholder consultation programs and deliver municipal council and agency presentations.

Growth and Staff Development

• Commit to self-development and ongoing learning and professional development.
• Identify and implement a strategy to grow the Transportation Planning and Strategies team, aligned with the market assessment.
• Input to the career development of junior staff, including technical direction, training recommendations, coaching and mentoring.
• Contribute to Dillon's corporate profile through active participation in professional associations and committees.

Qualifications

• A degree in civil engineering, transportation engineering, or urban planning.
• A minimum of 12 years of progressive professional experience, preferably in the consulting industry.
• Proven leadership, people management, and business development capabilities.

Experience

• Proven experience in leading transportation planning systems, demand forecasting, functional design and/or policy studies
• Demonstrated abilities in the leadership of large, multi-disciplinary projects and teams, with a minimum of six years in a project management capacity.
• Exceptional abilities in project management, including budget, schedule, and quality control.
• Proven skills in public and agency consultation for complex urban projects.
• In-depth understanding of the southern Ontario, eastern Ontario, Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (GTHA) and/or Atlantic Canada transportation market and established client relationships.
• A track record of successful business development, including proposal leadership and a desire to build a market presence.
• Track record of growing a team of consulting professionals to match business development goals.
• Strong people management and mentorship skills.
• Exceptional communication (verbal and written) and presentation skills are essential.

Compensation

$125,000 - $175,000

A t Dillon, we believe in transparency. The following salary range is what we expect to offer for this position. It will be dependent on the successful applicant’s education, experience, and skills, in addition to internal equity and geographic region. Dillon reserves the right to pay outside of the posted range, contingent on factors unrelated to an applicant’s gender or other status protected by provincial and/or federal law.

In addition to a competitive base salary, Dillon offers:

• Flexible work hours and hybrid work arrangement options to help balance the competing demands of work and personal life
• Employee share purchase plan
• Dillon is 100% employee-owned, and share ownership is open to all employees. Our annual share dividends have historically outperformed the market average.
• Dillon’s Overtime Directive - This Management Directive establishes a firm-wide 40-hour weekly overtime threshold, after which premium pay applies, ensuring consistent and fair compensation across all Canadian offices.
• Competitive benefits package, including:

Comprehensive health benefits

Generous retirement savings plan with employer matching up to 5.5%

Student loan repayment assistance

Wellness allowance and enhanced mental health benefits

Ample paid vacation

Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP)

Goodlife Fitness Corporate Membership rates

Early Career Development (ECD) program

At Dillon, we build careers. Designed for technical professionals with less than three years of consulting experience, the ECD program accelerates the transition into entrepreneurial consultants through monthly 'Level Up' sessions that build both technical and consulting capabilities. Own your success; we provide the blueprint.

Health & Safety at Dillon

Prospective employees are expected to fully align with Dillon's core commitment to Health & Safety. This includes active, ongoing engagement with our Health & Safety processes and platform, and the active, ongoing identification and reporting of health and safety hazards.

Employment Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at Dillon

Dillon is committed to employment equity and an inclusive, diverse workplace where opportunities are based on skills and abilities. If you require accommodation during the interview process, please let us know.

Technology enablement and the use of AI at Dillon

Please be advised that Dillon uses AI-assisted tools to support aspects of our recruitment process to increase efficiency and fairness. While AI supports the process, all hiring decisions are made by our human recruiting team. By applying, you acknowledge and consent to this use.