Area Practice Leader - Water Resources

Brown and Caldwell, Inc.; Walnut Creek (CA); On-site; USD 191,000 - 285,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Short-term disability

Long-term disability

Life insurance

401(k) with match

Paid time off

Job summary

Brown and Caldwell, headquarted in Walnut Creek, CA, seeks an Area Practice Leader to drive strategic growth, performance, and client satisfaction across the Area. This role aligns regional and national priorities, leading practice strategy and cross-functional collaboration to deliver high‑quality environmental solutions.

The position requires 15+ years of leadership experience in environmental consulting or related fields, with strong business planning, sales, and team-building capabilities.

Qualifications

• Typically, a minimum of 15 years’ experience in leadership roles.
• Experience in environmental consulting, engineering, construction and operations.
• Experience in annual business planning, strategy development, workforce planning, staffing, revenue forecasting, and implementation.
• Experience developing and executing practice, market, or technical growth strategies with measurable outcomes.
• Experience building and leading high-performing teams, including coaching, performance management, utilization planning, and resource allocation.

Responsibilities

• Align practice performance outcomes with Area Leaders/Market Sector Directors, at least quarterly.
• Lead development and execution of the strategic growth plan for the Practice within the Area, including 1-, 3-, and 5-year milestones, that defines strategy and tactics with measurable outcomes for winning and delivering profitable work with quality.
• Lead development and communication of the practice strategy and priorities to the CSTs, supported by Regional and National Practice, research and market intelligence.
• Win new work as Sales Leader and/or Technical Seller that supports practice and Business Unit growth.
• Provide technical leadership of the practice portfolio of projects and pursuits to achieve BC business performance goals and client outcomes; serve on CST for aligned Type I and Type II clients.
• Build and lead a high-performing team through clear expectations, coaching, and accountability including sales, project portfolio profitability, and utilization targets.
• Lead practice planning within the Area for staffing, revenue expectations, and resource allocation across the portfolio, seeking input and support from the Regional and National Practice Leaders.
• Engage practice leadership for alignment of market trends, research and innovation with client needs.
• Engage Area, Regional or Enterprise technical SMEs and delivery leaders to integrate BC capabilities across the client organizations.
• Support workload planning, performance management, and team operations to align resources with business objectives while ensuring compliance with company policies and regulations.
• Flexibility to adapt and execute various additional assignments based on evolving needs.

Skills

Practice leadership

Financial acumen

Project leadership

Strategic planning

Collaboration

Communication skills

People leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering, business, construction management, science, or equivalent experience

Job description

Description

The Area Practice Leader role provides strategic leadership for the growth, performance, and advancement of a practice within an Area. This position is responsible for driving business growth, technical excellence, client success, and operational performance by aligning Regional and National Practice priorities with organizational objectives. The role leads the application of practice strategy, supports business development and project delivery, develops high-performing teams, and fosters collaboration across the business unit with the Technical Delivery Enterprise to deliver quality solutions and achieve sustainable business results. This role utilizes strong collaboration skills, strategic decision-making, and cross-functional leadership to ensure long-term practice success and client satisfaction.

Responsibilities

• Align practice performance outcomes with Area Leaders/Market Sector Directors, at least quarterly.


• Lead development and execution of the strategic growth plan for the Practice within the Area, including 1-, 3-, and 5-year milestones, that defines strategy and tactics with measurable outcomes for winning and delivering profitable work with quality.


• Lead development and communication of the practice strategy and priorities to the CSTs, supported by Regional and National Practice, research and market intelligence.


• Win new work as Sales Leader and/or Technical Seller that supports practice and Business Unit growth.


• Provide technical leadership of the practice portfolio of projects and pursuits to achieve BC business performance goals and client outcomes; serve on CST for aligned Type I and Type II clients.


• Build and lead a high-performing team through clear expectations, coaching, and accountability including sales, project portfolio profitability, and utilization targets.


• Lead practice planning within the Area for staffing, revenue expectations, and resource allocation across the portfolio, seeking input and support from the Regional and National Practice Leaders.


• Engage practice leadership for alignment of market trends, research and innovation with client needs.


• Engage Area, Regional or Enterprise technical SMEs and delivery leaders to integrate BC capabilities across the client organizations.


• Support workload planning, performance management, and team operations to align resources with business objectives while ensuring compliance with company policies and regulations.


• Flexibility to adapt and execute various additional assignments based on evolving needs.

Skills and Competencies

• Proven ability to identify, cultivate, and advance sales opportunities using BC’s Plan to Win (PTW) process.


• Advanced knowledge of practice leadership, business operations, and financial principles.


• Strong technical leadership skills with the ability to guide complex projects and pursuits.


• Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, resource planning, utilization management, and profitability oversight.


• Strong strategic planning skills with the ability to drive practice growth and business objectives.


• Strong people leadership skills, including coaching, accountability, and team development.


• Strong collaboration and influence skills across business, technical, and delivery functions.


• Strong organizational, prioritization, decision-making, and attention-to-detail skills.


• Advanced presentation, written, and verbal communication skills with the ability to engage diverse audiences.

Experience

• Typically, a minimum of 15 years’ experience in increasing responsibility roles including technical, operational, practice, or business leadership experience.


• Experience in environmental consulting, engineering, construction and operations industry.


• Experience in annual business planning, strategy development, workforce planning, staffing, revenue forecasting, and implementation.


• Experience developing and executing practice, market, or technical growth strategies with measurable outcomes.


• Experience building and leading high-performing teams, including coaching, performance management, utilization planning, and resource allocation.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, construction management, science, or equivalent experience required.

Salary Range:Theanticipatedstarting payrange for this position is based on the employee’s primary work location and maybemore or lessdependingupon skills, experience,and education. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Location C: $191,000 - $285,000

Benefits and Other Compensation: We provide a comprehensive benefits package that promotes employee health, performance, and success which includes medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, life insurance, an employee assistance program, paid time off and parental leave, paid holidays, 401(k) retirement savings plan with employer match, performance-based bonus eligibility, employee referral bonuses, tuition reimbursement, pet insurance and long-term care insurance.

About Brown and Caldwell

Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Brown and Caldwell is a full-service environmental engineering and construction services firm with 50 offices and over 2,100 professionals across North America and the Pacific. For more than 75 years, we have created leading-edge environmental solutions formunicipalities, private industry, and government agencies. We strive to be the company of choice—to our clients, who benefit from our passion for delivering exceptional quality, and to our employees, present and future, who share our commitment to client service, collaboration, and innovation. Join us, and you will find a home where you can do your best work, reach new levels of expertise, and enjoy exceptional development opportunities. For more information, visit www.brownandcaldwell.com

Brown and Caldwell is proud to be an EEO/AAP Employer. Brown and Caldwell encourages protected veterans, individuals with disabilities, and applicants from all backgrounds to apply. Brown and Caldwell ensures nondiscrimination in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.