Group Manager - Colorado

Freese and Nichols, Inc.; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

401(k) matching

Family and medical leave

Paid holidays

Paid time off

Hybrid/flexible schedule

Job summary

Freese and Nichols, Inc. in Denver, CO, seeks a Group Manager to lead strategic planning, client service, project delivery, and staff engagement for the group's growth.

The GM will manage budgets, KPIs, and collaboration with divisional leaders while fostering leadership within the team and ensuring quality across practice areas. This is a full-time, on-site role in Denver.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in applicable engineering field.
• A master’s degree is strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of experience with emphasis in technical design, project management, personnel leadership, and management, and organizational leadership.
• Proven track record of client service, relationship building, sales, and technical project delivery.
• Professional Engineering License in the State(s) served by the group or ability to acquire licensure within 6 months.

Responsibilities

• Growth: Develop and maintain client relationships and manage sales activities to support long‑term health and growth of the group.
• Lead the group’s client management strategies, pipeline reviews, and strategic pursuits.
• Staff recruitment, development, and retention; supervise staffing and performance reviews.
• Manage group annual operating plan (AOP) and budget; monitor profitability and schedule adherence.
• Lead and coordinate with PLs and NTLs to align practice initiatives and quality standards.
• Project delivery: ensure projects meet budgets, schedules, and quality requirements; forecast workload.

Skills

Leadership

Client service

Project management

Staff development

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

Freese and Nichols is seeking a Group Manager in Denver, Colorado. The Group Manager (GM) is responsible for strategic and annual operating planning functions assigned to the group, day‑to‑day supervisory functions to include achieving key focus indicator (KFI) and other goals, client service, project execution and quality, and employee engagement.

The preferred technical background of the GM should be in a water related design/planning field including one or more of these disciplines: Water/Wastewater Transmission and Conveyance, Water/Wastewater Treatment, Stormwater, Water Resources. In addition to management responsibilities, the GM is also a leadership position in FNI’s overall leadership structure. The GM should exhibit leadership attributes consistent with FNIs leadership system.

Major Responsibilities

Growth Develop and maintain client relationships and manage sales activities to support the long‑term health and growth of the group. Achieve bookings either deployed to the Group or in the amount required for the long‑term health of the Group Work with Divisional Leadership, Practice Leaders (PL), and Client Service Leaders (CSL) to support growth and client initiatives. Work with the Practice Leader(s) and National Technical Leader(s) (NTL) to implement practice growth and national technical excellence goals. Lead the group’s client management strategies, management of opportunity pipeline, pre‑positioning for strategic pursuits, and reviewing of SOQs and shortlist presentations. Achieve booking goals deployed to Client Reps in the group as well as Regional Goals deployed to the group. Support Client Reps in representing all practices, not just those of the group. Leadership and Management Develop a vision for the long‑term growth of the group that is consistent with the FNI Strategic Plan and Divisional Plan. Provide input to practice plans, FNI’s Strategic Plan and Western US Division Plan. Meet assigned KFI goals. Identify trends and opportunities for improvement. Work with Division Leadership on the implementation of improvement initiatives. Develop a group annual operating plan (AOP) and budget. Prepare updates and analysis of improvement areas as requested. Separate from specific workload management activities, conduct regular group meetings to communicate company initiatives, group performance, upcoming focus areas, employee engagement initiatives, etc. Work with Project Managers on improving project profitability, execution efficiency, recognizing scope creep, and increase focus on timely submittals of amendments for out of scope work. Staff recruitment, development, and retention Promote and personally demonstrate our FNI LEADS values and lead staff in the group using LEADS as the foundation. Perform supervisory functions for the group including recommendations for staffing, training, interviewing, new employee selection, dismissal, performance appraisals, classification changes, salary adjustment recommendations, and disciplinary actions. Through the Individual Development Plan (IDP), goal setting and performance review processes, as well as regular discussions with staff, develop staff in the group for more responsibilities consistent with the path they identify in their IDPs. Identify and develop potential successor(s) to the Group Manager, Team Leader roles, and key technical leaders within the group. Mentor staff as part of succession planning. Work with Practice Leader to help recruit strategic hires as needed. Partner with the Human Resources (HR) Business Partner to focus on staff HR needs, including disciplinary actions within the group. Engage Division leadership on issues that need to be elevated. Project delivery Work with Project Managers to ensure projects are meeting budgets and schedules, client expectations, FNI Quality Management System requirements, and technical standards. Forecast workload and maintain appropriate staffing levels and qualifications of staff. Timely review of contract documents via the OLCR (Online Contract Review) process and assist the Project Managers in contract negotiations, as necessary. Manage group overhead expenses related to staff engagement, annual planning, client development, staff development, and marketing. Collaboration with others outside the group Regularly coordinate with other GMs for best practices, work‑sharing, and other collaboration opportunities. Work sharing is critical to the health of the Group and the Practice(s) and is a key success factor in FNIs system. Coordination on work sharing should also include checking in on team performance and client service. Regularly coordinate with the PL(s) and NTL(s) to ensure synchronization with practice initiatives. Technical Serve as a Senior Advisor and QC Reviewer. GMs may serve as PMs, but this should be limited to strategic and critical projects or on a temporary basis to address short term workload or client concerns so as to not prevent the GM from completing other overall group leadership and management functions. Oversee the group's implementation of the Quality Management System. Review and approve quality plans prepared by PMs in the group to ensure deliverables are appropriately defined and quality control reviewers have adequate time allotted for identified QC reviews.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in applicable engineering field.
• A master’s degree is strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of experience with emphasis in technical design, project management, personnel leadership, and management, and organizational leadership.
• Proven track record of client service, relationship building, sales, and technical project delivery.
• Professional Engineering License in the State(s) served by the group or the ability to acquire required licensure within 6 months.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including medical insurance, prescription drug coverage, dental insurance, vision insurance, healthcare advisory services, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, health reimbursement account, family and medical leave, short-term medial leave/short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) matching, life insurance, critical illness insurance, accident insurance, legal/ID shield, tuition reimbursement program, employee assistance program, paid parental leave, paid holidays, paid time off, travel assistance, pet insurance, access to company cabins and partner discounts.

• medical insurance
• prescription drug coverage
• dental insurance
• vision insurance
• healthcare advisory services
• flexible spending accounts
• health savings account
• health reimbursement account
• family and medical leave
• short-term medial leave/short-term disability
• long-term disability
• 401(k) matching
• life insurance
• critical illness insurance
• accident insurance
• legal/ID shield
• tuition reimbursement program
• employee assistance program
• paid parental leave
• paid holidays
• paid time off
• travel assistance
• pet insurance
• access to company cabins and partner discounts

Our unique benefits include paid overtime for salaried employees, an annual bonus, and access to company cabins in Red River, New Mexico and Banner Elk, North Carolina.

We are proud of our flexible work environment which includes a hybrid schedule with up to 40% of remote work, and an alternative work schedule program which provides a day off every other Friday. In addition, we offer medical insurance, prescription drug coverage, dental insurance, vision insurance, healthcare advisory services, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, health reimbursement account, family and medical leave, short-term medical leave/short-term disability, long‑term disability, 401(k) matching, life insurance, critical illness insurance, accident insurance, legal/ID shield, tuition reimbursement program, employee assistance program, paid parental leave, paid holidays, paid time off, travel assistance, pet insurance, access to company cabins and partner discounts.

• medical insurance
• prescription drug coverage
• dental insurance
• vision insurance
• healthcare advisory services
• flexible spending accounts
• health savings account
• health reimbursement account
• family and medical leave
• short-term medical leave/short-term disability
• long‑term disability
• 401(k) matching
• life insurance
• critical illness insurance
• accident insurance
• legal/ID shield
• tuition reimbursement program
• employee assistance program
• paid parental leave
• paid holidays
• paid time off
• travel assistance
• pet insurance
• access to company cabins and partner discounts

About Freese and Nichols

At the heart of our culture is our LEADS values (Learn continuously, Engage as family, Act with integrity, Deliver quality, and Serve always). Each year, our employee engagement survey confirms that our leaders and our employees live our values. We strive to be the firm of choice for clients and employees through innovative approaches, practical results, and outstanding service. For more than 130 years, we have been planning and designing the infrastructure our communities need: developing water supplies, designing roadways and bridges, preparing for natural disasters, and much more.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Freese and Nichols is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and prohibits employment discrimination for employees and applicants based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws.

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