MN/WI Strategic Communications Team Lead

HDR; Madison (WI); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee ownership

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

HDR is seeking a Strategic Communications Team Lead to manage a dynamic team of project managers in Minnesota. The role supports community engagement and infrastructure projects, guiding staff, budgets, and business development while collaborating with regional and national leadership.

The position emphasizes leadership, strong communication, and the ability to work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment with an employee-owned culture.

Qualifications

• Experience leading development of scopes, schedules and budgets.
• Experience leading staff on projects or teams.
• Demonstrated strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Engagement, or related discipline with 7+ years of related experience OR an Associate degree with 10+ years of related experience.

Responsibilities

• Supervise a team of Strategic Communications Project Managers, including timecards, expenses, utilization goals, salary adjustments, and performance conversations.
• Provide day-to-day staff management for Minnesota Strategic Communications team.
• Coordinate with leadership and teams to identify, maintain, and support project work.
• Provide staff development and guidance for Minnesota Coordinator Team.
• Coordinate training plans for team members.
• Resolve issues or elevate as needed for the Minnesota team.
• Function as a Strategic Communications Project Manager or equivalent.
• Support business development including proposal writing, scope/budget development, interview prep and client conversations.

Skills

People management

Team coordination

Communication skills

Presentation skills

Client engagement

Budget management

Education

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience

7+ years related experience

Tools

Multilingual

Job description

At HDR, our employee-owners are fully engaged in creating a welcoming environment where each of us is valued and respected, a place where everyone is empowered to bring their authentic selves and novel ideas to work every day. As we foster a culture of inclusion throughout our company and within our communities, we constantly ask ourselves: What is our impact on the world?

Watch Our Story:' https://www.hdrinc.com/our-story'

Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change the world for the better. Read further to learn how you could help make great things possible not only in your community, but around the world.

HDR is seeking a Team Lead with the skills, interest and dedication to manage a dynamic team of Strategic Communications Project Managers in Minnesota. In this role, you will join HDR’s Strategic Communications practice—a global team of communicators who are passionate about putting people first in planning and infrastructure. As a full-service community engagement and creative practice, we develop and implement ideas to bring people together in projects of every size and sector. We help people get to know each other, foster understanding, and build more connected, equitable, and sustainable communities.

As a Strategic Communications Team Lead, you will manage a team to develop and implement community engagement and communications activities on a variety of infrastructure projects. In this role, you will also be responsible for managing projects, supporting business development efforts.

Job description

• Supervise a team of Strategic Communications Project Managers working in person and remotely within Minnesota, including reviewing weekly timecards, approving expense reports, setting/managing utilization goals, recommending salary adjustments, and conducting mid-year and annual performance conversations
• Provide day-to-day staff management for the Minnesota Strategic Communications project manager team, including quality review, troubleshooting, and as-needed project support
• Coordinate with team leadership, Project Managers, Coordinator Team, Creative Team, Digital Engagement Team and regional and national Strategic Communications leadership as needed to identify, maintain, and support project work
• Provide staff development, advocacy, and guidance for Minnesota Coordinator Team
• Share information about training and professional development opportunities for Minnesota Coordinator Team and coordinate training/development plans for individual team members
• Resolve Minnesota project management team issues or elevate issues as needed
• Function as a Strategic Communications Project Manager or equivalent
• Support business development efforts including proposal writing, scope and budget development, interview prep and delivery and attend/facilitate conversations with clients.

About you

• You are passionate about managing people and developing future leaders.
• You are comfortable working in multi-disciplinary teams, collaborating effectively with colleagues in both content and technical development.
• You can understand and work with different personality types to help each team member achieve their goals.
• You can handle difficult situations and work towards a resolution.
• You have the ability to handle multiple assignments at a time and set and meet deadlines.
• You have solid presentation skills and can clearly articulate concepts and design decisions to our creative teams and our internal and external clients.
• You have a service- and client-oriented personality.
• You have an internal drive to try new things and explore new industry trends and technology while pushing your comfort zone every day.
• You are a self-starter; must be able to effectively work in unsupervised environments.
• You have an obsessive attention to detail.
• You have strong organization skills.
• You can adapt and thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• You have an attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading the development of scopes, schedules and budgets, and managing projects.
• Experience leading staff on projects or teams.
• Demonstrated strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Engagement, or related discipline with 7+ years of related experience OR an Associate degree with 10+ years of related experience.
• Ability to drive or independently get oneself around town
• General interest in infrastructure projects such as water, wastewater, transportation, transit, energy, solid waste, and architecture
• Working knowledge of local, state and federal requirements for public involvement
• Familiarity with the architecture and engineering consulting industry
• Multilingual
• Preference given to local candidates.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• A minimum of 7 years experience
• Professional registration, license or certification may be required based on role
• Strong communication and listening skills
• Ability to handle multiple assignments
• Good leadership and organizational skills
• An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture is a must

What We Believe

HDR is our company. Together, we build on each other's life experiences and perspectives to make great things possible every day. This shapes our collaborative culture, encourages organizational trust and connects us closer to the clients and communities we serve.

Our Commitment

As employee owners, we all have a role in creating an inclusive environment where each of us is welcomed, valued, respected and empowered to bring our authentic selves to work every day.

Our eight Employee Network Groups (Asian Pacific, Black, Hispanic/Latino(a), LGBTQ+, People with Disabilities, Veterans, Women, Young Professionals) help create a sense of belonging and foster a supportive environment where everyone is empowered to engage and contribute. Each group has an executive sponsor and is open to all employees.

We provide a comprehensive benefits package that promotes employee ownership, employee health, performance, and success, which includes medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, life insurance, an employee assistance program, paid time away, parental leave, paid holidays, a retirement savings plan with employer match, employee referral bonus and tuition reimbursement. The expected compensation range for this position depends upon skills, experience, education and geographical location. (Stated benefits are for full-time regular positions. Temporary and part-time roles eligible for limited benefits.) Minnesota: $115,469 - $164,955

Primary Location: United States-Minnesota-Saint Louis Park
Other Locations: United States-Minnesota-Minneapolis, United States-Wisconsin-Madison, United States-Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Industry: Strategic Communications
Schedule: Full-time
Employee Status: Regular
BusinessClass: Strategic Communications
Job Posting: Oct 1, 2026

At HDR, we are committed to the principles of employment equity. We are an Affiliated Action and Equal Opportunity Employer (https://www.hdrinc.com/equal-employment-opportunity-employer). We consider all qualified applicants, regardless of criminal histories, arrest and conviction records.