Power & Energy Senior Program Director

WSP; Portland (ME); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

WSP in Portland, ME seeks a Senior Program Director to lead complex, large-scale EHV transmission and distribution programs within the PMO. You will provide oversight, governance, budgets, and KPIs across multi-disciplinary teams.

You will mentor project managers, manage client relationships, and ensure successful delivery while upholding safety, quality, and compliance standards at every stage.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, science, or related field or equivalent experience.
• 15+ years post-education project management experience in our industry.
• Advanced understanding of project delivery in A/E/C with various models (DBB, EPC, PDB).
• Strong analytical and organizational skills with business acumen.
• Knowledge of corporate PM principles and processes to drive delivery and impact.
• Experience managing large-scale projects, programs, documents, and PM tools.
• Excellent self-leadership and interpersonal communication across all levels.
• Ability to adapt to change and manage diverse schedules.
• Willingness to travel as needed.

Responsibilities

• Lead the most complex, large-scale projects within the portfolio with oversight of budgets, forecasts, and KPIs.
• Engage stakeholders at all levels and report progress.
• Participate in contract negotiations, presentations, and client meetings.
• Ensure profitable performance and successful completion of projects.
• Provide leadership to multi-disciplinary teams and strategic client guidance.
• Develop and maintain governance docs like PMP, QP, PSP, and risk registers.
• Lead project management discipline meetings and drive continuous improvement.
• Oversee project closeout activities and lessons learned.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Budgeting & forecasting

Risk management

Contract negotiation

Leadership

Analytical skills

MS Office suite

Communication skills

Cross-functional team leadership

Documentation & governance

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering/related

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

MS Project

Visio

SharePoint

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

This Opportunity

WSP is seeking a Senior Program Director for our Power & Energy Program Management Office. The successful candidate is preferred to be located in the Portland, Maine with the ability to work in a WSP and/or Client office for 2-3 days per week. This position provides leadership, definition, and oversight pertaining to the consistent delivery of large scale/highly complex programs within the Extra High Voltage (EHV) Transmission and Distribution sector.

Your Impact

• Lead the most complex and largest scale projects within the organization, ensuring contributors know what they are required to do and by when, preparing and overseeing relevant project budgets, forecasts, margins and KPIs, monitoring external events and risk contingencies, tracking hours and expenses, ensuring QA/QC and satisfactory performance, and managing the contractual obligations to deliver the project or assigned portfolio of assigned project(s) as defined in the contract.
• Foster effective and proactive strategies to engage project stakeholders at all levels, maintain effective relationships, and report on project progress.
• Participate in the technical aspects of contract negotiation, presentations, and meetings.
• Accountable for the profitable performance and successful completion of all individual projects within the specified area or portfolio.
• Provide leadership to multi-disciplinary project teams and contribute to providing high level strategic advice to clients.
• Provide performance guidance and proactive leadership to assigned managers and staff.
• Develop, maintain, and update Project Initiation and governance documentation, including Risk Registers (REF/RMP), Project Management Plans (PMP), Project Quality Plans (QP), Project Safety Plans (PSP), and Communications Plans, in accordance with WSP and client requirements.
• Lead project management discipline meetings, addressing root cause issues and potential solutions, leveraging opportunities for improvement in area of responsibility, and providing updates and recommendations to staff that ensure all appropriate measures are taken to foster innovation, development, and quality project delivery.
• Lead the development of project recovery plans, including team input for developing strategy for correcting project budget and overrun issues with the client.
• Ensure regular project reporting and updates are provided to clients, technical areas, and business unit managers, identifying any emergent issues with scope, risk, and/or budget.
• Ensure the completion of all formal project closeout activities, along with the facilitation and documentation of a lessons-learned meeting with key project staff.
• Collaborate with professionals and leadership from a variety of disciplines to provide "trusted advisor" service and future ready solutions for clients.
• Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding company funds, resources and conduct, and adhere to WSP's Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures.
• Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.
  

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, science, or a related major, or equivalent experience in a technical or engineering firm.
• 15+ years of relevant post education experience in a project management role within our industry.
• Advanced-level understanding of the project delivery process within the A/E/C industry, and an extensive background and experience in large-scale project management. Experience managing projects through a variety of delivery models (DBB, EPC, PDB).
• Advanced knowledge and proficiency with analytical and organizational skills, with business acumen to bridge business and project management.
• Strong working knowledge of corporate project management principles, practices, process, delivery, execution, and the business impact upon the organization.
• Demonstrated exceptional ability with establishing, implementing, and managing multiple larger scale/complex projects, programs, documents, systems, and practices.
• Excellent self-leadership and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to manage staff, and effectively, persuasively, and tactfully interact with employees at all levels of the organization.
• Strategic lateral thinking and strong analytical skills with attention to detail and prioritization of responsibilities in a pressure work environment.
• Ability to elicit cooperation from a wide variety of sources, including senior management, subcontractors, consultants, suppliers, clients, and company-wide staff, including those with whom no formal hierarchical relationship exists.
• Advanced knowledge and proficiency with technical writing, office automation, relevant software, MS Office suite products (e.g., Word, Excel, Visio, Project, SharePoint), technology, spreadsheets, and PM tools.
• Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP's health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.
• Strong ability to quickly adapt to change and demonstrate flexibility to a variety of schedules and hours to meet business needs.
• Travel may be required depending on project-specific requirements.
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's Degree.
• Essential project management certification (e.g., PMP, CAP-M)

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