Public Comment & Stakeholder Experience Program Lead

HDR; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

HDR seeks a seasoned Program Manager to establish and scale a Public Comment Response Program across North America. You will design workflows, governance, and CRM processes while leading a team of communications specialists to deliver timely, accurate responses to inquiries and regulatory comments for infrastructure projects.

Collaborating with Strategic Communications and project teams, you will implement standardized procedures, QA, and dashboards, shaping a robust customer experience across

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related field
• A minimum of 5 years related experience
• Efficient use of the internet and other electronic and hard copy media for research
• Strong Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, Project and Visio skills
• Expert Microsoft Access and Excel skills
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to compile and present summary level information
• Ability to obtain, cleanse and analyze data from multiple sources
• Excellent interpersonal skills and strong relationship, organizational and follow-up skills
• Self-starter with proven track record of accomplishments

Responsibilities

• Build and lead HDR's Public Comment Response Program.
• Develop standard operating procedures (e.g. sensitive issues, media inquiries, and regulatory comment periods), response protocols, and quality assurance processes.
• Create governance structures supporting consistent responses across projects and geographies.
• Build a scalable program capable of supporting multiple concurrent infrastructure projects.
• Train communications specialists to use and assist in maintaining CRM databases.
• Develop onboarding, training, and quality control programs.
• Foster a culture focused on customer service excellence and continuous improvement.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Design workflows for managing inquiries and comments received through websites, contact forms, email, surveys, interactive maps, public meetings, open houses, and regulatory comment periods.
• Develop escalation pathways for sensitive, technical, legal, political, or high- profile issues.
• Create response templates, knowledge libraries, and decision trees.
• Monitor response quality, accuracy, consistency, and timeliness.
• Evaluate, administer, and optimize CRM and comment management platforms.
• Improve existing Zoho-based processes and recommend alternative technologies where appropriate.
• Develop dashboards and reporting tools that provide project teams and clients with actionable insights.
• Evaluate opportunities to use AI and automation while maintaining quality and accountability.
• Partner with project managers and communications teams to support project engagement goals.
• Advise project teams on stakeholder concerns, emerging issues, and response strategies.
• Participate in proposal development and client presentations.

Skills

Customer experience

Stakeholder management

CRM systems

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Zoho CRM

Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Project

Visio

Access

Job description

HDR seeks a seasoned Program Manager to establish and scale a Public Comment Response Program across North America. You will design workflows, governance, and CRM processes while leading a team of communications specialists to deliver timely, accurate responses to inquiries and regulatory comments for infrastructure projects.

Collaborating with Strategic Communications and project teams, you will implement standardized procedures, QA, and dashboards, shaping a robust customer experience across