Right of Way Project Manager

HDR, Inc.; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 115,000 - 164,000; Full time

Job summary

HDR, Inc. is seeking a Right of Way Project Manager in Columbus, OH. This role leads a team across power, transportation, water, and oil & gas projects, guiding growth and ensuring client satisfaction.

You will coordinate staffing, manage budgets, mentor ROW staff, and support business development while upholding QA/QC standards and HDR values. This position emphasizes employee ownership and community impact.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 7+ years of project management experience.
• Ability to interact with design teams and communicate effectively.
• Active participant in employee-owned culture and practices.

Responsibilities

• Manage and support delivery of ROW projects, including scope, schedule, budget, and client expectations.
• Monitor workload and staffing, align staff to project needs.
• Support utilization, track capacity, and coordinate with ROW leadership on staffing priorities.
• Provide day-to-day support to ROW agents and project teams, including planning and deadlines.
• Maintain relationships with project managers, finance, QA, and controls for project progression.
• Use HDR tools for project setup, forecasting, invoicing, and reporting.
• Coordinate QA/QC, document control, and deliverable reviews.
• Standardize ROW delivery practices and templates across the portfolio.
• Mentor ROW staff and translate requirements into assignments and processes.
• Identify risks and propose corrective actions.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Budgeting

Mentoring

MS Office

SharePoint

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

MS Project

HDR PM tools

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.

In the role of Right of Way Project Manager, we'll count on you to:

Primary Responsibilities

A Right of Way project Manager is a professional that is well versed in all aspects of right-of-way services such as power, transportation, water, and oil and gas projects and helps recruit, develop, and manage a group of right-of-way professionals. The primary duties include: responsible for area coordination and working with team to identify market drivers, develop goals and lead team toward growth; participate in delivery of project services to meet client expectations; monitor and improve technical competencies of staff and products to meet client needs; collaborate with area operations leadership and marketing; participate in Right of Way business class practice and professional discipline groups, project teams and activities to continually improve standards and best practices; implement effective quality assurance and quality control reviews; participate in strategic planning, budgeting and plan implementation; track and balance staff workloads and utilizations; work with leads to establish internal and external training programs and training schedules; assist with business development efforts and provide support on proposal preparation; plan for project needs and recruit/hire staff accordingly, and drive Right of Way business class to meet project goals for growth, client satisfaction, and service diversification.

Responsibilities

• Manage and support delivery of assigned ROW projects, including coordination of scope, schedule, budget, deliverables, reporting, and client expectations.
• Serve as a project manager by monitoring workload, identifying staffing gaps, recommending resource adjustments, and helping align the right staff to the right project needs.
• Support utilization goals by tracking available capacity, balancing project demands, and coordinating with ROW leadership on short-term and long-term staffing priorities.
• Provide day-to-day support to ROW agents and project teams, including task planning, deadline management, issue escalation, and accountability for follow-through.
• Maintain strong working relationships with project managers, client development managers, accounting, quality, and project controls teams to keep projects moving efficiently.
• Use HDR project management and reporting tools to support project setup, forecasting, invoicing, change management, budget tracking, and monthly reporting.
• Coordinate with quality reviewers to support consistent QA/QC practices, document control, deliverable review, and compliance with project-specific procedures.
• Help standardize ROW project delivery practices, templates, milestones, task tracking, and reporting across the area's portfolio.
• Support onboarding, mentoring, and practical development of ROW staff by helping translate project requirements into clear assignments and repeatable processes.
• Identify project risks related to staffing, schedule, budget, client communication, landowner coordination, and deliverable quality, and elevate issues early with recommended corrective actions.
• Participate in proposal, scope, and estimate development where ROW delivery approach, staffing assumptions, and resource planning are needed.
• Perform other duties as needed

Preferred Qualifications

• A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in the right-of-way industry
• Ability to build positive client relationships, strong communication, negotiation, and presentation skills
• Must have experience effectively managing and motivating direct reports. Must demonstrate strong leadership qualities
• Experience managing budgets, preparing scopes, and developing cost estimates.
• Familiarity with the Uniform Relocation Act and the Eminent Domain Process.
• Valid Driver's License.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills
• Proficient with MS Office Suite, specifically, Outlook, Word and Excel, and SharePoint or equivalent database
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated organizational, planning, and prioritization skills
• Ability to work efficiently and effectively under tight deadlines, as well as balance multiple projects by prioritizing effectively
• Ability to understand applicable laws, policies, and procedures by which each project is governed
• Ability to build, implement, and manage training programs; workload and staffing plans; marketing plans and proposal preparation and business group budgets

• A broad-based range of right-of-way experience across diverse markets
• Possess knowledge of Ohio area clients and business environments related to right-of-way services
• Strong project management skills
• Business development skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Proficient with technology
• Transit experience
• ODOT Prequalified

Keywords: Right of Way Project Manager, Right of Way, ROW, ROW Project Manager, Project Management, Land Acquisition, Real Estate Acquisition, Property Acquisition, Easement Acquisition, Utility Coordination, Utility Relocation, Eminent Domain, Uniform Relocation Act, URA, Relocation Assistance, Right of Way Services, Transportation Projects, Transit Projects, Power Projects, Water Projects, Oil and Gas Projects, Infrastructure Projects, ODOT, ODOT Prequalified, Ohio DOT, Landowner Coordination, Stakeholder Management, Client Relations, Client Management, Business Development, Proposal Development, Scope Development, Cost Estimating, Budget Management, Resource Planning, Workforce Planning, Staff Utilization, Team Leadership, People Management, Direct Reports, Mentoring, Training Programs, Talent Development, Recruiting, Hiring, Strategic Planning, Quality Assurance, QA/QC, Quality Control, Risk Management, Schedule Management, Deliverable Management, Change Management, Forecasting, Invoicing, Project Controls, Compliance Management, Contract Management

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related field or an equivalent combination of education and related professional experience
• 7 years related experience
• A minimum of 2 years project management experience
• Must have the ability to interact with various design teams, have excellent organizational, project management and communication (both written and verbal) 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. (Stated benefits are for full-time regular positions. Temporary and part-time roles eligible for limited benefits.)

• 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
• 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.) {Pay Transparency Location: Ohio}: $114,730 - $163,900.

Primary Location: United States-Ohio-Columbus

Other Locations: United States-Ohio-Cincinnati, United States-Ohio-Cleveland

Industry: Highway + Road

Schedule: Full-time

Employee Status: Regular

BusinessClass: Right of Way

Job Posting: Sep 22, 2026