Senior Program Director

WSP USA; Glastonbury (CT); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

WSP USA is seeking a Senior Program Director to lead the Power & Energy PMO, delivering large, complex EHV programs. The role emphasizes governance, stakeholder engagement, and strategic guidance across multi-disciplinary teams, with travel for face-to-face client and office meetings.

The successful candidate will manage budgets, forecasts, KPIs, and risk controls while coordinating project delivery across DBB, EPC, and PDB models in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, or a related major, or equivalent experience.
• 12+ years of post-education project management experience in the industry.
• Advanced delivery knowledge across DBB, EPC, and PDB models.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills with business acumen.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management.
• Experience applying PM principles and managing project documentation.
• Travel may be required depending on project needs.

Responsibilities

• Provide PM leadership for large, complex programs and budgets.
• Foster stakeholder engagement and report progress to clients and leadership.
• Participate in contract negotiations, presentations, and meetings.
• Ensure profitable performance and successful project completion.
• Lead multi-disciplinary teams and provide strategic client advice.
• Guide staff and managers with performance and development oversight.
• Maintain project initiation, governance docs, and risk registers.
• Lead project discipline meetings and drive continuous improvement.
• Develop recovery plans for budget overruns with clients.
• Ensure periodic client updates and formal closeout activities.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Communication

Strategic thinking

Analytical skills

Budgeting & KPIs

Risk management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, or related major

Master’s degree (preferred)

Tools

MS Office (Word, Excel, Visio, Project, SharePoint)

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 Northeast region with the ability to travel to a WSP and/or Client office for periodic face-to-face meetings. 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

• Provide PM leadership for larger scale/more complex projects 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 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.

• 12+ 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 exits.

• 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).

About WSP

WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world's leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 15,000 employees in over 300 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper.

www.wsp.com

WSP provides a flexible and agile workplace model while meeting client needs. Employees are also afforded a comprehensive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, life, and retirement savings focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career.

At WSP, we want to give our employees the challenges they seek to grow their careers and knowledge base. Your daily contributions to your team will be essential in meeting client objectives, goals and challenges. Are you ready to get started?

WSP USA (and all of its U.S. companies) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Race/Age/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disability or Protected Veteran Status.

The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.