Senior Technical Director- Project Management

WSP; Bethlehem (Northampton County); On-site; USD 180,000 - 235,000; Full time

Job summary

WSP seeks a Sr. Technical Director, Project Management for the Power & Energy PMO in Bethlehem, PA. You will lead the most complex projects, ensuring QA/QC, budgets, and risks are managed while guiding multidisciplinary teams and engaged stakeholders.

You will drive contract negotiations, provide strategic advice to clients, and ensure alignment with corporate PM standards and risk management objectives.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of post-education experience in a project management role within our industry.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, or a related major; Master’s preferred.
• Essential project management certification (e.g., PMP, CAP-M).
• Advanced knowledge of project delivery, budgets, risk, and QA/QC.
• Strong leadership, communications, and stakeholder-management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the most complex and largest scale projects within the organization; manage budgets, forecasts, margins and KPIs.
• Ensure QA/QC and compliance with internal project management standards.
• Provide guidance on pursuit/initiation activities and contract reviews.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams and advise clients at a senior level.
• Maintain risk management documentation and project reporting to stakeholders.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Communication

Strategic thinking

Analytical skills

Team management

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering/science

PMP/CAP-M certification

Master's degree

Tools

MS Project

MS Office (Word, Excel, Visio, PowerPoint)

SharePoint

Excel

Visio

Job description

This Opportunity

WSP is seeking a Sr. Technical Director, Project Management for our Power & Energy Program Management Office in Bethlehem, PA. Provides leadership, definition, and oversight pertaining to the consistent delivery of large scale/highly complex project management work within a sector or national business line, ensuring the application of capabilities and expertise, and that QA/QC practices are in alignment with Corporate business strategy, operational performance, and risk management objectives. Serves as a Project Management subject matter expert and champion for ensuring corporate compliance with all internal project management standards and successfully addressing current and future project management challenges within a large-scale and multi-faceted business organization.

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.

Your Impact

• Foster effective and proactive strategies to engage project stakeholders at all levels, maintain effective relationships, and report on project progress.
• Provide guidance and leadership with pursuit/initiation activities for projects meeting defined criteria or risk profile; including “Go / No-Go” decisions, contract reviews, risk mitigation strategies, pricing reviews, etc.
• 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.
• Ensure updates occur with system and process documentation including: Risk (REF/RMP), Project Management Plan (PMP), Project Quality Plan (QP), Project Safety (PSP), and Communications Plan where applicable.
• Lead problem project and 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.
• Remain current in the latest Project Management techniques and practices (PMAP).
• 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.
• Essential project management certification required (e.g., PMP, CAP-M).
• 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.
• 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.
• Occasional travel may be required depending on project-specific requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters Degree

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