Senior Technical Director- Project Management

Socket.dev; Bethlehem (Northampton County); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

WSP is seeking a Sr. Technical Director, Project Management for its Power & Energy PMO in Bethlehem, PA. You will lead complex, large-scale projects, manage budgets, risks, and KPIs, and ensure QA/QC aligns with corporate standards.

You will mentor cross-functional teams, drive process improvements, and ensure contract obligations are met while reporting progress to senior leadership and clients.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, or related major (or equivalent).
• Essential project management certification such as PMP or CAP-M.
• 15+ years of post-education experience in a PM role within the industry.
• Advanced understanding of large-scale project delivery in A/E/C.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and business acumen.
• Proven ability to manage multiple large/complex projects and budgets.
• Excellent communication and leadership with senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the most complex and largest scale projects; ensure QA/QC and risk management alignment.
• Oversee budgets, forecasts, margins, KPIs; track hours and expenses.
• Engage stakeholders, provide strategic guidance, and support pursuit/initiations.
• Negotiate and present on contracts; ensure profitable performance and timely delivery.
• Provide leadership to multi-disciplinary teams and mentor staff.
• Maintain project documentation: PMP, QP, PSP, risk registers, and communications plans.
• Drive lessons-learned and project closeout activities; foster continuous improvement.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Communication

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field

PMP/CAP-M certification

Tools

MS Project

MS Office suite

SharePoint

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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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.

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.

NOTICE TO THIRD PARTY AGENCIES:

WSP does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or other staffing services. Unsolicited resumes include any resume or hiring document sent to WSP in the absence of a signed Service Agreement where WSP has expressly requested recruitment/staffing services specific to the position at hand. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers or other business leaders, will become the property of WSP and WSP will have the right to hire that candidate without reservation – no fee or other compensation will be owed or paid to the recruiter, employment agency, or other staffing service.