Team Lead - Environmental Planning and Advisory

WSP Africa; Midrand; On-site; ZAR 60 000 - 100 000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a dynamic leader to drive their Africa EPA team. This role involves strategic business development, client relationship management, and leading impactful environmental projects across Sub-Saharan Africa. You will be at the forefront of delivering innovative solutions in a diverse and inclusive environment that values work-life balance. With a focus on mentorship and collaboration, this position offers the opportunity to shape the future of environmental consulting while making a significant impact on society. Join a team that promotes personal growth and professional excellence.

Benefits

First-class medical cover

Generous annual leave

Paid professional subscriptions

Flexible working hours

Work-from-home options

Qualifications

• 15+ years as an environmental specialist in local and international projects.
• Strong project management and client engagement skills.

Responsibilities

• Drive annual business strategy for the Africa EPA team.
• Lead and mentor the Africa EPA team across multiple countries.
• Manage key client relationships and business development activities.

Skills

Leadership Experience

Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)

Project Management

Technical Report Writing

Client Engagement

Commercial Acumen

Education

Honours or higher degree in Environmental Discipline

Job description

Company Description

We are WSP - Join us and make your career future ready!

Think bigger scale. Think higher profile. Think ground-breaking. Join WSP, and you’ll be at the heart of a team of international experts all dedicated to growing and sharing their expertise, and working on projects that transform society for all of us.

WSP is one of the most diverse consulting firms in Africa, and the largest environmental consulting firm globally. To further our strategic business execution plan, we are seeking leaders who share our guiding principles – we value our people and our reputation; we are locally dedicated with international scale; we are future-focused and challenge the status quo; we foster collaboration; we have an empowering culture and hold ourselves accountable.

Job Description

Duties and Responsibilities:

Leadership:

• Contribute to and drive the annual business strategy for for the Africa EPA team with the support of the EPA senior leadership team. Aim to position the team as the lead in sector.
• Collaborate with other P&A team leads.
• Input into wider WSP business policies.
• Provide team leadership and guidance to the Africa EPA team. This includes the South Africa, Mozambique and Ghana EPA Teams.
• Convene and chair team co-ordination meetings to discuss weekly resourcing pressures, opportunities and business administration aspects.
• Convene and chair Africa EPA team meetings quarterly to provide feedback on financial performance, opportunities, projects and people aspects.
• Assist with business administration and removal of roadblocks where needed.
• Crisis control and management.
• Drive and conduct recruitment as required by the team.
• The role requires strong interpersonal skills and provision of mentorship and guidance to all team members.

Business Development:

• Key client/account relationship management, participation in marketing and business development activities, and development of proposals.
• Tender Go-No-Go decisions.
• Technical and financial sign off of proposal in accordance with Authority Matrix.

Commercial:

• Responsible for financial performance for EPA team (RSA, Moz, Ghana) and reaching financial targets for EPA Africa.
• Manage and interrogate Project Forecasting Tool (PFT) and provide guidance to the team on financial system.
• Monitoring work in progress (WIP) and invoicing progress.
• Conduct Debt review and follow up on relevant significant debts where required.

Technical:

• Lead / prominent role in delivering local and international (Africa) projects.
• Offer technical guidance and support on projects where required.
• Maintain professional registration and technical capabilities.
• Engagement with Clients and other stakeholders at the senior executive level and providing support and guidance on critical E&S aspects affecting their projects.

Health and Safety:

• Role model standards for SHEQ performance and behaviour consistent with the company’s health, safety, environmental and quality vision and policies by influencing those around you.
• Contributing to the identification of SHEQ risks and driving processes to achieve Zero Harm.
• Embracing, displaying and promoting the company values and ensuring a safe working environment is maintained at all times.

Qualifications

An Honours or higher degree in a relevant environmental discipline.

Key Competencies:

• Demonstrable leadership experience.
• 15 years or more experience as an environmental and/or social specialist leading and delivering local and international (Africa) ESIA and/or ESDD consulting assignments.
• EAPASA Registration is required or evidence of application in process. Registered Pr. Sci. Nat is recommended.
• Project experience across the following sectors: conventional and renewable power generation and transmission, road and rail infrastructure, mining, ports and marine infrastructure, mining, oil and gas, and industrial manufacturing facilities.
• Knowledgeable in a wide range of environmental and social sub-disciplines (i.e. air quality, ecological impact, occupational health and safety, resettlement planning, labour practices etc.)
• Experience in Sub Sahara Africa (outside of South Africa) and ability to travel.
• Strong technical report writing skills, producing professional reports in fluent English.
• Strong project management skills.
• Comfortable to engage in client-facing business development.
• Significant commercial acumen.

Generic Skills:

• EAPASA Registration.
• Knowledgeable in a wide range of environmental and social sub-disciplines (i.e. air quality, ecological impact, occupational health and safety, resettlement planning, labour practices etc.)
• Strong technical report writing skills, producing professional reports in fluent English.
• Strong project management skills.
• Significant commercial acumen.

Strong preference will be given to:

• Candidates with team management experience and a strong capability for this role.

Additional Information

What's in it for you?

What if we can have work-life balance? What if we can be rewarded in ways that support our individual needs? What if we can be accepted for who we are? Here at WSP – we can!

WSP recognizes that work is only one part of our lives and making time for the other things in our life is important – be that our families, our friends or ourselves. So, if working from home, working part-time or having flexible start and finish time will help with this let us know as part of your application.

As well as rewarding you with competitive pay, WSP offers standard benefits including first class medical cover, generous days annual leave, and paid professional subscriptions.

Be you, be happy - we strive to have a friendly and inclusive culture which respects and maximizes the contribution individuals can bring to WSP. We recognize the benefits that people with varying backgrounds and experiences can bring. Here at WSP we positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy or maternity/paternity. We will interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria.