Central Virginia Water Practice Manager

Dewberry•Richmond, VA

25d

About The Position

Dewberry is seeking an experienced, collaborative Central Virginia Water Practice Manager to lead and advance its Richmond-based water/wastewater practice serving clients throughout Central and Southeast Virginia. The role provides operational, strategic, and client leadership for an established regional practice, helping shape operational priorities, staffing strategies, resource planning, and practice performance. The manager will guide senior project and client managers, support pursuit and proposal efforts, and help ensure successful delivery of high-quality projects for municipal clients. Working with Dewberry’s Mid-Atlantic Water offices in Baltimore, Fairfax, Richmond, and Virginia Beach, the manager will draw on national water expertise, strategic market resources, and technical capabilities to strengthen practice performance and deliver infrastructure solutions. The role also contributes to regional and national water initiatives and represents Dewberry in industry and professional organizations. Dewberry is a professional services firm with more than 60 locations and 2,500 professionals nationwide.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or a related discipline.
Virginia Professional Engineer (PE) license.
At least 15 years of experience in the water/wastewater consulting industry serving public-sector clients.
Strong understanding of water and wastewater infrastructure systems.
Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary teams responsible for planning, design, and project delivery.
Experience building and maintaining municipal client relationships; Central Virginia experience is preferred.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Proven success leading business development, capture planning, proposal development, and interview efforts for municipal water and wastewater projects.
Collaborative leadership style and ability to work effectively with senior leaders, peers, and staff.
Demonstrated success managing operational performance, staff utilization, and project delivery objectives in a consulting environment.
Experience with resource planning, workload forecasting, project performance management, and operational leadership.
Experience leading practice operations, organizational initiatives, and regional business functions in a multidisciplinary engineering consulting environment.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.
Experience building and maintaining municipal client relationships in Central Virginia.

Responsibilities

Provide leadership, mentorship, and strategic direction to senior project managers, client managers, and technical leaders, promoting collaboration, accountability, operational efficiency, and professional growth.
Support practice operations through workload forecasting, resource planning, staff utilization management, and regional staffing coordination.
Develop and execute client, capture, and pursuit plans aligned with Central Virginia practice objectives and Dewberry’s national water strategy.
Serve as a primary or secondary client manager for key municipal water and wastewater clients and build trusted relationships with public-sector agencies throughout Central Virginia.
Identify, evaluate, and pursue strategic business development opportunities, including leading go/no-go decisions and fostering long-term client relationships.
Collaborate with Mid-Atlantic Water leadership and marketing, capture, and pursuit teams to develop strategies, proposals, interviews, scopes, and pricing.
Drive practice performance, client service, and strategic business objectives by leveraging local and national water capabilities and technical expertise.
Lead and coordinate local and geographically dispersed teams to position, win, and deliver engineering services while promoting consistency, collaboration, operational excellence, and best practices.
Support operational best practices, quality initiatives, project delivery improvements, and performance metrics across the Central Virginia water practice.
Assemble and manage client, project, and subconsultant teams to meet client needs and support successful delivery and practice objectives.
Negotiate project scope, fees, schedules, and resources to meet client expectations and project objectives.
Support Mid-Atlantic Water strategy and collaboration among the Baltimore, Fairfax, Richmond, and Virginia Beach offices, including work-sharing, resource coordination, and early positioning for strategic opportunities.
Participate in national and regional water market initiatives and represent Dewberry through involvement in industry and professional organizations.
Contribute to planning, coordination, and implementation of local, regional, and national practice initiatives within Dewberry’s national water framework.
Demonstrate Dewberry’s commitment to honesty, integrity, teamwork, and client-focused service.