Director of Planning, Indiana

American Structurepoint•Indianapolis, IN

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Planning, Indiana will drive business growth, strategic partnerships, and market positioning for planning and landscape architecture services. This role focuses on pipeline development, client relationships, proposal leadership, and cross-selling opportunities across disciplines. The ideal candidate is entrepreneurial, relationship-focused, and skilled at turning opportunities into successful engagements. This role provides strategic direction, establishes professional standards, ensures final quality assurance, and supports scalable growth by maintaining a strong pipeline of work and a sustainable backlog for the discipline.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Planning, Landscape Architecture, Marketing, Business, or related field
10 or more years of experience in business development or client services in AEC/urban planning
Strong communication, negotiation, and presentation skills
Experience leading proposals and interview teams
Familiarity with municipal procurement, grants, and funding programs
CRM proficiency and pipeline management experience

Responsibilities

Lead business development strategy, market analysis, and annual sales plans.
Build and maintain client relationships; identify new opportunities and partnerships.
Oversee proposal responses (RFPs/RFQs), interviews, and fee strategies.
Coordinate with group leaders and PMs on workload forecasting and resource needs.
Track performance metrics (win rates, pipeline health, revenue targets).
Guide marketing collateral, case studies, and thought leadership content.
Support grant and funding strategies where applicable.
Manage high-profile projects to successful completion.
Serve as the firm's primary planning representative for Indiana, maintaining relationships with key municipal, county, regional, and economic development organizations.
Mentor Project Managers and technical staff to strengthen delivery capabilities.
Identify staffing needs and participate in recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and succession planning for the discipline.
Lead and oversee the development of key client projects.
Provide strategic vision, structure, and standards to ensure consistent, high-quality deliverables.
Maintain a forward-looking backlog and support development of a sustainable pipeline of work.
Own resolution of recurring delivery challenges across projects, including staffing, workflow, or standards issues.
Ensure teams function effectively under changing or imperfect conditions.
Build and refine discipline workflows, templates, systems, and best practices.
Provide strategic direction and ensure coherence across major deliverables.
Conduct final reviews of near-complete plans, documents, or design concepts, focusing on strategy, quality, and alignment.
Establish professional standards, narrative expectations, and technical approaches appropriate to the discipline.
Maintain leadership-level client relationships to support continuity and repeat work.
Provide high-level direction for presentations, agendas, progress reporting, and client communications.
Develop and manage annual business plans, revenue goals, profitability targets, and backlog objectives for the Indiana planning practice.
Monitor discipline performance metrics, including backlog health, multipliers, revenue projections, production factors, accounts receivable, and billing variance.
Coordinate planning efforts with transportation, civil engineering, environmental, architecture, surveying, and other disciplines to maximize client value and cross-selling opportunities.
Evaluate emerging planning trends, legislation, funding programs, and client needs to position the Indiana practice for long-term success.