Energy Practice Leader, Infrastructure

Woolpert•Columbus, OH

7d•$139,200 - $208,800

About The Position

The Practice Leader provides strategic, operational, and business leadership for Woolpert’s Energy Practice. The role drives the practice’s vision, growth, profitability, and market position while promoting client satisfaction, employee engagement, and strong project delivery. The leader develops and executes growth initiatives, oversees operations, leads business development, and builds high-performing teams. The position serves as the practice’s primary leader and advocate, working across markets, disciplines, and service lines to accelerate growth and deliver innovative client solutions. The Practice Leader establishes and executes the practice vision, strategy, and annual business plan in concert with the Water and Energy Utilities Market Director. The role owns revenue, backlog, and profitability objectives; builds executive-level client relationships; and leads major pursuits and market expansion. It also monitors operational performance, leads resource planning, mitigates risk, and promotes continuous improvement. The role provides coaching and accountability for Program Directors and senior staff, supports recruiting and employee development, and fosters a collaborative, high-performance culture. As an industry leader, the Practice Leader promotes innovation and technical differentiation, keeps informed about regulations and market drivers, and represents Woolpert in industry forums and organizations. The Practice Leader is accountable for revenue and net revenue performance, EBITDA, backlog, utilization, hiring and staffing plans, client satisfaction, and employee retention and engagement. The listed base pay range is $139,200–$208,800 USD and may vary based on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Construction Management, Business, or a related discipline.
15+ years of progressive leadership experience in the energy, utility, or infrastructure consulting industry.
Demonstrated success leading large-scale business units, service lines, or practices.
Proven experience managing P&L performance.
Demonstrated success developing strategic client relationships and growing revenue.
Experience leading multidisciplinary teams across multiple offices.

Nice To Haves

Professional Engineer (PE) license or another industry-recognized credential.
Executive leadership experience within an engineering, consulting, utility, or infrastructure organization.
Experience leading organizations with annual revenues exceeding $10 million.
Existing network within electric utility, renewable energy, power delivery, or energy infrastructure markets.

Responsibilities

Establish and execute the Energy Practice vision, strategy, and annual business plan in concert with the Water and Energy Utilities Market Director.
Develop growth initiatives aligned with Woolpert’s corporate objectives and identify emerging market opportunities, technologies, and industry trends.
Evaluate geographic expansion, new services, and strategic partnerships.
Serve as an executive advocate for the Energy Practice across the organization.
Own practice revenue, backlog, and profitability objectives.
Lead strategic client development and executive-level client relationships.
Partner with Program Directors and Client Service Leaders to drive sales growth.
Participate in major pursuits, proposal strategies, interviews, and contract negotiations.
Expand Woolpert’s market presence in utility, renewable energy, transmission, distribution, pipeline, and energy infrastructure sectors.
Monitor practice performance against sales, net revenue, utilization, backlog, and EBITDA targets.
Ensure consistent project delivery excellence across the practice.
Lead resource planning and workforce forecasting efforts.
Identify and mitigate operational and business risks; promote continuous improvement.
Provide leadership, coaching, and accountability for Program Directors and senior staff.
Develop succession plans for critical leadership positions.
Partner with Talent Acquisition and HR to recruit industry talent.
Foster an engaging, collaborative, high-performance culture and support employee development, retention, and leadership growth.
Promote innovation, thought leadership, and technical differentiation, and maintain awareness of industry regulations, technologies, and market drivers.
Represent Woolpert at conferences, client forums, and professional organizations, and strengthen its brand through publications, presentations, and industry involvement.
Meet practice financial and organizational objectives, including revenue growth, net revenue, EBITDA, backlog, utilization, staffing, client satisfaction, retention, and engagement.