Houston Infrastructure Portfolio Leader

GHD Group Pty Ltd•Houston, TX

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

GHD is seeking a Houston Infrastructure Portfolio Leader to develop and execute the US Central Region’s state and local government infrastructure growth strategy, initially focused on the Houston metropolitan area. This senior, externally focused role connects client relationships, market intelligence, business development, and portfolio leadership across municipal and public infrastructure markets. The leader works closely with the Clients & Markets Lead, business group leaders, account leaders, capture leaders, and delivery leaders to set market priorities, select clients and opportunities for focused attention, identify capability and investment needs, and convert market opportunities into qualified pipeline, backlog, revenue, and sustainable delivery capacity. The role leads an integrated portfolio of priority public-sector clients and opportunities, builds institutional relationships with public agencies and stakeholders, and coordinates market development and external engagement. It also translates anticipated infrastructure demand into capability, workforce, and delivery-capacity plans, while providing regional leadership with a consolidated view of portfolio performance, risks, and investment returns. The position follows GHD’s hybrid work model, with three days per week in the office. GHD describes a collaborative, multicultural workplace and is an equal opportunity employer.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, public administration, planning, public policy, economics, or a related field.
Typically 12 or more years of progressively responsible experience in business development, market strategy, public infrastructure, government, economic development, public-private partnerships, program leadership, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience leading teams, programs, organizations, or cross-functional initiatives and organizing resources to achieve defined outcomes.
Strong record of developing trusted relationships with public-sector executives, elected officials, agency leaders, industry partners, and community stakeholders.
Demonstrated business development and strategic partnership skills, including identifying opportunities, shaping client strategies, supporting capture efforts, and connecting client needs with multidisciplinary delivery teams.
Outstanding oral and written communication, judgment, negotiation, and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across technical, commercial, government, and community settings.

Nice To Haves

A master’s degree or relevant professional credential.

Responsibilities

Own and execute the US Central state and local government infrastructure growth strategy, initially focused on Houston.
Set explicit market, client, sector, capability, and investment priorities, including decisions about where to focus and which activities to accelerate, maintain, redirect, or stop.
Maintain an evidence-based portfolio of scale, build, and incubate accounts with named opportunities, accountable leaders, measurable targets, and planned engagement actions.
Lead an integrated portfolio of priority state and local government clients, including the City of Houston, Port Houston, Harris County and related agencies, regional water authorities, TxDOT, Houston METRO, selected utilities, and other public authorities.
Represent GHD selectively with municipal, county, regional, state, port, transportation, water, and other public infrastructure owners, boards, authorities, and influential stakeholders.
Develop coordinated executive, agency, civic, and community stakeholder strategies for priority accounts and major programs.
Create and maintain stakeholder maps covering decision makers, influencers, technical owners, procurement pathways, funding dynamics, and inter-agency dependencies.
Build multi-threaded institutional relationships so clients and stakeholders recognize GHD as an enterprise, not only through individual practitioners.
Coordinate market intelligence, client engagement, civic activity, conferences, sponsorships, and thought leadership in support of defined account and infrastructure portfolio outcomes.
Coordinate market-level business development and external engagement with account plans, technical leaders, corporate communications, and major pursuits.
Prepare executives and technical leaders for client and stakeholder meetings; define engagement objectives, record commitments, and ensure follow-through.
Develop evidence-based issue briefs and consistent narratives on infrastructure investment, resilience, mobility, water, economic development, capital delivery, and public priorities.
Package GHD’s water, transportation, ports, environmental, energy, advisory, and program management capabilities around client priorities and public outcomes.
Maintain a disciplined opportunity funnel aligned with public-sector sales cycles; ensure material pursuits have sound qualification, capture and partner strategies, commercial logic, and delivery pathways.
Advance material opportunities through qualification, capture, proposal, and award with clear win themes, partner strategies, decision gates, and accountable pursuit teams.
Use existing relationships and capabilities to accelerate access across water, transportation, rail, transit, aviation, ports, environmental services, energy, resilience, and multidisciplinary infrastructure programs.
Translate future infrastructure demand and market outlook into capability plans, workforce requirements, hiring triggers, partner decisions, and delivery-capacity requirements.
Develop investment cases for strategic hires, market activation, sponsorships, partners, and capability development, tying material investments to named clients, pursuits, backlog triggers, capability gaps, or defined outcomes.
Maintain a consolidated view of pipeline, backlog, account advancement, stakeholder activity, delivery risk, and market investment returns.
Provide concise recommendations to regional leadership on where to accelerate, hold, redirect, or stop market investments.
Prioritize civic, industry, association, and sponsorship activity according to defined client, account, and market objectives.
Monitor funding, procurement, policy developments, political sensitivity, community concerns, permitting, and delivery risks, and escalate material issues appropriately.