Houston Infrastructure Portfolio Leader

GHD•Houston, TX

5d•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 will work with the Clients & Markets Lead, business group leaders, account leaders, capture leaders, and delivery leaders to set market priorities, identify clients and opportunities for focused attention, determine 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 infrastructure opportunities, strengthens institutional relationships, and represents GHD selectively with public agencies and other stakeholders. It coordinates market development, client engagement, civic activity, thought leadership, and pursuits around defined portfolio outcomes. The position also translates future demand into capability, hiring, partnership, and delivery-capacity plans; maintains a consolidated view of portfolio performance and risk; and advises regional leadership on market investments. The position follows GHD’s hybrid work model, with three days per week in the office.

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 the Houston metropolitan market.
Set evidence-based priorities for public infrastructure markets, clients, activities, and investments, including decisions about what to accelerate, maintain, redirect, or stop.
Maintain a portfolio of scale, build, and incubate accounts with named opportunities, accountable leaders and sponsors, measurable targets, and planned engagement actions.
Represent GHD selectively with municipal, county, regional, state, port, transportation, water, and other public infrastructure owners, boards, authorities, and influential stakeholders.
Coordinate market intelligence, client engagement, civic activity, conferences, sponsorships, and thought leadership around account and portfolio outcomes.
Maintain a disciplined opportunity funnel and ensure material pursuits have appropriate qualification, capture and partner strategies, commercial logic, and delivery pathways.
Use GHD’s relationships and capabilities across water, transportation, rail, transit, aviation, ports, environmental services, energy, resilience, and multidisciplinary infrastructure programs to expand access.
Translate future infrastructure demand into capability and workforce requirements, identifying capacity shortages before they constrain growth.
Develop investment cases for strategic hires, market activation, sponsorships, partners, and capability development, tying material investments to defined clients, pursuits, backlog triggers, capability gaps, or outcomes.
Own and maintain the Houston infrastructure market strategy, including client, sector, capability, and investment priorities.
Lead an integrated portfolio of priority 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.
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 know GHD as an enterprise, not only through individual practitioners.
Package GHD’s water, transportation, ports, environmental, energy, advisory, and program management capabilities around client priorities and public outcomes.
Advance material opportunities through qualification, capture, proposal, and award, with clear win themes, partner strategies, decision gates, and accountable pursuit teams.
Translate market outlook into capability plans, hiring triggers, partner decisions, and delivery-capacity requirements.
Maintain a consolidated view of pipeline, backlog, account advancement, stakeholder activity, delivery risk, and market investment returns.
Provide regional leadership with concise recommendations on where to accelerate, hold, redirect, or stop market investments.
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 about infrastructure investment, resilience, mobility, water, economic development, capital delivery, and public priorities.
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.