Market Sector Leader - Transportation

Pape-Dawson•Wichita, KS

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Pape-Dawson is seeking a National Transportation Market Leader to lead the strategic growth, market positioning, client development, and national coordination of the firm’s transportation practice. This leader will help expand Pape-Dawson’s transportation presence across existing and emerging geographies while strengthening relationships with state DOTs, toll authorities, municipalities, counties, MPOs, transit agencies, aviation/airport partners, developers, and strategic teaming partners. Pape-Dawson’s transportation practice includes services such as roadway design, highway and freeway design, transportation planning, traffic impact analyses, traffic studies, signalization, signal timing, intelligent transportation systems, complete streets, pedestrian and bicycle amenities, ADA transition planning, roadway structures, construction engineering inspection, program management, and transportation consulting. Pape-Dawson describes its transportation work as focused on safety, mobility, long-term performance, and delivery from early planning through design and implementation. This role requires a nationally respected transportation leader who can balance market strategy, client relationships, business development, team leadership, and culture stewardship. The ideal candidate will bring deep transportation industry relationships, a strong understanding of public-sector infrastructure delivery, and the ability to grow a national practice while reinforcing Pape-Dawson’s commitment to integrity, excellence, responsiveness, collaboration, and long-term client service. Pape-Dawson’s talent philosophy emphasizes hiring people who contribute to the firm’s long-term legacy, community, technical excellence, and mission—not simply filling a role. The firm’s mission is “to be the most respected engineering and professional services firm in our geographic and technical areas of practice.”

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
Licensed Professional Engineer; multi-state licensure preferred or ability to obtain additional licensure as needed.
Typically 20+ years of progressive transportation engineering, infrastructure, program management, or public-sector consulting experience.
Demonstrated success leading transportation market growth across multiple geographies.
Established relationships with DOTs, toll authorities, municipalities, counties, MPOs, transit agencies, aviation/airport clients, or major public infrastructure clients.
Proven track record winning and supporting major transportation pursuits.
Experience with transportation services such as roadway design, highway/freeway design, corridor planning, traffic engineering, ITS, signalization, CEI, program management, transportation planning, bridge/structures coordination, drainage, utility coordination, complete streets, pedestrian/bicycle facilities, or ADA transition planning.
Experience leading multidisciplinary teams across offices, markets, and service lines.
Strong understanding of public-sector procurement, qualifications-based selection, alternative delivery, contract negotiation, and client account planning.
Demonstrated ability to mentor leaders, develop teams, and build scalable market infrastructure.
Strong financial and operational acumen, including revenue growth, backlog, utilization, profitability, risk management, and project performance.
Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and executive communication skills.
Strong alignment with Pape-Dawson’s mission, culture, and values.

Nice To Haves

National or multi-state transportation leadership experience.
Prior role as Transportation Market Leader, National Practice Leader, DOT Client Account Manager, Program Manager, Regional Transportation Director, or similar senior leadership position.
Experience leading large transportation programs, GEC contracts, CEI programs, corridor programs, design-build pursuits, toll projects, or major DOT initiatives.
Existing relationships in Pape-Dawson growth markets.
Experience integrating transportation practices across acquisitions, new offices, or multi-region teams.
Active involvement in professional organizations such as ACEC, ASCE, ITE, WTS, APWA, TRB, AASHTO-related committees, or state transportation associations.
Experience with major infrastructure funding programs and public-sector capital planning.
Strong reputation for ethical leadership, technical quality, client trust, and collaborative delivery.

Responsibilities

Develop and lead a national transportation market strategy aligned with Pape-Dawson’s growth objectives, geographic expansion, and technical capabilities.
Identify priority transportation markets, clients, geographies, service lines, and investment opportunities.
Partner with executive leadership and regional leaders to evaluate where Pape-Dawson should expand, deepen, or reposition its transportation services.
Build a repeatable national growth model that balances local relationships with firmwide transportation expertise.
Monitor transportation funding trends, infrastructure programs, regulatory changes, procurement trends, and market shifts to position the firm for long-term success.
Establish annual transportation market goals, including revenue growth, backlog, client development, pursuit strategy, staffing needs, and strategic partnerships.
Help define the national transportation brand and value proposition for public-sector and infrastructure clients.
Serve as a senior relationship leader for strategic national, state, regional, and local transportation clients.
Build and maintain trusted relationships with DOT leaders, tolling authorities, municipalities, counties, MPOs, transit agencies, airport/aviation stakeholders, and public infrastructure clients.
Develop client account plans for priority transportation clients and markets.
Lead or support executive-level client meetings, relationship reviews, strategic introductions, and pursuit positioning.
Ensure clients experience Pape-Dawson as responsive, technically credible, relationship-driven, and committed to long-term partnership.
Support regional transportation teams in deepening local client relationships while creating national consistency.
Lead strategic transportation pursuits, including go/no-go decisions, capture planning, teaming strategies, proposal positioning, interview preparation, and contract negotiations.
Partner with marketing, operations, project managers, and technical leaders to develop compelling proposals and presentations.
Identify and build relationships with strategic teaming partners, including engineering firms, contractors, program managers, specialty consultants, and DBE/HUB partners.
Support alternative delivery, GEC/program management, CEI, roadway, bridge, traffic, ITS, corridor, complete streets, and major infrastructure pursuits.
Maintain visibility into national transportation pipeline, hit rates, client feedback, backlog, and pursuit lessons learned.
Coordinate across regions to prevent fragmented pursuit strategies and ensure the firm presents a unified transportation capability.
In conjunction with the Managing Principal, Transportation, provide senior-level transportation market insight and guidance to project teams.
Support technical leaders and project managers in evaluating project risks, delivery strategy, client expectations, and quality requirements.
Help establish national standards for transportation project delivery, pursuit readiness, client communication, quality control, and risk management.
Encourage innovation in transportation design, mobility planning, safety, accessibility, resilience, technology, and constructability.
Support major projects and complex client issues as an executive sponsor or strategic advisor.
Encourage collaboration across transportation, land development, survey, environmental, water, stormwater, structural, GIS, aviation, and project delivery teams.
Partner with operations leaders to align national transportation growth with staffing, project delivery capacity, profitability, backlog, and resource planning.
Support annual business planning, revenue forecasting, staffing forecasts, and investment decisions for the transportation market.
Ensure market growth does not outpace delivery readiness or dilute Pape-Dawson’s standards.
Promote disciplined project execution while preserving client trust and employee sustainability.
Support integration of acquired transportation teams, new offices, or emerging service lines into the broader national transportation practice.
Mentor transportation leaders, project managers, technical specialists, and emerging market leaders across the firm.
Help identify future transportation leadership needs and support succession planning.
Partner with Talent Acquisition and HR to define priority hiring needs, candidate profiles, and market-facing recruiting strategies.
Support recruitment of senior transportation professionals, project managers, technical experts, and emerging leaders.
Encourage cross-office staffing, knowledge sharing, and technical collaboration.
Create a leadership environment that reinforces accountability, development, teamwork, and long-term career growth.