Practice Leader, Mission Critical Facilities

Lockwood Andrews & Newnam•Oakbrook Terrace, IL

About The Position

LAN is establishing a firmwide Mission Critical Facilities Practice and seeks an experienced market leader to build it. This new role will develop the firm’s data center and other mission critical work at a scale that individual business groups cannot reach independently. The Practice Leader owns market strategy, develops client relationships, and assembles integrated teams across LAN’s business groups to pursue and win work. The role is accountable for market development and the pipeline; business group directors and project managers retain staffing, technical, and project delivery authority. Success requires leading through influence, building credibility with clients and internal leaders, and operating effectively in a matrixed organization. The person hired will define the practice rather than inherit an established one. The primary market is hyperscale, colocation, and enterprise data centers, which will receive the majority of the practice’s effort. Secondary markets include other mission critical facilities where LAN’s capabilities and existing contract vehicles provide an advantage, including healthcare critical infrastructure and military and government facilities. The practice integrates capabilities across LAN, including Facilities, Civil/Water, and Program Management, as client and pursuit needs require. The Practice Leader will own the market strategy and annual business plan; define the integrated service offering; build the qualifications, collateral, and market presence needed to compete; and represent LAN at industry events. The role leads target-account selection, capture and pursuit strategy, go/no-go recommendations, and pursuits through the firm’s review processes. It also recommends scope, fee, commercial positioning, teaming, and client-contact strategy with project managers and business leaders, and identifies and negotiates strategic teaming and subconsultant relationships. The role owns strategic account plans for designated anchor accounts, builds executive-level client relationships, identifies expansion opportunities, and coordinates opportunities under existing contract vehicles with current relationship owners. Internally, the Practice Leader convenes and leads cross-group teams, negotiates resource commitments with business group directors, resolves conflicts or escalates material risks, and develops technical champions. The role also maintains pipeline, account, relationship, and opportunity reporting; participates in setting the annual budget allocation; operates within the approved budget; and reports performance in regular reviews with the business group director and firm leadership.

Requirements

15+ years of experience in the A/E or related industry, including 7+ years in business development, market leadership, or client-facing leadership roles.
Demonstrated success developing new clients and winning work in the data center or mission critical sector.
Working knowledge of mission critical facility design and delivery, including power, cooling, redundancy concepts, and commissioning, sufficient to engage credibly with technical clients.
Proven ability to lead and influence without direct authority across business units or disciplines.
Experience leading capture strategy and major pursuits, including teaming, pricing strategy, and proposal and interview leadership.
Established relationships within the mission critical market, or a demonstrated track record of building them.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, architecture, construction management, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

Professional registration (PE, RA) or relevant industry certification.
Direct experience with hyperscale or colocation clients and their delivery models.
Experience in healthcare critical infrastructure or military and government facilities.
Experience building a practice, market sector, or service line from an early stage.
Familiarity with IDIQ and master agreement contract vehicles and task-order pursuit.

Responsibilities

Own and maintain the Mission Critical Facilities market strategy and annual business plan.
Define the integrated service offering and how LAN’s combined capabilities are presented to the market.
Develop qualifications, collateral, and market presence to compete in the mission critical sector.
Represent LAN at industry events and in the mission critical market.
Lead target-account selection, capture strategy, and pursuit strategy.
Set the priority pursuit list in coordination with participating business group leaders.
Prepare go/no-go recommendations and lead pursuits through the firm’s capture and pursuit review processes.
Recommend scope, fee, commercial positioning, teaming, and client-contact strategy with the responsible project manager and business leaders.
Identify and negotiate strategic teaming and subconsultant relationships.
Own strategic account plans for designated anchor accounts and identify expansion opportunities.
Build and maintain executive-level client relationships in the mission critical market.
Coordinate mission critical opportunities under existing contract vehicles with their current relationship owners.
Convene and lead cross-business-group pursuit and strategy teams.
Negotiate resource commitments with business group directors, resolve conflicts, and escalate material risks to commitments.
Develop technical champions within participating business groups to build internal practice capability.
Maintain practice pipeline, target-account, relationship, and opportunity reporting.
Participate in setting the practice’s annual budget allocation and operate within the approved budget.
Report practice performance in regular reviews with the business group director and firm leadership.