Practice Leader, Mission Critical Facilities

Lockwood Andrews & Newnam Inc•Houston, TX

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 a market focus for data centers and other mission critical work at a scale that individual business groups cannot achieve 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, while business group directors and project managers retain staffing, technical, and project delivery authority. Success requires leading through influence, quickly establishing credibility with clients and internal leaders, and operating effectively in a matrixed organization. The Practice Leader will define the practice rather than inherit an established one. The primary market is hyperscale, colocation, and enterprise data centers, which will receive most 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 from Facilities, Civil/Water, Program Management, and other groups according to client and pursuit needs.

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 determine how LAN’s combined capabilities are presented to the market.
Build the qualifications, collateral, and market presence needed to compete credibly in the sector.
Represent LAN at industry events and in the mission critical market.
Lead target-account selection, capture strategy, and pursuit strategy.
Set the practice’s 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 in coordination 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 the firm’s 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 and resolve conflicts through priorities, timing, and alternatives, escalating when a commitment is materially at risk.
Build the practice’s internal capability by developing technical champions within participating business groups.
Maintain practice pipeline, target-account, relationship, and opportunity reporting.
Participate in setting the practice’s annual budget allocation and operate within it once approved.
Report practice performance in regular reviews with the business group director and firm leadership.