Project Manager- Highways Roads

GHD Group Pty Ltd•Irvine, CA

65d•$103,000 - $172,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Bring your curiosity and determination to make a positive impact on the future of transport, and we’ll help you go all the way. Join our team of globally connected specialists to help solve complex transport challenges and experience groundbreaking projects from idea to delivery, and beyond. Our pledge to you. Join GHD. Who are we looking for? GHD’s US West Region seeks an experienced and driven Project Manager – Highways/Roads to support and grow our Highways, Roads, Bridges practice throughout the California, Arizona and the US West. We’re looking for a proactive leader with a passion for delivering high-quality projects, mentoring teams, and building lasting client relationships. Through a broad network of clients, GHD has exposure to these transportation projects through Federal, State, Regional, County, and Municipal agencies and private sectors. This is a unique opportunity to join a large, well-established organization with a culture that promotes teamwork, integrity, and respect. You will work closely with our highly skilled multi-disciplinary teams throughout the organization and our clients to efficiently deliver projects and provide high value consultancy services. This position can be based in any of our California offices (Irvine, Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno, Concord, Santa Rosa, Roseville, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, Redding, or Eureka) or Phoenix, Arizona. Our Hybrid Work Model: Be part of the dynamic culture! Our workplace thrives on a hybrid model, combining in-office collaboration and flexibility. Join us in the office three days a week to contribute, connect and excel in our vibrant environment. Working with an energetic and high performing team, this position offers a variety of work and will see you involved in:

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering or related field.
8+ years of experience in transportation project management, with a strong background in planning, design and delivery of highway and roadway projects.
Registered Civil Engineer in the State of California or Arizona Required
8+ years of experience in transportation project management, with a strong background in planning, design and delivery of highway and roadway projects.
Proven experience managing projects for Caltrans, local agencies, and federally funded programs.
Proficiency with project management software and tools (e.g. MS Project, Earned-Value tracking, etc.).
Strong knowledge of Caltrans and AASHTO standards, and experience with PS&E package development.
Excellent communication, leadership, and organizational skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience with alternative delivery methods (e.g., Design-Build, CMGC) is a plus.
Experience managing multi-office or multi-disciplinary teams is preferred.
Experience working in a consulting environment and managing multiple concurrent projects is preferred.

Responsibilities

Project Leadership & Delivery: Oversee the planning, design, and delivery of transportation projects, including highways, interchanges, local roads, roundabouts, trails, and bridges. Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.
Client & Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as the primary point of contact for clients, agencies, and stakeholders. Develop and implement stakeholder engagement strategies to foster positive relationships and ensure project success.
Team Management & Development: Lead and mentor multidisciplinary project teams, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment. Support staff development through coaching, training, and performance feedback.
Project Controls & Financial Management: Develop and manage project budgets, schedules, and resources. Monitor project performance, prepare progress reports, and proactively address risks and issues.
Technical Excellence: Provide technical oversight and quality assurance for project deliverables. Ensure compliance with Caltrans, AASHTO, and local agency standards, as well as PS&E package development requirements.
Business Development: Lead or support proposal development, client presentations, and interviews. Identify and pursue new business opportunities with existing and prospective clients.
Innovation & Best Practices: Champion the adoption of innovative solutions, digital tools, and industry best practices to enhance project delivery and client value.
Change & Risk Management: Implement structured change management and risk mitigation strategies to ensure successful project outcomes.
Professional Development: Actively participate in industry organizations (e.g., ASCE, APWA, WTS) and pursue continuing education to stay current with emerging trends and best practices.
Project Governance: Clarify roles and responsibilities within the project team and ensure project compliance with the organization's wider program and/or portfolio management decision-making structures and processes.
Portfolio Management: Plan and manage the delivery of projects within an area of professional expertise, using an appropriate project management methodology to give assurance that intended outcomes are achieved.
Project Team Management: Lead large project teams (or multiple small- to medium-sized teams); define the project vision, communicate the necessary outcomes, and provide guidance to achieve these outcomes; coordinate team actions across project activities; coordinate the flow of additional team members on and off the team, as needed; and build the capability of the team through training, coaching, and mentoring.
Project Risk and Issue Management: Manage identification of risks, issues, dependencies, and constraints associated with the project, escalating these matters where appropriate. Where necessary, develop, agree on, and implement solutions to overcome these concerns.
Project Benefit Realization: Deliver baseline assessments and post-implementation analyses to evaluate and track the realization of business benefits.
Project Resource Management: Negotiate and manage deployment of project resource budgets, providing forecasts and presenting variances with narrative at appropriate review points to ensure effective utilization.
Culture of Innovation: Drive a culture of innovation by creating multistakeholder solutions that boost creativity, innovation, and collaboration across business units, such as idea generation platforms, jam sessions, and hackathons.
Leadership and Direction: Communicate the actions needed to implement the function's strategy and business plan within the team; explain the relationship to the broader organization's mission, vision, and values; motivate people to commit to these and to do extraordinary things to achieve local business goals.
Personal Capability Building: Develop own capabilities by participating in assessment and development planning activities as well as formal and informal training and coaching; gain or maintain external professional accreditation, where relevant, to improve performance and fulfill personal potential. Maintain an in-depth understanding of technology, external regulation, and industry best practices through ongoing education, attending conferences, and reading specialist media.
Transformational Change Management: Manage projects or substantial workstreams within a transformational change program, ensuring integration with related projects; use structured change management methodologies to build acceptance of change and to embed desired culture and behaviors.
Stakeholder Management: Develop and implement stakeholder engagement plans for projects to identify relevant stakeholders, to develop positive stakeholder relationships, and to ensure that each stakeholder has an appropriate share of voice.
Project Scope Definition: Plan and lead the delivery of a range of information gathering, analysis, and stakeholder consultation activities and specify, negotiate, and agree on project deliverables.
Project Assurance: Manage the delivery of assurance reviews within a project, enable the delivery of assurance reviews by independent third parties, and take appropriate action to resolve any issues identified, to give senior stakeholders confidence that the project can deliver according to time, budget, and quality.
Enterprise Business Analysis: Interpret the business need and identify solution recommendations to business problems at a business unit level.