Power & Energy Senior Program Director

WSP

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

WSP is seeking a Senior Program Director for its Power & Energy Program Management Office. This role provides leadership, definition, and oversight for the consistent delivery of large-scale, highly complex programs within the Extra High Voltage (EHV) Transmission and Distribution sector. The successful candidate will lead the most complex and largest scale projects, ensuring contributors understand their roles and deadlines, overseeing project budgets, forecasts, margins, and KPIs, monitoring external events and risk contingencies, tracking hours and expenses, ensuring QA/QC and satisfactory performance, and managing contractual obligations. The role involves fostering stakeholder engagement, maintaining relationships, reporting on project progress, participating in contract negotiations, and being accountable for the profitable performance and successful completion of projects. The Senior Program Director will provide leadership to multi-disciplinary teams, offer strategic advice to clients, guide managers and staff, and develop project initiation and governance documentation. They will lead project management discipline meetings, address root cause issues, identify improvement opportunities, and ensure all appropriate measures are taken for innovation, development, and quality project delivery. This includes leading the development of project recovery plans, ensuring regular project reporting, and facilitating project closeout activities and lessons-learned meetings. The role requires collaboration with professionals from various disciplines to provide trusted advisor services and future-ready solutions, exercising responsible and ethical decision-making, and adhering to WSP’s Code of Conduct. Additional responsibilities may be required based on business needs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, or a related major, or equivalent experience in a technical or engineering firm.
15+ years of relevant post education experience in a project management role within our industry.
Advanced-level understanding of the project delivery process within the A/E/C industry, and an extensive background and experience in large-scale project management.
Experience managing projects through a variety of delivery models (DBB, EPC, PDB).
Advanced knowledge and proficiency with analytical and organizational skills, with business acumen to bridge business and project management.
Strong working knowledge of corporate project management principles, practices, process, delivery, execution, and the business impact upon the organization.
Demonstrated exceptional ability with establishing, implementing, and managing multiple larger scale/complex projects, programs, documents, systems, and practices.
Excellent self-leadership and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to manage staff, and effectively, persuasively, and tactfully interact with employees at all levels of the organization.
Strategic lateral thinking and strong analytical skills with attention to detail and prioritization of responsibilities in a pressure work environment.
Ability to elicit cooperation from a wide variety of sources, including senior management, subcontractors, consultants, suppliers, clients, and company-wide staff, including those with whom no formal hierarchical relationship exists.
Advanced knowledge and proficiency with technical writing, office automation, relevant software, MS Office suite products (e.g., Word, Excel, Visio, Project, SharePoint), technology, spreadsheets, and PM tools.
Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP’s health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.
Strong ability to quickly adapt to change and demonstrate flexibility to a variety of schedules and hours to meet business needs.

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree.
Essential project management certification (e.g., PMP, CAP-M)

Responsibilities

Lead the most complex and largest scale projects within the organization, ensuring contributors know what they are required to do and by when.
Prepare and oversee relevant project budgets, forecasts, margins and KPIs.
Monitor external events and risk contingencies, tracking hours and expenses.
Ensure QA/QC and satisfactory performance, and manage the contractual obligations to deliver the project or assigned portfolio of assigned project(s) as defined in the contract.
Foster effective and proactive strategies to engage project stakeholders at all levels, maintain effective relationships, and report on project progress.
Participate in the technical aspects of contract negotiation, presentations, and meetings.
Accountable for the profitable performance and successful completion of all individual projects within the specified area or portfolio.
Provide leadership to multi-disciplinary project teams and contribute to providing high level strategic advice to clients.
Provide performance guidance and proactive leadership to assigned managers and staff.
Develop, maintain, and update Project Initiation and governance documentation, including Risk Registers (REF/RMP), Project Management Plans (PMP), Project Quality Plans (QP), Project Safety Plans (PSP), and Communications Plans, in accordance with WSP and client requirements.
Lead project management discipline meetings, addressing root cause issues and potential solutions, leveraging opportunities for improvement in area of responsibility, and providing updates and recommendations to staff that ensure all appropriate measures are taken to foster innovation, development, and quality project delivery.
Lead the development of project recovery plans, including team input for developing strategy for correcting project budget and overrun issues with the client.
Ensure regular project reporting and updates are provided to clients, technical areas, and business unit managers, identifying any emergent issues with scope, risk, and/or budget.
Ensure the completion of all formal project closeout activities, along with the facilitation and documentation of a lessons-learned meeting with key project staff.
Collaborate with professionals and leadership from a variety of disciplines to provide “trusted advisor” service and future ready solutions for clients.
Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding company funds, resources and conduct, and adhere to WSP’s Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures.
Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.