South Central Historic Preservation Program Lead

HDR•San Antonio, TX

About The Position

HDR is seeking a South Central Historic Preservation Program Lead to serve as the senior project manager for historic preservation, architectural history, and preservation planning across the South Central Cultural Resources practice. The role builds and implements a historic preservation service platform that complements cultural resources management services and integrates with archaeology, environmental planning, transportation, water, power, industrial, municipal, and development-related work. The position grows historic preservation business by identifying target clients, building relationships, supporting pursuits, developing scopes and cost estimates, and working with marketing and business development leadership. It leads preservation projects from inception through completion, managing schedules, budgets, staffing, deliverables, quality, client communications, and corrective actions. The role also expands existing preservation services and develops new offerings, including surveys, National Register support, local historic district development, adaptive reuse planning, maintenance plans, grant assistance, economic development, training, and community research and storytelling. The Program Lead supports clients and communities with preservation-sensitive needs; mentors preservation staff; authors and reviews technical reports and related deliverables; and manages technical and administrative work under applicable federal, state, and local regulations. The role coordinates Section 106, SHPO/THPO, municipal, stakeholder, and public-facing processes, collaborates with multidisciplinary teams, maintains project records in HDR systems, participates in project reviews, and represents HDR in client, community, conference, and business development settings. The role may require travel, occasional work outside standard 8-to-5 hours, and participation in evening or weekend meetings and events.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
At least 7 years of experience.
Professional registration, license, or certification may be required based on the role.
Strong communication and listening skills.
Ability to handle multiple assignments.
Good leadership and organizational skills.
Commitment to active participation in HDR's employee-owned culture.
Ability to communicate effectively in person, by telephone, and by email.
Ability to work in minimally supervised or unsupervised environments.
Valid driver's license and ability to operate a vehicle day or night.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in historic preservation, architectural history, architecture, planning, public history, anthropology, archaeology, or a closely related field.
Meets or can demonstrate alignment with the Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualification Standards in architectural history, history, historic architecture, or a related preservation discipline, as applicable.
Experience managing historic preservation projects involving architectural history, archaeology coordination, municipal planning, stakeholder engagement, grant assistance, adaptive reuse, or community-facing interpretation.
Experience with Section 106 coordination, National Register eligibility/effects documentation, SHPO/THPO consultation support, local preservation ordinances, or preservation-sensitive planning and development review.
Experience working with city, county, nonprofit, Main Street, economic development, transportation, water, power, or municipal clients.
Demonstrated ability to develop service offerings, build templates and delivery processes, train or mentor staff, and turn market opportunities into executable project scopes.
Professional certification, registration, or affiliation relevant to historic preservation, planning, architecture, project management, or cultural resources consulting.

Responsibilities

Serve as South Central Historic Preservation Program Lead and senior project manager for historic preservation, architectural history, and preservation planning work across the South Central Cultural Resources practice.
Grow historic preservation business by identifying target clients, developing relationships, supporting pursuits, preparing scopes, developing cost estimates, and participating in client and marketing activities.
Collaborate with marketing and business development leadership to market historic preservation services to existing and prospective clients.
Build and implement a practical historic preservation service platform that complements cultural resources management and integrates with related disciplines and business groups.
Lead preservation projects from inception through completion, including schedules, budgets, scopes, staffing plans, deliverables, quality reviews, client communications, and corrective actions.
Expand and deliver preservation and cultural resources services, including on-call expertise, historic resource surveys, National Register evaluation and nomination support, local historic district development, area plans, and preservation-related research and storytelling.
Develop and deliver new preservation services such as code enforcement support, maintenance plans and guidebooks, adaptive reuse planning, implementation schedules, National Register use plans, Certified Local Government guidance, grant assistance, economic development, and training.
Support clients and communities undertaking preservation programs or facing preservation-sensitive project needs, including growth, redevelopment, grant-funded work, and new designations or plans.
Mentor and support architectural historians, historians, preservation specialists, and museum collections personnel.
Serve as primary or secondary author of historic preservation, architectural history, and cultural resources reports, memoranda, inventories, plans, and client-facing deliverables.
Manage administrative and technical aspects of projects under the National Historic Preservation Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Antiquities Code of Texas, and other applicable regulations.
Coordinate Section 106, SHPO/THPO, municipal, stakeholder, and public-facing preservation processes with HDR technical leads, project managers, and client teams.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary colleagues to plan, staff, execute, and deliver cultural resources projects.
Provide technical direction, mentoring, and quality oversight, including review of draft reports, resource documentation, National Register materials, preservation plans, and related deliverables.
Maintain project records and information in HDR project management systems and participate in project reviews with accounting, project management, and technical leadership.
Represent HDR professionally in client meetings, interviews, community discussions, public-facing preservation settings, conferences, and business development activities.
Perform other duties as needed.
Travel to client sites, community meetings, project locations, and HDR offices as needed; operate a vehicle day or night.