Assistant Vice President, Transportation Planner

Who We Are

At WSP, we are driven by inspiring future-ready pioneers to innovate. We’re looking to grow our teams with people who are ready to collaborate in building communities and expanding our skylines. To do this, we hire candidates of all experiences, skillsets, backgrounds and walks of life. We actively foster a work environment and culture where inclusion and diversity is part of our fundamental structure. This is delivered behaviorally, through our policies, trainings, local partnerships with professional diverse organizations, internal networks and most importantly with the support and sponsorship of our leaders who help drive our commitment to an inclusive, diverse, welcoming and equitable work environment. Anything is within our reach and yours as a WSP employee. Come join us and help shape the future!

This Opportunity

WSP is currently initiating a search for a Vice President, Southern California Transportation Planning Director. 

This position can be based out of the following California Offices: Los Angeles, San Diego, Irvine. Be involved in projects with our California Advisory Team and be a part of a growing organization that meets our client’s objectives and solves their challenges.

The Assistant Vice President will have an entrepreneurial spirit, creating a vision for growth and contributing to the development of our multi-disciplinary planning practice in Southern California. You will assist in marketing and business development while delivering a wide variety of transportation planning projects with our growing team of planning professionals. Beyond serving our existing clients, you will have the ability to pursue your passions, leads, and clients. Our Assistant Vice Presidents manage their projects profitably, engage in practice and delivery of projects, transition work to qualified staff, and act as a positive leader and mentor.

Your Impact

• Lead and support transportation planning projects which may include but are not limited to multimodal planning, active transportation planning, first/last mile planning, corridor planning, long-range planning, transportation demand management, transit planning, and public involvement.
• Conduct project management which includes ensuring contributors know what they are required to do and by when, preparing and overseeing relevant project budgets, monitoring external events, tracking hours and expenses, ensuring profitability and satisfactory performance, and supervising subcontractors, contract work, and employees.
• Prepare, coordinate, and facilitate public involvement and consensus-building meetings in support of client project work, answering public questions on behalf of the client, and assisting with long-range planning efforts on larger-size or more complex projects.
• Remain current in the latest transportation planning subject matter, practices, regulations, and techniques. 
• Manage and provide performance guidance and leadership to assigned staff.
• Conduct business development which includes establishing project leads, pre-positioning for pursuits, leading and contributing to proposals including scope and budget development, leading and participating in interviews, and negotiating the contract.
• Develop a client base for providing high-level transportation planning services including identifying additional business development opportunities, and cross-selling  other WSP capabilities.
• Collaborate with professionals 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.

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Transportation Planning, Urban Planning, Environmental Planning, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• 10+ years of experience working in the transportation planning field, actively engaging in a variety of subdisciplines such as multimodal planning, active transportation planning, first/last mile planning, corridor planning, long-range planning, transportation demand management, transit planning, and public involvement.
• Experience in business development including finding leads, pre-positioning and building relationships with clients, developing proposals, interviewing, and negotiating contracts.
• Advanced proficiency with the transportation project development cycle from planning to implementation.
• Highly proficient expertise with planning skills for a specific ecosystem(s), geography, transportation networks, systems, and modalities.
• Demonstrated technical competence leading permitting and approval of assigned planning projects.
• Highly proficient with reviewing surface transportation projects and program cost estimates and assessing project readiness for inclusion in the strategic local/regional Transportation Plan.
• Advanced expertise with consulting practices and established experience coordinating with clients, regulatory agencies, subcontractors, and technical staff required.
• Ability to work independently and provide guidance and leadership to mid-level to senior-level team or project members, with strict adherence to QA/QC.
• Experienced with providing critical reviews for documents and preparing technical deliverables and plans with a high degree of complexity.
• Strong self-leadership and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to effectively, persuasively, and tactfully interact with employees at all levels of the organization.
• Experience with ArcGIS.
• Proficiency with technical business writing, office automation and communication software, technology, and tools.
• Extensive critical thinking and problem-solving skills required to reach conclusions from testing results, data collation, and identify the most effective solutions to accomplish objectives of assigned projects.
• Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP’s health, safety, and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.
• Must be flexible to a variety of schedules to meet business needs and able to prioritize responsibilities and quickly adapt to change in a pressure work environment.
• Occasional travel may be required depending on project-specific requirements.

Preferred Qualifications 

• American Institute of Certified Planner (AICP) or Professional Transportation Planner (PTP)

WSP Benefits: 

WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on a providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career. These benefits include coverage related to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life; retirement savings; paid sick leave; paid vacation (or other personal time); paid parental leave; and paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings. 

Compensation

Expected Salary (all locations): $92,500 – $213,000

WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and offer for this position, based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities in addition to internal equity and specific geographic location. WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.

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Additional Requirements

• To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Additional Details

• Travel Required: 25%
• Job Status: Regular
• Employee Type: Full
• Primary Location: SAN DIEGO – B ST
• All locations: US-CA-Irvine, US-CA-Los Angeles, US-CA-San Diego

About WSP

WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world’s leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 15,000 employees in over 300 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper. www.wsp.com

WSP provides a flexible and agile workplace model while meeting client needs. Employees are also afforded a comprehensive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, life, and retirement savings focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career.

At WSP, we want to give our employees the challenges they seek to grow their careers and knowledge base. Your daily contributions to your team will be essential in meeting client objectives, goals and challenges. Are you ready to get started?

WSP USA (and all of its U.S. companies) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Race/Age/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disability or Protected Veteran Status.

The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.