National Pursuit Manager

This Opportunity

WSP is currently initiating a search for a National Pursuit Manager for our national team. All major city locations will be considered.

Be involved in projects with our National Major Pursuits Team and be a part of a growing organization that meets our client’s objectives and solves their challenges.

Job Summary : Accountable to National Major Pursuits Director, this Pursuit Manager provides strategic leadership on the company’s most complex and impactful opportunities from lead identification through contract award.

Responsible for engaging with and leveraging WSP’s entire Strategy and Growth Organization (Regional Leadership and Regional Development Directors, National Business Lines, SGT, Comms, GR, R&D, others) to inform decision making, develop strategies, and drive successful pursuits and strategic initiatives.

Serves as an advocate and dedicated resource while partnering with pursuit teams to drive the execution of strategy. Leverages WSP global expertise and varied national experience, including contributing to / facilitating technical discussions, leveraging client knowledge and partner relationships, and bringing experience and ideas to local teams based on exposure to other client procurements / solutions across the country to develop compelling differentiators and value propositions.

Leads the team in uncovering the client’s desired characteristics in a project manager and helps to assess and ensure the WSP project manager is vetted with the client.

Builds and leverages relationships with teaming partners to help pursuit teams assess competition and build the best team to meet client needs.

In some instances, builds and leverages external client relationships (staff and / or board / elected officials) to help pursuit teams understand client goals and project background, in some cases to help influence scopes and RFP language, and to ensure client goals are addressed within pursuit strategy.

Engagement and leadership in national initiatives that may include new service offerings, expanded market share and market entry, advanced technology, and business expansion.

Responsible for knowledge sharing, mentoring, and participating in trainings in coordination with the regional SGT teams.

Your Impact

Pursuit Management and Leadership

• Dedicated Leader throughout the Pursuit Process - Works closely with the national business lines, Regions, and Districts to formulate and execute the capture plan, from the positioning phase through the interview, often a 12-18 month process.
• Ability to be the champion and lead the team regardless if a technical PM is identified yet; brings tactics and strategies, partnering and competitor strengths / weaknesses from pursuits around the country to help inform local teams and strategy development;
• as pursuit champion, responsibilities include strategic guidance for pursuit tactical action plan and schedule of activities;

developing strategies to win; supporting technical champions in the testing and refining of strategies and approaches; collaborating with technical staff to write / review / edit proposal content.

• Client and Opportunity Awareness Engage Client Program Account Leader when opportunity sits within a Key Client Account;
• conducts self-driven research through multiple sources (agency or industry documents, board reports, project documents and studies, competitor research, conversations with WSP team members) to be well informed about the opportunity or initiative;

has the ability to explain the opportunity, initiative, or client goals to the firm’s leadership or engage in conversations with our competition / potential partners and when appropriate, our clients, to advance our positioning and develop our strategy.

• Collaborative Leader - In collaboration with local leadership, develops and drives the pursuit management process / timeline, including cadence of meetings and identifying / engaging national and global experts to bring unique perspectives / expertise to identify ways to differentiate WSP from the competition.
• Accountability / Judgement - Responsible and accountable for hands-on direction and guidance in leading both the technical and marketing team’s implementation of initiatives or pursuit efforts, including strategy development;

technical and client-focused value propositions, competitive positioning; and collaboration between business lines. Guides the focus of proposal narrative to ensure key messages and strategy are well defined.

• National Perspective / Bringing Best Practices - Understanding and awareness of what our competitors are doing across the country if not existing, then ability to engage with internal / external partners to uncover this;
• ability to bring tactics and strategies, partnering and competitor strengths / weaknesses from pursuits around the country to help inform locally;

brings national and international SMEs to develop unique differentiators.

• Client Focus - Driving the team to uncover what is really important from multiple client stakeholders so that we are not relying on one or two people to build our strategy this means digging in and being able to determine whether the district or regional team has strong relationships or not judgment and ability to make sure we are basing decisions on facts truth finding.
• Proactive Problem Solving Leverage experience and relationships to solve new problems (i.e., identifying the right PM, finding the right resources to solve a complex technical or management challenge) and find ways to test and vet these ideas with clients before they are incorporated into our strategy.

Be comfortable with the unknown and use our team to develop a solution.

• Government Relations - Familiarity with, engagement in, and, if necessary, leadership of the political and civic plan development and implementation in coordination with regional and national government affairs staff and consultants.
• Pursuit Management - Leadership for key corporate large, complex opportunities for traditional design / bid / build and / or alternative delivery engineering and construction projects.

Capabilities include experience in leading team strategy targeting early positioning, competitive assessment / strategy, communications plan, teaming, application of innovative solutions and media tools, and focused execution of the pursuit process.

Also responsible for leading all team reviews and internal strategy reviews with various levels of executive leadership.

Team Facilitation / Leadership - Primary point of contact for the pursuit team, leads pursuit team meetings to develop and implement strategy, both internally and with teaming partners / construction joint ventures and concessionaires, as appropriate, for traditional or alternative delivery pursuits.

Ability to work closely with technical staff to determine key project differentiators and technical strategies; leads the team and drives decision-making.

Proposal and Presentation Development - Oversight of proposal manager and pursuit team members responsible for proposal development, writing, graphics and support staff involved in both proposal and presentation development efforts;

co-authors management and technical narratives to address client and project goals while communicating our team’s value proposition.

Facilitates technical working sessions and story-boarding of proposal and presentation sections. Development of creative ideas to showcase differentiators and use enhanced graphic / media applications and provide individual and team coaching for presentation delivery.

Leadership Updates - In collaboration with the project manager, prepare for and present pursuit status at executive leadership, pursuit readiness, and national business line check-ins.

Regional / District Support

• Training and Mentoring - may develop materials and participate in internal pursuit management training, as needed.
• District / Regional Support Leverages client and partner relationships to engage as requested at the local geographic level to provide input and guidance to district pursuit and client engagement teams on client development activities and local partnering strategies.

National Initiatives

Strategic partner and leader in collaboration with the national business line and entire Strategy and Growth Organization to research and drive national initiatives that may include new service offerings, expanded market share and market entry, advanced technology, and business expansion.

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in related field
• Minimum of fifteen (15) years’ experience in pursuit development and managing large, complex A / E / C pursuits and proposals, pursuit teams, and industry experience to include competitor analysis.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and strength in the areas of critical thinking, client development, marketing strategy development, group facilitation, and teamwork
• Ability to build consensus with large groups, including partners, with different opinions and objectives.
• Previous experience managing a regional marketing team in the A / E / C industry, accountable for sales key performance metrics
• Comfortable engaging at a strategic, high-level within the entire Strategy and Growth Organization, the senior and executive leadership of WSP in the US, across geographies, new clients, and with new teams
• Recognized by peers and leadership as a strategic thinker / leader, always engaging with the team and contributing to / elevating the conversation to drive win strategy
• Possesses experience-based judgement and critical thinking skills to assess the situation and diplomatically pivot teams when necessary;

this could mean re-assessing the pursuit management activities / timeline to tailor a solution that maximizes / optimizes performance of the team requiring judgement and experience to take pursuit management principles and apply them in a way that works for each unique team

• Possesses a strategic mindset and sound judgment and ability to develop and manage large teams of internal technical leaders and external partners
• Strong leadership skills to build trust and influence others and work with all levels of management staff and work closely with national business lines, regional and district leaders in implementing strategies
• Knows the industry landscape and is aware of latest developments
• Facilitation and leadership skills in team environments to lead reviews at all levels and guide communications, marketing and technical staff in support of pursuit advancement
• Ability to facilitate training in the pursuit management and presentation processes
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects, deadlines and budgets

Preferred Qualifications

• Possesses institutional knowledge of WSP’s national and global resources and capabilities
• Client and partner relationships that bring value to major pursuits
• Experience in alternative delivery (design / build and P3) is a plus
• Brings energy and excitement around each assignment to motivate the team and move the team forward around the shared mission
• Finds ways to build a team approach and always guiding consensus / alignment through the process

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 : $129,300 - $332,100

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.

Expected Salary (Colorado only) : $129,300 - $332,100

WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and / or offer for this position within the state of Colorado, based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, and 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.
18 days ago