Senior Director, Regional Business Operations Director

Provides strategic leadership for the development, execution, and continuous improvement of operational strategies across a T&I business region. Accountable for ensuring operational effectiveness, financial health, risk management, and alignment with WSP’s business goals. Drives operational excellence, oversees large-scale initiatives, enhances cross-functional collaboration, and ensures a consistent, efficient, and high-quality service delivery model.

The Region Operations Director will be part of WSP’s Regional T&I Leadership Team with primary responsibility for the P&L, including revenue generation, project margin, EBITDA, DSO, operational leadership, staff utilization, and hiring. Partners with the Regional Commercial Manager to drive successful delivery of quality projects, client satisfaction, and all operational aspects of the business. Plays a critical role in regional business planning, organizational change, and overall operational strategy execution in the Region. This role can sit in any of our offices in the New England Region.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and oversee operational strategies and business plans that drive operational excellence, support growth initiatives, and optimize business unit performance.
• Lead the day-to-day management of operational activities across the business unit or sector, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, corporate policies, client expectations, and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor, analyze, and interpret operational performance metrics, financial data, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate business health and identify improvement opportunities.
• Collaborate with senior leadership teams to establish short-term and long-term operational objectives, strategies, and action plans that align with the broader business strategy.
• Design and implement scalable operational processes, standards, and best practices to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve service delivery across diverse teams.
• Oversee resource planning and allocation processes to ensure sufficient staffing, budgeting, and operational readiness for ongoing and upcoming initiatives.
• Manage operating budgets, including development, forecasting, monitoring, and reporting to ensure fiscal accountability and strategic alignment of expenditures.
• Identify and mitigate operational risks by establishing risk management frameworks, internal controls, and contingency planning activities.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives by assessing operational workflows, identifying inefficiencies, and leading targeted process reengineering efforts.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable health, safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements, and promote a strong culture of workplace safety and ethical behavior.
• Partner with business development and client-facing teams to ensure operational capacity, service capabilities, and infrastructure align with evolving client needs and market trends.
• Lead and contribute to transformational projects, technology upgrades, and business modernization initiatives that enhance operational performance and competitiveness.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration among finance, human resources, technology, project delivery, and client service teams to ensure cohesive operational execution.
• Establish and maintain strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring effective communication, issue resolution, and service delivery.
• Assess existing operational policies and procedures, recommend enhancements, and oversee the implementation of approved changes to drive organizational effectiveness.
• Support organizational change management efforts by developing and executing transition plans, communication strategies, and employee engagement activities.
• Lead the recruitment, development, retention, and performance management of operational staff, ensuring the team has the skills and capabilities to achieve business goals.
• Support integration of the best industry talent by fostering a work environment that is collaborative, values inclusion and diversity, and invites broad, creative thinking.
• Emphasize employee training and development to create a unique work experience.
• Support strategic recruitment, promotional programs, and performance management focused on the employee experience, wellness, and safety.
• Inspire, motivate, and promote the best of WSP to clients and communities to ensure strong employee engagement and morale.
• Mentor, coach, and support direct reports and emerging leaders within the operational team, fostering an environment focused on accountability, professional development, and continuous improvement.
• Prepare and deliver executive-level operational reports, business performance presentations, and strategic updates to leadership and governance bodies.
• Promote a culture of innovation, operational excellence, client service, collaboration, and inclusion across the business unit or sector.
• Represent the operational function in leadership meetings, client discussions, and industry engagements, serving as a trusted advisor on operational matters.
• 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.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in Engineering, Business Administration, or related field.
• 15+ years of relevant post-education experience.
• Active member of local and/or national professional practice organization.
• Actively participates in local professional practice organization including attending meetings and conferences.
• Demonstrates excellence in providing high-quality technical performance and oversight through innovative thinking and application of state-of-the-art tools.
• Competence in analytical techniques and modeling in tackling technical problems with some complexity.
• Demonstrates excellence in providing high-quality level technical performance within the state-of-the-practice and innovative thinking when opportunities arise.
• Ability to foster general teamwork by interacting well with others and supervising high-quality professional deliverables on tasks and assignments.
• Ability to work in a multi-dimensional organization in an open and collaborative manner.
• Broad knowledge of and experience with technical and operations delivery.
• Understands the trends in the industry.
• Experience with change management.
• Collaborative, drives consensus.
• Ability to innovate and re-think the conventional approach to client and employee engagement.
• 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.
• Frequent travel required throughout the Region.

Preferred Qualifications

• Enhancing credentials and certification(s) such as Master’s Degree, ITIL Practice Certification, ITIL V3 Foundations, etc.

Benefits

WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on 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.
• Paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings.

Pay

Expected Salary (all locations): $175,000 - $352,000

About the Role

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, 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., WSP partners with clients to help communities prosper.

WSP provides a flexible and agile workplace model while meeting client needs. Employees are 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, employees are given challenges to grow their careers and knowledge base, contributing daily to meet client objectives, goals, and challenges.