Senior Program Director

Locations considered: Tulsa, OK (primary); Oklahoma City, OK; Dallas, TX; Austin, TX; Houston, TX; Corpus Christi, TX; Bentonville, AR; Shreveport, LA. The candidate should be located within or have ready access to the south‑central United States and be able to travel regularly to WSP, client, and project locations across a multi‑state utility service territory.

About the 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, with a strong emphasis on embedded client support, regional coordination, and reliable execution across a geographically dispersed portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Lead the most complex and largest‑scale projects, ensuring contributors know requirements and timelines, preparing and overseeing budgets, forecasts, margins, and KPIs.
• Monitor external events and risk contingencies, track hours and expenses, ensure QA/QC and satisfactory performance, and manage contractual obligations.
• Foster proactive strategies to engage client and project stakeholders at all levels, maintain trusted relationships, and provide clear, timely reporting on project and portfolio progress.
• Participate in the technical aspects of contract negotiation, presentations, and meetings.
• Serve as senior day‑to‑day client interface within established client governance, project controls, safety, quality, reporting, and decision‑making processes.
• Coordinate closely with client representatives, internal delivery teams, functional leads, subcontractors, and external stakeholders to align priorities, clarify responsibilities, resolve issues, and support consistent execution across the regional footprint.
• Accountable for profitable performance and successful completion of all individual projects within the specified area or portfolio.
• Provide leadership to multidisciplinary project teams distributed across multiple offices and project locations, delivering high‑level strategic advice aligned with client priorities, operating practices, and capital program objectives.
• Provide performance guidance and proactive leadership to assigned managers and staff, promoting consistent delivery practices and an integrated team approach.
• Develop, maintain, and update project initiation and governance documentation (Risk Registers, Project Management Plans, Quality Plans, Safety Plans, Communications Plans) in accordance with WSP and client requirements.
• Lead project‑management discipline meetings, address root‑cause issues, leverage improvement opportunities, and provide updates and recommendations to staff.
• Develop project recovery plans and strategies for correcting budget overruns with the client.
• Support integrated project controls and portfolio governance activities, including schedule and cost performance tracking, forecast updates, variance analysis, change control, risk and issue management, action tracking, decision documentation, escalation, and executive‑level reporting.
• Ensure regular project and portfolio reporting to client representatives, technical areas, and business‑unit managers, identifying emerging issues involving scope, schedule, cost, risk, resources, quality, safety, and stakeholder commitments.
• Oversee formal project closeout activities and facilitate lessons‑learned meetings.
• Collaborate with professionals and leadership across disciplines to provide trusted‑advisor service, strengthen client confidence, and develop future‑ready solutions responsive to regional utility needs.
• Exercise responsible and ethical decision‑making regarding company funds, resources, and conduct, adhering to WSP’s Code of Conduct and related policies.
• Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.

Required qualifications

• 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 or program management role within the power, energy, utility, or large capital infrastructure industry.
• Advanced‑level understanding of project delivery within the A/E/C industry and extensive experience managing large‑scale utility or capital infrastructure projects and programs.
• Experience working across a variety of delivery models (DBB, EPC, PDB) and within a client‑led governance and controls environment.
• 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, processes, delivery, execution, and business impact.
• Demonstrated ability to establish, implement, and manage multiple large‑scale/complex projects, programs, documents, systems, and practices.
• Excellent self‑leadership and interpersonal communication skills; ability to manage staff and interact persuasively at all organizational levels.
• Strategic lateral thinking, strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and ability to prioritize in a pressure environment.
• Ability to elicit cooperation from senior management,