Director: Structural Engineering Services (Sector Lead) at WSP in Africa

Job Description

Key Role

• The Sector Lead: Structural Engineering Services is a senior management role accountable for contributing to the strategic leadership, operational performance, technical delivery, and people leadership of structural engineering projects across Africa. The role holder must take a ‘hands on’ approach to all aspects of the role. Key to the success of the role will be contributing to balancing utilization across the disciplines, providing a safe and healthy work environment, fostering collaboration between structural engineering services and the other sectors and disciplines, and providing the single point of contact across all structures projects in the Property & Buildings Business Unit.

Key Responsibilities:

Business Leadership

• Participate with the Leadership in developing a vision and strategic plan to guide growth for the business unit and the organization.
• Ensure that Health, Safety and Wellbeing is embedded into all work practices in line with company policies.
• Identify, assess, and inform the Leadership of internal and external risks that affect the organization.
• Ensure the right resources are utilised effectively at the right time across their team and projects. Including engaging with Sector Leads, Discipline Leads and Design Managers across other disciplines to ensure that deadlines, deliverables, and quality requirements are achieved.
• Drive recruitment and selection strategies in partnership with the Talent Acquisition Team
• Ensure project teams inductions, performance management reviews and personal development plans that support the development of individuals and the business are taking place and contribute when required.
• Contribute to succession planning and career development across their team.
• Support the development and delivery of training and awareness sessions as required.
• Contribute to the development and drive the implementation of the business strategy.
• Provide project and team updates for the development of the Discipline Leadership Team (DLT) and PLT monthly reports
• Attend and contribute to quarterly senior management meetings.
• Attend and lead team meetings, cascade relevant information and encourage feedback from team and driving a culture of open communication.
• Contribute to the setting and delivering P&L Business Unit (BU) budget and forecasts.
• Engage with peer group and contribute to industry events and associations.
• Lead by example and ensure QMS and Project lifecycle compliance across projects.
• Provide leadership and guidance on the company’s approach to Future Ready and ensure that the Future Ready strategy is implemented across projects.
• Drive initiatives to support staff retention

Sector Leadership

• Responsible for the leadership and support of their team.
• Lead the successful delivery of all structures projects.
• Ensure that project delivery adheres to WSP’s Way of Working and Project Lifecycle.
• Accountable for the contractual relationship between the business and the client; taking the process from proposal to contract, utilising the advice of the support functions (legal and finance), and communicate and mitigate risk to WSP.
• Engage with the Discipline Leads and Design Manager from prospect stage through to completion to ensure the most cost-efficient delivery of their projects.
• Ensure proactive project planning, stakeholder and risk management takes place across projects.
• Supervise the team to identify, assess and manage major project risk and secure the best commercial return from the projects in their portfolio.
• Ensure statutory and regulatory requirements are met across all structures projects.
• Accountable for delivery to project budget, forecasts and working capital targets across structures projects.
• Accountable for the accurate and timely recognition of revenue across structures projects.
• On structures projects, accountable for overseeing and delivering the process of working capital management from inception to completion within set deadlines. This includes the timing of invoicing, the review of Work in Progress (WIP) and the collection of outstanding invoices from clients whilst utilising the advice of the support functions as necessary.
• Contribute to the completion of quarterly project reviews to be issued by set deadline.
• Champion, attend and contribute to the monthly Property & Buildings Sector Leadership Meeting (SLT)

Business Development

• Proactively support business development activities through participation in external market profile raising activities and functions.
• Actively develop external and internal client relationships.
• Proactively cross sell other WSP Africa services and where applicable the wider business.
• Contribute to the Global Account Management (GAM) and Key Account Management (KAM) programmes, with the aim of increasing client intelligence to develop win solutions and support unique selling points for prospects.
• Authority to manage prospect decisions in line with the companies Prospect to Project process.
• Act as the Prospect Director on large or complex structures prospects.
• Responsible for the ‘Prospect to Project Process’ for lead projects and overseeing the process for direct reports.
• Provide technical leadership to respond to prequalification documents, Request for Proposal (RFPs) and other client inquiries.
• Responsible for providing financial build-up of resource and lump sum pricing items for prospects where required.

Technical

• Keep up to date with industry developments with respect to own discipline, other disciplines and engineering innovations and developments on a global scale.
• Support the technical capabilities of the BU and project team.
• Maintain contact with key technical leaders across WSP offices and around the world.
• Initiate and facilitate technical solutions on projects
• Drive innovation and utilise technological advancement
• Contribute to and lead design peer reviews in alignment with the QMS system

Success Criteria

• Health & Safety
• Learning and Development
• Delivery to sector P&L budgets
• Working capital management
• Prospects and Secured work
• Increased and stable utilization of the team
• Client feedback
• Evidence of technical improvement
• Outsourcing hours
• Meeting targets and deadlines
• Achievement of individual business objectives
• Positive ISO Quality audits with no PI notifiable events

Health and Safety

• Role model standards for SHEQ performance and behaviour consistent with the company’s health, safety, environmental and quality vision and policies by influencing those around you.
• Contributing to the identification of SHEQ risks and driving processes to achieve Zero Harm.
• Embracing, displaying and promoting the company values and ensuring a safe working environment is maintained at all times.

Key Competencies and Generic Skills:

• People Leadership
• Client Relationships
• Collaboration & Teamwork
• Commercial Acumen
• Technical Capability & Delivery
• Adaptability & Learning
• People and project focused

Qualifications

• BEng / BSc (Hon) or equivalent qualification with minimum 15 years post graduate technical and leadership experience.
• Professionally registered with ECSA
• Member of associated Professional body.
• Experience and proven ability to lead and project manage an engineering team, complex and multi-disciplinary projects.
• Experience of MS Office Suite of Programmes.
• Comprehensive experience in associated discipline software. 
• Demonstrated people leadership is an advantage