Smart Urbanization – Practice Lead/Director

Our client is a large, multidisciplinary professional services firm that delivers a comprehensive range of technical and strategic services, including consulting, information technology, engineering, process development, as well as project and construction management to the mining and metals, energy and infrastructure sectors.

Major corporations around the world recognize our client for its ability to bridge the gaps between research and innovative technologies, as well as between engineering and reliable operations. The firm places strong emphasis on developing innovative approaches, technologies and solutions that add value to its customers businesses.

For over 60 years, our client has delivered unprecedented business results through a commitment to quality, lower operating costs, more efficient utilization of capital assets, higher standards for safety and risk management, faster start-ups and continuous performance improvements in all projects and programs.

Scope of Position

The North American smart urbanization/planning market is exciting and dynamic and our client’s family of companies boasts services and capabilities that cut across the full value chain. When fully integrated, their capabilities can be transformative in creating today’s and tomorrow’s most effective and productive cities.

Our client is seeking a practice leader who can help shape these exciting outcome-driven, public and private initiatives. The successful candidate will be an entrepreneurial thought leader/visionary in urban planning and/or smart technologies with a proven track record of converting ideas into substantive projects. The role calls for someone who knows what makes big cities tick and how planning can be deployed to best effect; an integrative thinker who is comfortable with many business models; a builder rather than implementer. Working with the company’s full complement of capabilities, the practice leader will give identity and drive growth for the firm’s unique abilities for disruptive thinking, technology and solutions to enhance cities.

Functional Tasks

• Work with the senior management team to refine, develop and implement the strategic direction for the Smart Urbanization practice. This will include focusing the strategic road map and existing market plans, expanding and improving market penetration, and enhancing competitive positioning.
• Work closely with the myriad organization-wide practice and customers to identify and anticipate opportunities the cut across each.
• Ensure that organizational capacity is in place by which to deliver on plans.
• Provide ongoing direction, performance management and developmental support to the team. Continue to build world-class capabilities. Focus the team to accelerate and drive the growth of the business, new market development, sector leadership and profitability.
• Ensure that the Smart Urbanization practice is fully aligned with the objectives and direction of the infrastructure group..
• Aligning the culture, values, metrics and governance of the Smart Urbanization practice to those of the overall organization.
• Report regularly and proactively to the Senior VP on results and plans going forward.
• Champion the group’s interests to major customers and internal stakeholders.
• Lead the expansion of the practice and brand into new customers. Engage with strategic stakeholders in those customers.
• Remaining abreast of the industry, competitors and trends with a view to ensuring that the firm’s services best align to market needs. Ensure that all alliance, acquisition and investment opportunities are considered and the most attractive pursued.
• Serve as an ambassador for the group representing it at conferences, speaking engagements, and other external industry related events.
• Where possible leverage relationships and projects to the benefit of other divisions and the organization as a whole.
• Drive growth of the firm’s integrative approach.

Key Performance Deliverables

In light of the identified responsibilities, the following arespecific deliverablesthat the position is designed to achieve.

Specific measures of performance will be discussed with and agreed upon with the successful candidate

Competency Profile

The following competencies listed below define the role ofPractice Leader/Director Smart Urbanization.

Strategic Approach
Develops a strategic plan to realize the vision. Revises strategy in light of changing circumstances. Takes a long-term view of organizational success. Works to clarify long term organizational goals. Able to stand back from immediate problems in order to focus on more far reaching ideas.

Visioning
Imagines future possibilities. Thinks broadly and investigates a wide-range of alternatives in developing a vision for the future. Selects the most promising vision from a range of alternatives and communicates this vision to others.

Influence
Articulates the key points of an argument persuasively. Negotiates skillfully and convinces others to own point of view. Directly and indirectly impacts the decisions/opinions of others. Mobilizes people into action.

Integrity & Sincerity
Inspires trust and supports others through own authenticity and following up on commitments. Maintains high ethical standards both personally and professionally. Shows consistency among principles.

People Management
Establishes and communicates clear priorities and sense of direction. Clarifies roles and responsibilities. Adapts management style to achieve optimum results.

Results Orientation
Focuses strongly on achieving agreed upon outcomes and ensures that key objectives are met. Conveys a sense of urgency and drives issues to closure. Aims to improve upon past performance. Establishes aggressive personal targets and strives to achieve them.

Initiative
Proactive. Seizes opportunities and acts upon them immediately. Takes responsibility for own actions and addresses problems before asked.

Customer/Client Orientation
Strives to provide customers/clients with personalized and efficient service. Anticipates customers’/clients’ needs. Quickly follows up on customer/client contacts and complaints. Monitors and acts on measures of customer/client satisfaction.

Industry & Market Awareness
Seeks to anticipate and respond to industry and market changes/challenges by understanding key characteristics, issues and the factors driving them. Aware of competitor’s products, services and position.

Boundary-Spanning
Incorporates information about the organization’s structure and protocol into decisions. Attentive to the internal politics and alert to shifting interpersonal dynamics. Establishes the necessary support networks and cross-functional relationships through rapport building. Recognizes, maintains and effectively balances the interests and needs of one’s own group with those of the broader organization.

Team Skills
Helps to create a sense of team spirit and harmonious relations through cooperation and support. Balances personal goals with those of the team. Fosters collaboration among team members.

Role Expertise
Demonstrates critical technical or professional knowledge/skills related to the role. Has thorough knowledge of relevant products, services and methods. Expands technical knowledge/skills and keeps up-to-date in own area of expertise.

Preferred Experience / Education

The following indicates specific industry, academic and functional experience/qualifications that are important to the successful achievement of the identified responsibilities and performance deliverables.

• Minimum of 15 years of experience in urban planning, architecture or smart technologies
• Proven experience in creatively applying integrative solutions to solving problems
• Experience working in municipal markets
• Experience in growing a P&L
• A highly intelligent, strategically minded executive with superb communication and interpersonal skills and a willingness to roll-up his/her sleeves.
• Strong team orientation well-suited to building consensus in a global concern.

Experience in building and managing distributed teams of professionals

• Highly competitive, unique compensation package to the successful candidate

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