NY/NJ Resiliency Lead

HDR has an exceptional career opportunity for an experienced Resiliency Professional to lead the growth and delivery of climate adaptation, flood risk reduction, stormwater management, green infrastructure implementation, and coastal resiliency services across the New York/New Jersey area. The NY/NJ Resiliency Lead will help shape and execute a coordinated resiliency strategy that responds to the needs of public agencies, utilities, communities, and infrastructure owners facing climate, flooding, aging infrastructure, and regulatory challenges. This position will work with the NY/NJ Water Business Group Manager, Business Development, Market Sector leadership, and Business Class leaders, Client Managers, Project Managers, and technical staff. The successful candidate will serve as a trusted client advisor, senior project leader, and mentor while connecting local opportunities with HDR's national expertise. The role is intended for a collaborative, entrepreneurial leader who can convert market insight and client relationships into successful pursuits and well-delivered projects. Depending on the candidate's background, the position may also include client management, principal-in-charge, project management, program management, and/or technical leadership responsibilities on strategic assignments. Primary Responsibilities Technical Leadership and Staff Development • Provide technical direction and thought leadership in areas aligned with the candidate's expertise, such as climate risk and adaptation, coastal and inland flooding, stormwater, green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, water resources, or infrastructure resilience. • Mentor project managers, technical staff, and emerging leaders; support career development, succession planning, and growth of resiliency capabilities across NY/NJ offices. • Coordinate with regional and national practice leaders to bring best practices, tools, research, and subject-matter experts to NY/NJ clients and projects. • Support recruiting and retention of high-performing staff needed to expand the resiliency practice. • Foster a collaborative, safety-focused, quality-driven, and employee-owned culture. Business Development and Client Management • Build and maintain trusted relationships with public agencies, utilities, municipalities, authorities, infrastructure owners, and partner firms across New York and New Jersey. • Serve as client manager or executive sponsor for selected resiliency clients and programs, with responsibility for understanding client needs, advancing account strategies, and coordinating HDR resources. • Lead or support capture planning, teaming, positioning, proposal development, interviews, and negotiations for strategic resiliency pursuits. • Develop differentiated technical approaches and value propositions that connect planning, engineering, program management, implementation, and long-term asset resilience. • Partner with marketing and business development staff to maintain opportunity pipelines, pursuit priorities, and go/no-go recommendations. Project and Program Delivery • Serve as principal-in-charge, project manager, program manager, or senior technical advisor for strategic resiliency projects and programs. • Lead multidisciplinary teams delivering vulnerability and risk assessments, adaptation and resilience planning, flood and coastal studies, stormwater and green infrastructure programs, capital improvement planning, design, permitting, and implementation support. • Provide oversight for scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, staffing, and client communications on assigned projects. • Promote integration of planning, modeling, engineering, environmental, economic, equity, funding, and implementation considerations into practical and defensible solutions. • Apply effective quality assurance and quality control practices and support resolution of technical, commercial, and delivery issues. Market Leadership and Strategy • Develop and drive a long-range resiliency vision, strategy, and growth plan for the NY/NJ Water Business Group. • Monitor market drivers, funding programs, policy developments, regulations, and client priorities affecting climate adaptation, flood mitigation, stormwater, green infrastructure, coastal systems, and critical infrastructure resilience. • Identify priority clients, geographies, programs, and strategic partnerships; translate those priorities into specific client-development and pursuit actions. • Represent HDR through professional associations, conferences, workshops, technical presentations, and other industry-facing activities. Preferred Qualifications • Master's degree in a relevant discipline. • Professional Engineer (PE), American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), ENV SP, or other credential relevant to the candidate's discipline and role. • New York and/or New Jersey professional licensure, where applicable; ability to obtain reciprocal licensure is desirable. • 15 or more years of progressive experience, including leadership of major projects, programs, client accounts, or market initiatives. • Established client relationships and a strong professional network in the New York/New Jersey resiliency market. • Experience with climate vulnerability and risk assessment, adaptation planning, coastal or inland flood risk reduction, stormwater management, green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, or resilient infrastructure design. • Experience advancing projects from planning and funding through design, permitting, procurement, construction, and implementation. • Experience with alternative project delivery, program management, or large multidisciplinary infrastructure programs. • Active participation and leadership in relevant professional or industry associations. • Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in resiliency, climate adaptation, water resources, stormwater, coastal engineering, infrastructure planning, or a related consulting field. • Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary projects or programs for public-sector infrastructure clients. • Demonstrated leadership, business development, client management, and strategic planning skills. • Ability to collaborate across disciplines, offices, business groups, and organizational levels. • Ability to travel within New York and New Jersey as needed for client, project, and team activities. • Preference is given to local candidates #LI-JC7 Qualifications Required Qualifications • Bachelor's degree in a Professional, Architecture, Engineering or closely related field • 10 years of experience • Committed to quality, improvement and HDR values • Maintains a professional or engineering registration and has related technical experience • Experienced in development and management of diverse teams • Works cooperatively with other area business class leaders, operations managers, technical directors and marketing managers on business class efforts • An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture is a must