WSP

Senior Public Engagement Specialist

WSP$122K — $162K *
Education, Government & Non-Profit
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 12+ years of engagement/facilitation experience in public and private sectors
  • Registered Professional Planner (RPP) credential
  • IAP2 Certificate in Public Participation (P2), mandatory
  • Certified Public Engagement Professional (CP3) designation preferred
  • Accredited engagement trainer status, IAP2 Licensed Trainer is preferred
  • Demonstrated leadership within the IAP2 community
  • Experience in environmental, climate, policy, infrastructure, and strategic planning contexts.

Responsibilities

  • Lead public engagement initiatives across Canada
  • Champion IAP2 Core Values and Best Practices to enhance engagement quality
  • Serve diverse client organizations with tailored approaches
  • Drive impact in environmental assessments and policy development
  • Provide leadership by mentoring and coaching project teams
  • Contribute to IAP2 leadership and improve engagement practices
  • Leverage technical insights to integrate engagement with planning workstreams.

Benefits

  • Opportunities for professional growth and leadership development
  • Impactful work that aligns with personal values and ambitions
  • Collaborative team environment
  • Contribution to meaningful community and societal outcomes
  • Supportive leadership that values employee input.
Full Job Description
Job Description

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to play a senior, visible leadership role in shaping how communities, governments, and organizations engage on complex and meaningful issues across Canada. As a Senior Public Engagement Specialist, you will lead high-impact engagement and facilitation initiatives that influence decision-making on infrastructure, environment, climate resilience, policy, and strategic planning projects.

Based out of WSP's Calgary office, you will collaborate with multidisciplinary teams locally and nationally, working at the intersection of technical expertise, public values, and community trust. You will bring depth of experience, sound professional judgment, and a passion for inclusive engagement to projects that span sectors and geographies.

In this role, you will not only deliver best-in-class engagement programs but also help advance engagement practice within WSP-through mentoring, thought leadership, and contribution to professional standards such as IAP2. This is a role for a seasoned engagement professional who is motivated by impact, leadership, and the opportunity to shape outcomes that matter.

Your Impact
  • Lead public engagement and facilitation projects across Canada, delivering inclusive, transparent, and defensible outcomes for complex initiatives.
  • Apply and champion IAP2 Core Values, Code of Ethics, Best Practices, and the Spectrum to design and deliver high-quality engagement programs.
  • Serve diverse client organizations-including industry, community, Indigenous organizations, municipal and provincial governments, academia, and economic entities-tailoring approaches to context and culture.
  • Drive impact across a wide range of project types such as environmental assessments, climate resilience, policy development, water and wastewater management, energy and resources, and strategic planning.
  • Provide leadership through mentoring, coaching, and guiding project teams, contributing to both public and private sector engagement excellence.
  • Strengthen capability by contributing to IAP2 leadership, volunteer activities, and continuous improvement of engagement practices.
  • Leverage technical insight (e.g., RPP, CET or similar background) to integrate engagement with planning, engineering, and advisory workstreams.

The Skills That Set You Apart
  • More than 12 years of senior-level engagement/facilitation experience, including leadership roles in both the public and private sectors.
  • Registered Professional Planner (RPP) with experience spanning both public and private sectors.
  • Engagement and facilitation project experience across Canada, including complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
  • IAP2 Certificate in Public Participation (P2) (mandatory); additional IAP2 training is an asset.
  • Certified Public Engagement Professional (CP3) designation preferred but not required.
  • Accredited and/or licensed engagement trainer status; IAP2 Licensed Trainer strongly preferred.
  • Demonstrated IAP2 leadership and volunteer experience within the engagement profession.
  • Experience working across environmental, climate, policy, infrastructure, energy, and strategic planning project contexts.

Compensation

AB, BC, NT, NU, SK & YT: $122,900 - $162,800
MB & ON: $112,100 - $154,400
NB, NL, NS, PE & QC: $111,000 - $147,400

Disclosure:
The final salary awarded for this role may vary from the above range based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs. The wage range provided in this job posting may be subject to change for business purposes.

Ready to Shape the Future?

At WSP, your voice, expertise, and leadership truly matter. If you are a seasoned public engagement professional who thrives on collaboration, values meaningful dialogue, and is motivated by shaping outcomes that advance communities and society, this role offers the opportunity to make a lasting impact.

Join us in Edmonton and be part of a team that is redefining how engagement is done-bringing people together to solve complex challenges, build trust, and deliver projects that matter. Here, you will be supported to grow, to lead, and to contribute to work that aligns with your values and ambitions.

Apply today and help shape communities to advance humanity, together with WSP.

About WSP

WSP is a Canadian engineering consulting firm that provides services to transform the built environment and restore the natural environment. The firm's expertise ranges from environmental remediation and urban planning, to engineering iconic buildings and designing sustainable transport networks, to developing the energy sources of the future and enabling new ways of extracting essential resources. It has approximately 54,000 employees, including engineers, technicians, scientists, architects, planners, surveyors, program and construction management professionals, and various environmental experts. WSP has offices in more than 40 countries and territories around the world.
Learn more about WSP
Size
54,000 employees
Industry
Founded
1959

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