GAI Consultants is seeking a Director of Water - Florida to lead, grow, and execute the firm's water, wastewater, and stormwater practice in Florida while playing a key role in supporting GAI's national water initiative. This is a senior leadership position for a proven, hands-on leader who combines technical excellence, people leadership, client development, and strategic vision.
The Director will lead a team of engineers, actively identify and pursue new work, write and lead proposals, and direct project execution for water-related infrastructure programs. This role also contributes to firm-wide strategy for client development, service expansion, and long-term growth nationwide.
Key ResponsibilitiesPractice, Team & National Water Initiative Leadership- Lead and manage GAI's Florida water, wastewater, and stormwater practice, including direct supervision, mentoring, and development of engineers and project managers.
- Serve as a key contributor to GAI's national water initiative, collaborating with executive leadership and peer Directors to align regional execution with firm-wide water strategy.
- Establish staffing strategies, workload planning, and resource coordination to support growth and successful project delivery.
- Support organic and inorganic growth initiatives, including evaluation of new services, strategic hires, partnerships, and potential acquisitions.
Business Development, Pursuits & Proposals- Proactively identify, qualify, and prioritize pursuits for water, wastewater, and stormwater projects in alignment with Florida and national strategies.
- Lead and contribute to proposal development, including pursuit strategy, positioning, technical authorship, pricing, and interviews.
- Serve as capture lead or senior technical lead for major pursuits, partnering with marketing, operations, and leadership teams.
- Build on existing client relationships while developing new opportunities with municipal utilities, counties, authorities, state agencies, and private-sector clients.
Client Development & Market Expansion- Act as a senior client relationship manager and trusted advisor for key water, wastewater, and stormwater clients.
- Expand services within existing accounts while supporting national key client initiatives and cross-regional pursuits.
- Represent GAI through industry organizations, conferences, and professional networks, strengthening the firm's Florida and national water market presence.
Project Leadership & Execution- Provide direct project leadership and executive oversight for planning, design, and delivery of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure projects.
- Serve as Project Manager or Executive in Responsible Charge on select key projects.
- Ensure excellence in technical quality, schedule, budget performance, risk management, and client satisfaction.
- Guide and support project managers and technical leads in resolving complex technical, contractual, and client issues.
People, Talent & Culture- Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of engineers and project professionals.
- Support recruiting, onboarding, and succession planning to build long-term depth in water, wastewater, and stormwater capabilities.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Promote consistent best practices and integration across offices to support scalable national growth.
QualificationsRequired:- Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a related field.
- Florida Professional Engineer (PE) license.
- 15+ years of progressive experience delivering water, wastewater, and/or stormwater projects within a consulting environment.
- Demonstrated experience leading teams, identifying pursuits, writing proposals, and directing project execution.
- Strong understanding of Florida water, wastewater, and stormwater markets, regulatory frameworks, and funding mechanisms.
Preferred:- Master's degree in Engineering or Business (MBA).
- Experience contributing to or leading regional or national water initiatives.
- Proven ability to grow services across multiple offices or client sectors.
- Established relationships with Florida and national water-related clients.
General Characteristics- Makes decisions with broad influence on activities of their practices.
- Makes authoritative decisions and recommendations that are conclusive and have a far-reaching impact on the practice and the industry.
- Demonstrates a high degree of creativity, foresight, and mature judgment in planning, organizing, and guiding projects and activities of major consequence.
- Provides leadership and develops and engages others to create a common vision for their projects and the practice.
- Assesses the acceptability of engineering economic analyses and the risks associated with solutions to complex engineering problems.
- Evaluates solutions to complex problems that involve multiple specialty areas of engineering.
- Advocates for ethical behavior in the practice of engineering and assesses courses of resolution to ethical dilemmas in complicated situations.
- Travel: 25% - 50% Occasional travel may be required for client meetings, site visits, and project-related activities.
Certification/Licensure- Professional Engineer (P.E.) License, reciprocity in multiple states.
- Driver's License
Technical Responsibilities- Frequently performs advisory or consulting work for the practice across broad project areas or within a specialized area with innovative/complex aspects.
- Assesses practices and requirements to achieve sustainable performance of complex engineering projects from a systems perspective.
Project and Task Management- Evaluates project management plans for complex engineering projects.
- Develops risk mitigation plans to address project risks.
- Evaluates effectiveness of leaders and teams.
Management, Supervision and Guidance- Leads an entire project of critical importance.
- Develops projects needed for accomplishing the objectives of the practice.
- Develops practice strategy for staff development through mentored experience, continuing education, and self-development.
- Instills and fosters professional attitudes within the practice.
Communication, Teamwork and Leadership- Negotiates critical and controversial issues with leadership of other practices.
- Represents their practice at important functions and conferences.
#GAI
#gaiatwork
#gaiconsultants
#lifeatgai
