Senior Director, Community Relations

The Opportunity :

WSP's Transportation Systems team in Canada is growing and looking for a strategic partner for its major projects. We are seeking to hire a Senior Director, Community Relations.

Reporting to the Senior Vice President, External Relations, this role will be responsible for the design and oversight of engagement plans that will be tailored to the context of the objectives of the clients, projects and proponents.

Why choose WSP?

• We value and are committed to upholding a culture of inclusion and belonging
• Our Flexible Work Policy - we recognize the importance of balance in our lives and encourage you to prioritize the balance in yours.

We will support you on and off the job so you can be fully present in both your work and home lives.

• A Canadian success story - we're proud to wear the red and white of this beautiful country and show the world what Canada has to offer.
• Enhance the world around you - from the environment to the highways, to the buildings and the terrain, WSP is the fabric of Canada.
• Outstanding career opportunities - we're growing and pushing ourselves every day to be greater than yesterday - we're open to your ideas and trying new things.
• A phenomenal collaborative culture and a workforce filled with genuinely good people who are doing humbly important work.

Come find out for yourself what it's like to be a part of our journey.

We offer attractive pay, flexible work options, a great corporate culture, comprehensive and employee-focused benefits including virtual healthcare and a wellness platform as well as great savings programs, and a clear vision for the future.

WeAre WSP

What you can expect to do here :

• Define and develop public engagement and communications strategies in line with the priorities and objectives of the clients and proponents of the projects for which you will be responsible, in order to support social acceptance and regulatory filings with the various authorities;
• Oversee the development of stakeholder mapping and information tracking;
• Develop tailored tactical plans for community engagement, including digital, virtual and in-person;
• Implement best practices and tools to optimize all aspects of the function;
• Ensure the development of performance key indicators to evaluate and monitor the progress of all public actions and campaigns;
• Oversee the deployment and work of engagement teams and field staff;
• Collaborate with all other project discipline leads to ensure smooth processes, consistent methods of reporting and to maintain regular contact with key stakeholders, including public and regulators;
• Ensure team and plan alignment with the business objectives of clients, project delivery partners, and ultimately the firm;
• Preserve the reputation of WSP, its partners, and the various clients and developers;
• Develop and maintain good relationships with all project stakeholders;
• Grow a team of engagement professionals and actively develop a collaborative team culture;
• Oversee and deliver various briefings and reports to clients, proponents, partners and other disciplines leads.

What you'll bring to WSP :

• Excellent verbal and written skills in English and French;
• Bachelor's degree in communications, administration, urban planning, environment or equivalent;
• A minimum of 15 years' experience in a team leadership role in community relations, issues management corporate and / or government relations or related field;
• Familiarity with International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) with Foundations training in IAP2 being preferred;
• Knowledge of the Canadian regulatory and policy context, and the federal and / or provincial environmental assessment processes;
• Relevant stakeholder relations and / or issues management experience in the transportation, transit, energy, construction or infrastructure sectors;
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships;
• Ability to communicate complex concepts and express themselves clearly to the public;
• Exceptional listening skills;
• Excellent negotiation and problem-solving skills;
• Strong sense of ethics;
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with senior management;
• Ability to question ways of doing things and processes and proactively develop inventive solutions with an eye toward sound management;
• Ability to manage multiple urgent files simultaneously and adapt to a changing environment;
• Experience in a large company with national or international operations;
• Ability to see situations in a broader context and find innovative solutions;
• Ability to present and argue ideas;
• Ability to analyze, synthesize and conceptualize.

LI-Hybrid

WSP is one of the world's leading professional services firms. Our purpose is to future proof our cities and environments.

We have over 65,000 team members across the globe. In Canada, our 12,000+ people are involved in everything from environmental remediation to urban planning, from engineering iconic buildings to designing sustainable transportation networks, from finding new ways to extract essential resources to developing renewable power sources for the future.

At WSP :

• We value our people and our reputation
• We are locally dedicated with international scale
• We are future focused and challenge the status quo
• We foster collaboration in everything we do
• We have an empowering culture and hold ourselves accountable

Please Note :

Health and Safety is a core paramount value of WSP. Given the importance of keeping one another safe it is expected that you comply with our Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) policy at all times as well as client HSE policies when working at client locations.

Offers of employment for safety-sensitive positions involving fieldwork are contingent upon candidates being able to perform key physical tasks of the job as described in the job posting and interview.

This may include the ability to work in a variety of environmental conditions, such as remote or isolated areas, working alone, and in inclement weather (within safe and reasonable limits).

WSP welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

WSP is committed to the principles of employment equity. Only the candidates selected will be contacted.

WSP does not accept unsolicited resumes from agencies. For more information please READ THE FULL POLICY.