Head of Infrastructure Planning & Environmental Assessment

The GCC Head of IP&EA (P&C) is expected to demonstrate effective and visible leadership, focusing on the ongoing engagement and retention of employees through the development of individuals and building high-performing teams. 

The role involves working closely with the UK&I IP&EA within PAC Business Unit in UK & GCC to deliver value by providing guidance and insight into attracting the right talent, improving team utilization with a particular focus on collaborative cross-selling of IP&EA services from India, driving efficiencies in hiring, resource management, and forecasting, and oversee the preparation of bids and proposals with the IP&EA UK team in India.

This is a growth-oriented role supporting our ambition to expand our GCC PAC through building new service lines, developing team capability, embedding consistent ways of working, enhance its footprint and deliver high value services that meet the evolving needs of UK clients and markets in UK Infrastructure Planning and Environmental Consent space.

Leadership & Team Management:

• Lead, manage and represent the India-based IP&EA team (Infrastructure Planning, Enviro Consents – Energy, Enviro Consents – Resilient Infra, Engagement & Consultation, PMO & Digital) as the primary point of contact and work in collaboration with the WSP UK IP&EA, PAC Team.
• Support workforce planning, recruitment and onboarding to meet growth targets (building an additional c. 30+ FTEs over the next two years).
• Oversee local health and safety, welfare, risk management, information security, and compliance assessments, environmental reports, assessments
• Foster the UK GCC culture within the team, ensuring staff meet their expected commitments influence ‘one team’ culture, encouraging open communication.

Build and Mature Capabilities:

• Own and shape the GCC’s IP&EA team with developing the service lines on engagement consultation and infra planning for UK market, Provide highly visible, inspirational leadership and direction for the GCC IP&EA, PAC team and ensure that it is aligned with the wider UK PAC IP&EA business, PAC sub sectors.
• Provide senior leadership insights on team health managing through Team Leaders and senior members process to ensure the preparation and checking of documents, reports and other technical outputs/deliverables of multi-disciplinary planning and Environmental design meet internal and project requirements and quality assurance standards.
• Build a strong understanding of UK market needs and priority sectors to ensure GCC capability development and recruitment aligns with priorities and demand.
• Monitor and review team capability in the use of the required standards, processes, and software tools and identify training required.

• Ability to Lead understanding on direct planning applications, can mentor & support team discussion in writing segments of planning application documents such as planning supporting statements, design and access statements, community statement involvement, response to consultation responses, and other planning related documents required for applications under the Town and Country Planning Act, Transport and Works Act Orders, Planning Act 2008.

  
  

UK Integration & Ways of Working:

• Promote the team's achievements within the GCC team UK, and the wider GCC business via targeted profile-raising activities.
• Ensure the UK&I Business Management System (BMS) is implemented and maintained.
• Seek regular feedback on team performances, ensure criticisms are positively converted into opportunities for improvement
• Develop and maintain excellent relationships ensuring repeat business and client satisfaction, internally and externally 
• Contribute to bids and design of operational processes, systems, quality measurement processes, and achievement of team KPIs ensuring the GCC functions as an extension of the UK team.
• Collaborate with UK IP&EA and GCC team leads in identifying the appropriately qualified staff to deliver projects with regards to the constraints of scope, schedule, budget, and quality.
• Offer support to the GCC OMT team ensuring the technical governance on deliverables from GCC aligned with UK IP&EA.

Client / External focus - Delivery Oversight & Quality Assurance:

• Acting as a key point of contact for the UK IP&EA business, direct liaison with UK IP&EA PAC leadership, promoting the GCC and ensuring its success.
• Review audits results and ensure adherence to WSP Management and Quality processes and implement corrective measures where required.
• Remain up to date with market and competitor knowledge across the Sector Business Unit Monitor team utilisation, support workforce planning, and proactively identify opportunities for deployment.
• Ensure the team contributes effectively to bids, proposal materials, case studies and client pursuits. 

People - Capability Evolution & Skill Mix Balancing:

• IP&EA PAC Resource Management – GCC team utilization, resource forecasting and management, and cross-selling in India.
• Inclusively lead people, clearly articulating the WSP Vision, defining responsibilities, delegating effectively, and providing constructive feedback.
• Carry out and report on staff appraisals and performance development reviews
• Inspire and motivate staff towards professional memberships and qualification progression.
• Managing people through change and developing succession plans through upskilling, redeployment or transition of existing capabilities for planning and approval process.
• Actively reshape the capability mix of the IP&EA GCC team to align with future demand.
• Line Management of IP&EA GCC Team leads, and Technical Leads guiding performance goal setting, promotions, and offering training, mentoring, and coaching to support the Engage for Excellence (E4E) process.

• Mentoring and coaching team members towards appropriate professional qualifications (Registered Professional Planners or Membership in environment sector etc.) 

  
  

Success in this Role Means:

• Strong, trusted UK–GCC relationships.
• High utilisation and predictable deployment.
• New capabilities built and embedded.
• High quality delivery aligned to UK standards.
• Clear, scalable operating model between UK and GCC.
• Growing, motivated IP&EA, PAC team.
• Bring demonstrable shift in capability mix towards digital, data and change led services.
• Tangible planning and consents GCC team in active use across UK engagements.

Key Competencies / Skills 

• Leadership level understanding and track record of senior technical and management leadership roles in multi-disciplinary UK Infra Planning and Environment consents project teams.

  
  

• Proven Strong GCC delivery model management, with experience engaging senior UK stakeholders.

  
  

• Proven experience in delivery governance, quality assurance, workforce planning, and utilisation management.

  
  

• Strong commercial awareness with demonstrated contribution to advisory bids, proposals, and pursuits.

  
  

• Excellent communication, internal client handling, organizational skills, interpersonal skills, and listening skills with the ability to influence and interact with people.

  
  

• Comfortable leading Town Planning and Environmental Consents discussions and ability to understand and explain influence complex technical issues to both technical and non-technical professionals.

  
  

• Leading capacity for preparation of planning applications under the UK Town and Country Planning Acts.

  
  

• Aware of current and emerging technologies relevant to the Town Planning and Environmental funding and consents in UK.

  
  

Desirable Skills:

• Professional Engineering, Chartered Engineer, or similar from a recognized professional institution (e.g. PEO, APEGA, APEGS, ICE, CIHT, RTPI etc. accredited with UK Environmental institutes) is desirable.

  
  

• Experience establishing or scaling a GCC / Planning or Environment consent centre supporting UK or global markets.

  
  

• Bachelor / master’s degree level in Engineering/Architecture/Environmental Studies/Town Planning.

  
  

• Seasoned professional with over 18-20 years of diverse experience in Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, Environmental consultancy, UK Planning process & UK Environmental legislation, Wind Energy projects, transportation and infrastructure design, project management, resource management, business development, project delivery, and leadership in a consulting engineering environment.

  
  

BGV:

• Employment with WSP India is subject to the successful completion of a background verification (“BGV”) check conducted by a third-party agency appointed by WSP India.

  
  

• Candidates are advised to ensure that all information provided during the recruitment process — including documents uploaded — is accurate and complete, both to WSP India and its BGV partner”.