Head of Discipline P&D

Head of Discipline – Planning & Development

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Your New Role, What's Involved?

We are seeking a highly visible and commercially driven leader to head our Planning & Development business. This role is fundamentally about growing our market presence, strengthening client relationships and winning work across some of the UK's most important development and infrastructure sectors.

Reporting to the Business Unit Managing Director, the Head of Discipline will act as the senior ambassador for the business, building executive-level relationships across the public and private sectors, identifying new opportunities and ensuring WSP remains a trusted adviser to our clients. You will lead our growth agenda, expanding our presence in existing markets, penetrating new sectors and driving collaboration across WSP to maximise opportunities for our clients and our business.

Leading a multidisciplinary team of approximately 550 professionals and a business with ~ £50m turnover, you will be accountable for developing and executing a growth strategy that enhances our market position, increases revenue and profitability, and strengthens our reputation as an industry leader in Planning & Development.

Success in this role will be measured by your ability to win strategic work, grow key client relationships, raise WSP's profile across the market, attract and develop outstanding talent, and deliver sustainable business growth through a relentless focus on clients, people and performance.

The role requires a recognised industry leader with an established network, a strong personal client portfolio, a proven track record of work winning and business growth, and the credibility to represent WSP at the highest levels of decision-making.

The HoD will provide strategic leadership across our Town Planning, Urban Design, Transport Planning, Development Engineering and Development Consulting teams, ensuring continued growth, market leadership and technical excellence across both public and private sector markets.

Key to Delivering Your Role

• Lead on Health, Safety and Wellbeing.
• Drive work winning, market growth and client development.
• Build WSP's profile across the Planning & Development market.
• Deliver strong revenue, profit, margin and cash performance.
• Be accountable for budget commitments, forecasting and business planning.
• Manage business risks and opportunities.
• Grow and develop a high-performing multidisciplinary team.
• Enhance technical excellence, quality and innovation.

Responsibilities

Strategic Direction & P&L Accountability

The role will shape the future direction of the business, driving sustainable growth, operational performance and market differentiation whilst fostering a culture centred on health, safety, quality, inclusion and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles and:

Set and deliver the strategic direction for the Planning & Development discipline.

Hold full accountability for discipline performance, profitability and budget delivery.

Lead forecasting, business planning and investment decisions.

Improve operating margins, cash performance and resource utilisation.

Client Leadership & Growth

• Build and maintain executive-level client relationships.
• Lead strategic account development and major client engagements.
• Drive growth across Residential & Urban Regeneration, Logistics & Data Centres, Sports & Leisure, Defence, Life Sciences & Technology, Energy, Healthcare, Education and Local Government.
• Penetrate new sectors and expand WSP's market share.

Business Development & Work Winning

• Lead major bids, pursuits and work-winning activities.
• Maintain a strong personal client portfolio.
• Raise WSP's profile through industry engagement, thought leadership and strategic networking.
• Support growth opportunities across the wider WSP business.

Delivery & Operational Excellence

• Provide executive oversight of major multidisciplinary projects.
• Ensure safe, profitable and high-quality project delivery.
• Champion operational excellence, risk management and continuous improvement.
• Drive integration with our extended delivery teams in India (GCC teams).

Technical Excellence & Market Leadership

• Lead the discipline's technical excellence agenda.
• Ensure capability development aligns with future market demand.
• Act as an industry leader, conference speaker and recognised voice in the profession.
• Maintain and enhance WSP's external market profile.

People Leadership

• Lead, inspire and develop approximately 550 professionals.
• Build a high-performance, inclusive and collaborative culture.
• Drive recruitment, retention, succession planning and leadership development.
• Foster strong engagement across UK and GCC teams.

Health, Safety, Environment & Quality

• Provide visible leadership on HSEQ and Zero Harm.
• Ensure compliance with WSP policies, governance and regulatory requirements.
• Promote a culture of safety, quality, wellbeing and accountability.
• Integrate HSEQ considerations into all business and operational decisions.

We'd love to hear from you if you have

• Relevant industry experience.
• A successful track record of leading and growing large multidisciplinary businesses.
• Extensive P&L management experience within a professional services environment.
• Proven work-winning credentials and a strong client portfolio.
• An established network of senior relationships across both public and private sectors.
• Experience across the full development lifecycle.
• Strong commercial acumen and strategic leadership capability.
• Successful Expert Witness credentials.
• A recognised profile within the industry, including presenting at conferences, industry events and professional institutions.
• Relevant degree and professional qualifications.
• This is a unique opportunity to lead one of the UK's largest Planning & Development businesses and play a pivotal role in shaping its future growth, market leadership and long-term success.
• Imagine a better future for you and a better future for us all.
• Work on landmark projects around the world and embrace opportunities to make an even bigger impact in the communities you care about. What if you could do the best work of your life and create a legacy for yourself?
• With us, you can. Apply today.