Assistant Vice President, ESG Strategy/

Who We Are

At WSP, we are driven by inspiring future-ready pioneers to innovate. We’re looking to grow our teams with people who are ready to collaborate in building communities and expanding our skylines. To do this, we hire candidates of all experiences, skillsets, backgrounds and walks of life. We actively foster a work environment and culture where inclusion and diversity is part of our fundamental structure. This is delivered behaviorally, through our policies, trainings, local partnerships with professional diverse organizations, internal networks and most importantly with the support and sponsorship of our leaders who help drive our commitment to an inclusive, diverse, welcoming and equitable work environment. Anything is within our reach and yours as a WSP employee. Come join us and help shape the future!

 

Our Business

We are a global leader in environmental consulting – made stronger with the recent acquisition of Wood’s Environment & Infrastructure business and Golder – with world-class expertise in environmental, social and governance (ESG), climate resiliency & sustainability (CRS), and earth sciences. Combined we have over 20,000 multidisciplinary professionals worldwide collaborating daily to protect and conserve natural landscapes, create firm foundations for communities to stand on, and champion sustainable development to combat climate change.

As part of the team, you will have access to an unparalleled network of resources and endless opportunities to collaborate on exciting projects with diverse teammates from across the globe.

This Opportunity

WSP USA has an immediate opening for an Assistant Vice President with a specialization in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy development and program implementation to support related consulting services delivered by WSP’s growing Sustainability, Energy and Climate Change practice. See wsp.com/advancingsustainability for a description of our team and capabilities.

The individual will serve as a visionary, idea-architect, and leader of staff as they build out SECC’s ESG consulting services–securing, staffing, developing, and managing client-facing engagements. The successful candidate will excel in the design, implementation, and management of ESG strategy, CSRD readiness, sustainability reporting, and (double) materiality assessments. Understanding the complexity of emerging regulatory spaces, they will thrive in situations of uncertainty, demonstrating skill and confidence in guiding clients and staff through new and uncertain territory. Candidates should be passionate about sustainability and resilience, exhibit technical knowledge in ESG, and demonstrate leadership skills and ability to deliver high‐quality products through appropriate time and priority management while leveraging resources and removing barriers and obstacles for the project team. This position could work out of WSP’s offices in either San Diego or San Francisco, CA; Boulder, CO; Chicago, IL, New York, NY; Portland, OR; Bethlehem, PA, Cleveland, OH; or Seattle, WA. Remote options will be considered for the outstanding candidate.

Your Impact

• Lead business development strategy, planning and activities with existing and prospective clients
• Direct client delivery teams, including assessment and collection of team resources, capacity and talent to build and manage multi-disciplinary SECC teams
• Assess and build internal SECC skills and capacity to meet growing client and WSP business development needs through training, mentoring, and hiring of SECC staff
• Develop and oversee the design and implementation of client sustainability programs with multiple interconnected scopes across service offerings
• Provide clients with strategic guidance and thought leadership to design and implement ESG-related governance structures, envision and implement change management programs, and implement organizational systems
• Lead teams conducting materiality and double materiality assessments for a range of companies, including but not limited to companies subject to CSRD compliance requirements
• Demonstrate firm knowledge of client ESG reporting strategies, sustainability disclosures, and other communications aligned with emerging voluntary frameworks and mandatory regulations (e.g., EU Taxonomy, DNSH, etc.)
• Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding company funds, resources and conduct, and adhere to WSP’s Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures.
• Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

In recognition of the full strategic suite of services offered by Advisory Services, the following degree requirements apply:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Degree(s) in sustainability, energy, environmental studies, business, public policy, or related discipline strongly preferred
• 10+ years of professional experience in sustainability, energy, or ESG management
• Demonstrated experience with designing and leading ESG strategy, sustainability reporting activities, and materiality assessments across a wide range of sectors
• Well-developed and empathetic leadership skills; adept at guiding teams with maturity, credibility, confidence, and integrity
• Ability to manage multiple projects and associated project teams concurrently
• Strong oral and written communication skills; ability to communicate results via Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and related software and craft compelling presentations and reports
• Demonstrated expertise with materiality assessments and ESG strategy development, including governance structure and policy hierarchy design
• Demonstrated knowledge of evolving requirements in the ESG and sustainability regulatory and standards landscape (e.g., CSRD, ISSB, GRI 2021 Standards, etc.)
• Ability to collaborate remotely across geographies and platforms
• Highly effective interpersonal and communication skills when interacting with others, expressing intricate ideas effectively and professionally to a technical and non-technical audience.
• Strong self-leadership and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to effectively, persuasively, and tactfully interact with clients, regulators, project managers, and employees at all levels of the organization.
• Works independently to provide guidance and leadership to mid-level to senior level team or project members, with strict adherence to QA/QC.
• Well-developed critical thinking and problem-solving skills required to apply technical knowledge to reach conclusions from testing results, data collation, computations, statistical analysis and arriving at the most effective, economical, and logical solution.
• Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP’s health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.
• Must be flexible to a variety of schedules to meet business needs and able to prioritize responsibilities and quickly adapt to change in a pressure work environment.
• Occasional travel may be required depending on project-specific requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in sustainability, energy, environmental studies, business, public policy, or related discipline preferred.

WSP Benefits: 

WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on a providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career. These benefits include coverage related to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life; retirement savings; paid sick leave; paid vacation (or other personal time); paid parental leave; and paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings.

Compensation:
Expected Salary (all locations): $108,500 – $193,380

WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and offer for this position, based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities in addition to internal equity and specific geographic location. WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.

Expected Salary (Colorado only): $108,500 – $181,500

WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and/or offer for this position within the state of Colorado, based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities in addition to internal equity and specific geographic location. WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.

Additional Requirements

• To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Additional Details

• Travel Required: N/A – No travel required
• Job Status: Regular
• Employee Type: Full
• Primary Location: SAN FRANCISCO – MARKET ST
• All locations: US-CA-San Diego, US-CA-San Francisco, US-CO-Boulder, US-IL-Chicago, US-NY-New York, US-OH-Cleveland, US-OR-Portland, US-PA-Bethlehem, US-Remote, US-WA-Seattle