Location
Manchester

Hours
Full Time

Salary
Negotiable

About the Role
What if you could shape a career as unique as you? At WSP, you can always find opportunities to grow and do what matters to you. Make the most of our global reach to discover new challenges and chances to work with diverse, talented individuals who will help you expand your horizons. You’ll be joining WSP’s expanding UK wide Engagement team of 60 plus as an experienced leader, where you’ll play a meaningful role in shaping how major projects connect with communities. Working on some of the UK’s largest infrastructure programmes—as well as projects across the water, health, energy and environmental sectors—you’ll help deliver engagement that is thoughtful, impactful and built on best practice. Recent contract and framework wins across the water, transport, energy and environmental sectors underpin strong growth over the next three years, with clients including National Grid, East West Rail Co, Nuclear Waste Services, the Environment Agency and others. As a member of the Engagement and Consultation Service Line Senior Leadership Team within our Planning and Consents business, you will lead engagement delivery across major UK infrastructure projects, shape regional delivery models, lead distributed teams, build strategic client relationships, and drive excellence and innovation in engagement practice.

Key Responsibilities
Reporting to the Service Line Director for Engagement and Consultation, you will lead a regional team of communication and engagement experts. You will play a key leadership role within the business with responsibility for managing new and existing projects, strengthening existing client relationships and developing new partnerships.
- Advise project teams and clients on engagement and consultation strategies for complex, multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects.
- Ensure compliance with planning legislation, including DCO requirements and the Planning and Infrastructure Act (2025).
- Embed global best practice in communications, consultation and engagement.
- Plan and deliver stakeholder communications and consultations, including risk and issue management, public events and high-quality outputs.
- Lead and support teams delivering engagement across complex infrastructure projects.
- Work collaboratively with multi-disciplinary teams to integrate engagement into project delivery.
- Provide line management, coaching and development for engagement specialists.
- Drive team growth and capability across the North, with a regular presence in the Manchester office.
- Take commercial and delivery responsibility for major infrastructure projects.
- Lead tender responses and support business development activity.
- Manage project resourcing, budgets, risks and programmes to ensure on-time, on-budget delivery.

Experience
Proven experience leading consultation and engagement on large, multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects. Experience across road, rail, utilities, water, environment or energy sectors is preferred.

About you
Collaborative leader with a strong track record of building and motivating high-performing teams. Demonstrable line management experience, including delivering training and performance improvement initiatives. Proven ability to build and sustain stakeholder relationships in complex, high-profile and politically sensitive environments. Confident decision-maker, able to act on own initiative. Influential communicator with strong negotiation and problem-solving skills. Strategic, structured and adaptable, with the ability to operate in fast-paced environments. Highly organised, with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously.

Qualifications
Degree qualified or equivalent relevant professional experience. Membership of a relevant professional or trade body is desirable.