Area Leader - Water & Utilities POST NUMBER: 309186
Vaco has an exciting opportunity for a Central Florida Area Leader in the Water & Utilities space.
Area Leader, Water & Utilities
Position Overview
We are seeking an experienced Area Leader, Water & Utilities to lead the planning, design, and delivery of complex utility infrastructure projects for municipal and public-sector clients.
This senior-level opportunity is ideal for a technically strong, client-focused engineering professional with extensive experience managing water, wastewater, reclaimed water, and utility infrastructure projects from initial planning through design, permitting, bidding, and construction support.
The successful candidate will bring a combination of technical expertise, project management leadership, client relationship management, and business development experience. This individual will serve as a trusted advisor to clients, mentor engineering staff, and help grow the water and utilities practice through strong project execution and strategic market development.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead water and utility infrastructure projects involving:
- Water distribution systems
- Wastewater collection systems
- Pumping systems and lift stations
- Force mains and gravity sewer
- Reclaimed water systems
- Utility rehabilitation, replacement, and expansion projects
- Manage projects through all phases, including planning, feasibility studies, preliminary engineering, final design, permitting, bidding, and construction-phase services.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for municipal and public-sector clients, regulatory agencies, subconsultants, and internal project teams.
- Develop and manage project scopes, schedules, budgets, staffing plans, and deliverables.
- Provide senior technical oversight and quality control for engineering calculations, reports, plans, specifications, and other project documents.
- Coordinate multidisciplinary teams across civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and controls, environmental, and GIS disciplines.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with municipal utility owners and other public-sector clients.
- Identify opportunities for additional work and assist with proposals, presentations, interviews, and other business development initiatives.
- Mentor project engineers, designers, and developing technical staff.
- Support construction administration, including RFIs, submittal reviews, change orders, and site visits as needed.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
- Active Professional Engineer (P.E.) license.
- 10 years of progressive utility engineering experience, including significant project management responsibility for municipal water and/or wastewater projects.
- Demonstrated success managing project budgets, schedules, multidisciplinary teams, and client relationships across multiple concurrent projects.
- Strong knowledge of utility design practices, permitting requirements, and public-sector project delivery.
- Experience developing and maintaining relationships with municipal and public-sector clients.
- Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills.
What You'll Need to Be Successful
- Ability to lead complex engineering projects and competing priorities with minimal oversight.
- Strong technical knowledge of water and wastewater infrastructure and engineering best practices.
- Ability to communicate proactively and professionally with clients and keep project teams informed of key decisions, activities, risks, public concerns, and project developments.
- Strong collaboration skills with the ability to work effectively across disciplines, teams, and office locations.
- Sound judgment when resolving technical, project delivery, and client-service challenges.
- A strong commitment to quality, responsiveness, accountability, and client satisfaction.
- Ability to balance technical leadership with client development and practice growth.
Why This Opportunity
This is an opportunity for an experienced water and utilities professional to step into a visible leadership role with the ability to lead major municipal infrastructure projects, strengthen client relationships, develop engineering talent, and influence the continued growth of a water and utilities practice.
Ideal candidate profile: Senior Project Manager, Project Director, Water/Wastewater Practice Leader, Utilities Group Leader, or experienced Water/Wastewater Engineer ready to take on broader leadership and business development responsibilities.
By submitting to this position, you are agreeing to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions.
EEO Notice
Vaco by Highspring is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race (including but not limited to traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and hair style), color, sex (includes pregnancy or related conditions), religion or creed, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, status as a veteran, union membership, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, or any other protected characteristics as required by federal, state or local law.
Vaco by Highspring and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Vaco by Highspring and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact HR@vaco.com.
Vaco by Highspring also wants all applicants to know their rights that workplace discrimination is illegal.
Representation Notice
By submitting to this position, you agree that you will be giving Vaco by Highspring the exclusive right to present your as a candidate for the foregoing employment opportunity. You further agree that you have represented information about yourself accurately and have not affirmatively misrepresented your qualifications. You also agree to maintain as confidential, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any information you learn from Vaco by Highspring about the position and you will limit disclosure of information about the position only to the extent necessary to perform any obligations in furtherance of your application. In exchange, Vaco by Highspring agrees to exercise reasonable efforts to represent you through all solicitation, job screening and resume dispersal.
For residents of Ontario, Canada: Based on Highspring’s discussions with its Client, Highspring’s understanding is that this position for employment is a current vacancy (either through Highspring as a contractor or with the client directly).
Privacy Notice
Vaco by Highspring and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries (“we,” “our,” or “Vaco by Highspring”) respects your privacy and are committed to providing transparent notice of our policies.
- California residents may access Vaco by Highspring HR Notice at Collection for California Applicants and Employees here.
- Virginia residents may access our state specific policies here.
- Residents of all other states may access our policies here.
- Canadian residents may access our policies in English here and in French here.
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Additionally, submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. More details about Vaco by Highspring’s use of AI can be found here (https://www.highspring.com/ai-use-notices/). Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase will be conducted by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco by Highspring does not know and cannot opine on if its client’s use of AI products in hiring.
Pay Transparency Notice
Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco by Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to:
- the individual’s skill sets, experience and training;
- licensure and certification requirements;
- office location and other geographic considerations;
- other business and organizational needs.
With that said, as required by local law, Vaco by Highspring believes that the following salary range referenced above reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position in geographies that require salary range disclosure. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses.