Project Principal

We are currently searching for a Project Principal to support the Education, Science and Sports sector to join our Kansas City team focused on delivery, planning and designing exciting spaces in the education and life science markets. Places that inspire researchers to discover; spaces that promote curiosity and allow communities to thrive. The successful candidate will work together with architects, engineers, and other design professionals as part of a collaborative interdisciplinary team. We are an employee-owned, expertise-driven practice that balances deep technical knowledge with the highest degree of creativity which results in award-wining design.
We design facilities that support life-changing scientific advances and that foster discovery. We believe that at the root of all good design is an understanding of human behavior, and how the physical environment can affect these behaviors.

We are consistently ranked #1 in Science and Technology and have been recognized by the industry's Lab of the Year program 11 times for designing facilities in which world-class scientists can discover cures for insidious diseases, create new sources of clean energy, protect our resources, and improve public health-enriching people's lives around the world. Seamlessly integrating our science and education expertise, we are leading the transformation of learning environments at the world's top academic institutions to better prepare the next generation's leaders.

Primary Responsibilities
In the role of a Project Principal for our Education, Science and Sports practice, you will help establish and guide the overall direction of this sector in the local Kansas City market and elsewhere in the central region. The successful candidate must possess the drive, experience and charisma needed to secure a robust client base and to solidify an unrivaled reputation for the core team throughout the region.

The role includes a variety of duties ranging from annual planning to closing on pursuits and directing project teams. Critical to this role is a proven history and commitment to developing and nurturing strong relationships with multiple clients in the sector. Beginning with pre-positioning activities and continuing through (and beyond) the life of project execution, these relationships will be essential to creating opportunities and maintaining HDR's position for future work.
Responsibilities include:
* Leadership and visioning for the growth of the sector.
* Developing capture plans and initiating relationships with key clients.
* Establish client relations and be involved with marketing, contractual, design and production meetings.
* Maintaining an active and visible presence in the Science and Technology sector, allocating time in proportion to annual fee goals for the local region.
* Helping develop qualifications and proposals for Education and Life Science pursuits.
* Leading pursuit go/no-go and strategy discussions.
* Directing interview strategies and implementation.
* Preparing and negotiating project contracts.
* Serving as Principal-in-Charge on projects as appropriate.
* Working closely with local leadership to maintain project oversight throughout execution, including conformance to client expectations for technical/quality, financial performance, and schedule adherence.
* Providing mentorship and guidance to staff in support of career development.
* Direct and coordinate work of single or multidiscipline teams throughout the project's lifecycle (from development & initiation to close-out).
* Responsible for any project assignment regardless of size, visibility, number of disciplines, technical complexity or number of staff.
* Produce and coordinate several projects concurrently.
* Conduct work sessions for deliverable development in conjunction with other staff and stakeholders.
* Track financial aspects of projects, and coordinate and adjust work effort with team to ensure that work is completed within parameters of agreed-to budget and schedule.
* Work with the Accounting, Operational and Business leadership for periodic project reviews.
* Perform other duties as needed.

In collaboration with subject matter experts, and independently when appropriate, developing abstracts and presentations for industry conferences, seminars, workshops, and other similar events promoting program messages, research, project outcomes, lessons learned, trends, etc. related to facility design.
Project types include buildings for the life sciences, physical sciences, biocontainment, animal research, public health, and related support facilities. Project opportunities will largely focus on growing the regional markets of Kansas and Missouri but may extend to neighboring states and potentially abroad due to personal relationships, particular expertise, project needs, etc.