Senior Planning Manager

WGI is seeking a Senior Planning Manager with 15+ years' experience to work within our Architecture Department . 

The Senior Planning Manager will help shape and execute the national growth strategy for integrated planning services within the Architecture practice. This role will cultivate client relationships, lead multidisciplinary planning assignments, and build a team that connects master planning, urban design, land use, parking, and mobility with architectural design and project implementation. The position will translate client goals into actionable development strategies while expanding the firm’s opportunities to deliver coordinated planning and design services.

At WGI, you will find talented, passionate associates providing exceptional service in collaborative, team-driven environments, all while having fun and enjoying the work they do. We work to stay ahead of the curve by investing in the latest tools and technology. As one of the nation’s top consulting firms, we consistently strive to promote efficiency, cultivate a culture our associates can proudly embrace, and empower our associates to advance their career growth at WGI, and beyond.

WGI is always looking for remarkable individuals to join our team and help us grow in our vision. If you think you are an innovative, self-motivated team-player, and want to shape your community, join our WGI team today!

WGI offers a complete Benefits package including: Medical, Dental, Vision, LTD & STD, Life Insurance, 401k with match, PTO, Holidays, HSA with company contribution, Pet insurance, and Employee assistance program.

#LI-Onsite

Responsibilities

Practice Growth and Business Development

• Advance the national planning strategy. Work with Architecture, Parking, and Urban + Community Planning leadership to establish priority markets, service offerings, target clients, and growth objectives that complement the firm’s existing capabilities.
• Develop and expand client relationships. Build relationships with public agencies, institutions, developers, property owners, and strategic partners; identify needs early and position the firm to support projects from initial planning through design and implementation.
• Lead and support project pursuits. Identify and qualify opportunities, develop pursuit strategies, and prepare proposals, scopes, fees, and interview presentations. Coordinate multidisciplinary teams around a clear understanding of each client’s goals.
• Connect planning services to broader design opportunities. Identify opportunities for other design and consulting services where they advance the client’s objectives.

Integrated Planning and Design Leadership

• Lead design-oriented planning assignments. Secure and direct work from a principal level.

Client Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain strong client relationships through proactive communication, responsiveness, and consistent service.
• Work with clients and stakeholders to understand needs, establish priorities, and align project expectations.
• Facilitate meetings and presentations to gather input, communicate recommendations, and support informed decision-making.
• Address concerns, coordinate solutions, and build consensus to advance project goals.
• Represent the firm professionally in client meetings, community discussions, and public presentations.

Team Leadership and Project Performance

Build and mentor a collaborative planning team. Recruit and develop associates, establish clear responsibilities, and coordinate staff across offices and disciplines. Foster strong working relationships among planners, architects, parking designers, and technical specialists.

Manage project delivery and financial performance. Establish and monitor scopes, fees, budgets, schedules, staffing plans, and deliverable requirements. Identify scope changes and delivery risks early, maintain clear client communication, and manage assignments toward agreed quality and financial objectives.

Strengthen quality and consistency. Establish planning workflows, review procedures, document templates, graphic standards, and shared resources that improve efficiency while allowing solutions to reflect each project’s context.

Support professional development and practice operations. Conduct regular performance and development reviews, manage workload and utilization, and complete required approvals for timesheets, time off, and expenses. Provide leadership with visibility into staffing needs, project performance, and emerging opportunities.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning, Urban Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, or a related field from an accredited institution.
• At least 15 years of progressively responsible experience, including a minimum of 5 years leading teams and managing complex planning or multidisciplinary design assignments.
• Demonstrated experience connecting planning and urban design to architectural development, parking and mobility solutions, or the implementation of significant public- or private-sector projects.
• A strong portfolio of relevant work demonstrating the ability to translate client objectives, site conditions, and analytical findings into clear, design-oriented planning recommendations.
• Demonstrated success developing client relationships, supporting or leading competitive pursuits, and generating new assignments or expanding existing client accounts.
• Experience preparing scopes and fees, managing project budgets and schedules, directing consultants and multidisciplinary teams, and maintaining quality across concurrent assignments.
• Working knowledge of land-use regulations, entitlement processes, public approvals, and the relationship between regulatory requirements and development feasibility.
• Excellent written, verbal, visual communication, and facilitation skills, including experience presenting to clients, stakeholders, public agencies, and decision-making bodies.
• Ability to lead across geographic locations, work effectively within a multidisciplinary organization, and travel for client meetings, project activities, and team coordination. Occasional evening or weekend meetings may be required.

Preferred

• Master’s degree in a relevant discipline and AICP certification or professional licensure in Architecture or Landscape Architecture, as applicable to the candidate’s background.
• Experience with projects in which architecture, parking, mobility, and public-space design are closely connected, such as mixed-use developments, downtown districts, institutional campuses, civic destinations, and transportation facilities.
• Experience with GIS, spatial analysis, development-capacity modeling, and planning visualization. Familiarity with SketchUp, Adobe Creative Cloud, BIM coordination, and immersive presentation tools is valuable; the ability to direct effective use of these tools is more important than proficiency in every application.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. on a full-time basis. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of any employment visas

Physical Demands

The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  Work is performed in an office setting.  Hand-eye coordination is necessary to operate a computer, keyboard and mouse.  Use of a telephone headset will allow for virtual communication with team members through Zoom and/or Microsoft Teams.  While performing the duties of this job, the employee is often required to sit for prolonged periods, use hands/fingers to handle, feel or operate objects, tools or controls and reach with hands and arms, speak and hear.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S on a full-time basis. We are unable to sponsor or take over the sponsorship of employment visas.

If you have what it takes to join our growing organization and want to be part of a dedicated team, please apply today. In return, WGI provides a competitive salary and an outstanding work environment. WGI is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.

WGI does not accept any unsolicited resumes. Should any 3rd party agency or recruiter forward or submit any resume(s) to a WGI associate without a pre-existing contractual agreement, the submitted resume(s) will be deemed the property of WGI, and no placement fee will be provided.

All agencies and vendors are required to have a signed WGI vendor agreement from the WGI Chief HR Officer permitting them to work directly through our Talent Acquisition team. Obtaining this signed vendor agreement is the only way you will receive payment. Verbal or written commitments from any other member of our staff will not be binding.

All third-party recruiting/supplemental staffing agencies are expected to familiarize themselves and abide by this policy.