Job Information
WSP USA Assistant Vice President – Building Life Cycle Assessment Lead (Built Ecology) in Los Angeles, California
WHO WE ARE
At WSP, we are united by the common purpose of creating positive, long-lasting impacts for the communities we serve through a culture of innovation, integrity, and inclusion. We are looking to grow our teams with future-ready champions and change makers who are committed to collaboration, continuous learning, and thoughtful solutions that lead to meaningful outcomes for the communities we serve. To do this, we hire candidates with a wide range of experiences, skillsets, backgrounds, and walks of life. We actively foster a work environment and culture where inclusion and diversity are part of our fundamental structure.
Our Business
As one of the world’s leading engineering and professional services firms, we work with our clients to create buildings that support their business goals while also restoring balance with the natural environment and sustaining healthy resilient communities. As part of a worldwide community of built environment experts, we bring creative problem-solving, future-ready planning, innovative design solutions, and deep technical expertise in building systems. When combined with our world-class expertise in environmental, social and governance (ESG), climate resiliency, and earth sciences, we are one of the largest and best sustainability consultancies in the world. 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.
Built Ecology is WSP’s US buildings sustainability practice, providing a broad range of services including sustainability strategy and planning, goal setting and workshop facilitation, high-performance design assistance, complex building performance analysis, building certifications, energy and GHG master planning, and building performance verification. We work across a wide range of project types and scales, from master planning and district infrastructure to building design and construction, to ongoing performance and operations. Built Ecology has been directly responsible for driving many leading projects across the globe, including LEED Platinum buildings, Living Building Challenge and WELL projects, Net Zero energy and water projects, EcoDistricts, corporate green building programs, and decarbonization of large building portfolios. Our solutions are typically innovative, integrated, data-driven, and practical.
This Opportunity
WSP has an immediate need for an Associate Vice President: Building Life Cycle Assessment Lead to join Built Ecology, WSP’s growing buildings sustainability practice. This position will work out of our Washington DC or Arlington, VA office, with consideration for the other locations listed above. The individual will grow and strengthen our team by securing, staffing, managing, and delivering complex projects and client-facing engagements. Candidates should be passionate about sustainability, exhibit technical knowledge in building life cycle assessments and embodied carbon, and demonstrate the leadership skills necessary to deliver high‐quality projects, programs, and deliverables.
Ideal candidates will exhibit the following characteristics:
Passionate about creating a sustainable, healthy, resilient, and equitable built environment
Expertise in sustainable materials, high-performance design, low-carbon construction, and building science
Passionate about collaborating with and mentoring members of our national building’s sustainability team.
Presents complex ideas and solutions that are clear, concise, creative, and compelling.
Uses integrative thinking and creative problem-solving to develop practical and impactful solutions.
Your Impact
Duties and Responsibilities:
Manage and grow WSP’s building LCA services, working closely with our building LCA consultants and practitioners
Strengthen and improve our building LCA tools, templates, playbooks, quality procedures, and other resources to ensure high quality proposals and projects are consistently delivered by the national team
Lead the development of whole building LCA models and reports, quantifying GHG reduction levers, create reduction scenarios, and develop net zero roadmaps
Lead clients and multidisciplinary project teams through the process of understanding, establishing and implementing embodied carbon and sustainability goals, providing technical support for sustainable materials specifications and sourcing, feasibility assessments, and constructability guidance.
Maintain expertise in whole building life cycle assessment methodologies (e.g. ISO14040/44, EN 15978)
Provide LEED, ILFI and other certifications strategy and advice related to LCAs and whole-building GHG emissions
Strengthen WSP’s relationships with existing clients and develop new clients
Have a leadership presence in the industry and support business development
Lead an integrative approach to problem-solving by learning and including other experts and disciplines within WSP
Manage and support staff development, including in the areas of embodied carbon
Who You Are
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in architecture, engineering, building science, built environment, and/or sustainability.
10+ years of experience in sustainability, energy, and climate consulting for buildings, including at least 5 years of applied professional experience in life cycle assessments and embodied carbon analysis.
Strong working knowledge of GHG accounting practices and life cycle assessment software, such as One Click LCA, EC3, Tally LCA is essential.
Knowledge of standards and methods for assessing and reporting on carbon performance of building design projects
Familiarity with IECC and ASHRAE requirements, Building Performance Standards and stretch codes focused on energy efficiency and electrification
Experience managing staff and supporting staff development
Ability to read and understand architectural and engineering drawings, specifications, and design documents
Knowledge of building construction materials, mechanical system architecture and components
LEED Accredited Professional
Preferred Qualifications:
Professional Engineer or Registered Architect
Experience with environmental product declaration and product category rules
Experience with LCA software (e.g. SimaPro or openLCA, IES-VE, OpenStudio)
Experience coordinating green building, healthy building, and building performance certifications
Experience with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, Science-based Targets, and other climate-related reporting frameworks
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): $133,400 - $188,000
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.
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About WSP
WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world's leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 15,000 employees in over 300 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper.
www.wsp.com
WSP provides a flexible and agile workplace model while meeting client needs. Employees are also afforded a comprehensive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, life, and retirement savings focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career.
At WSP, we want to give our employees the challenges they seek to grow their careers and knowledge base. Your daily contributions to your team will be essential in meeting client objectives, goals and challenges. Are you ready to get started?
WSP USA (and all of its U.S. companies) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Race/Age/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disability or Protected Veteran Status.
The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.
NOTICE TO THIRD PARTY AGENCIES:
WSP does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or other staffing services. Unsolicited resumes include any resume or hiring document sent to WSP in the absence of a signed Service Agreement where WSP has expressly requested recruitment/staffing services specific to the position at hand. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers or other business leaders, will become the property of WSP and WSP will have the right to hire that candidate without reservation – no fee or other compensation will be owed or paid to the recruiter, employment agency, or other staffing service.