Forensic Engineering Consultant

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Consultant, Forensic Engineering to provide overall operational leadership and organizational structure for a growing engineering firm. This is a hands-on senior leadership role responsible for ensuring that the company has the people, processes, systems, policies, financial infrastructure, and management practices required to operate effectively and scale successfully.

They will work closely with the firm's founders and senior technical leaders, allowing them to remain focused on clients, engineering, business development, and the firm's long-term vision while ensuring that the organization is well managed and that day-to-day operational matters do not consistently fall back on the owners.

The successful candidate will be a seasoned business leader who can move comfortably between strategic planning and practical execution. They will establish accountability, create management rhythms, identify organizational gaps, and ensure that important issues are addressed and followed through to completion.

Key Responsibilities:

Executive & Organizational Leadership

• Serve as a key member of the firm's senior leadership team and act as an operational partner to the founders.
• Drive then translate the owners' vision and strategic priorities into clear organizational plans, priorities, and actions.
• Provide the structure, discipline, and accountability necessary to execute the company's operating plan.
• Establish and maintain regular management rhythms, including leadership meetings, one-on-one meetings, performance discussions, and organizational reviews.
• Identify operational issues before they become significant problems and ensure appropriate follow-up and resolution.
• Provide an objective management perspective to the founders on people, organizational, financial, and operational matters.
• Help ensure that decisions made by leadership are communicated effectively and implemented throughout the organization.

Business Operations

• Oversee the firm's overall administrative and business operations.
• Ensure that appropriate systems, processes, policies, and controls are in place to support a professional and scalable organization.
• Continuously assess where the company is overly dependent on the founders and develop processes, delegation, and accountability to eliminate unnecessary bottlenecks.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, decision-making authority, and accountability throughout the organization.
• Monitor key operational metrics and ensure that leadership has the information necessary to make informed decisions.
• Coordinate across engineering, project management, finance, HR, administration, and other functions to ensure effective execution.
• Contribute to marketing and sales objectives and resource strategies.

Finance & Accounting Oversight

• Provide leadership and oversight of the firm's financial and accounting functions in partnership with the Controller and external accounting services.
• Ensure appropriate financial controls, reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and administrative processes are established and maintained.
• Work with the Controller to ensure timely and accurate financial reporting and useful management information.
• Support annual budgeting and operating plan development.
• Help leadership understand financial performance, risks, trends, and areas requiring attention.
• Ensure appropriate investment is made in financial systems, processes, and personnel as the company grows.

Human Resources & People Leadership

• Provide senior-level oversight of the company's people practices and HR infrastructure.
• Establish and maintain effective policies, procedures, performance-management practices, compensation processes, and employee-development programs.
• Ensure leadership is in place for the annual performance review and compensation processes.
• Establish regular one-on-one and employee communication practices for key personnel.
• Coach managers and senior staff on leadership, accountability, performance, and employee relations.
• Act as a senior point of escalation for employee concerns, grievances, workplace conflicts, and sensitive personnel matters.
• Lead employee negotiations and difficult employment discussions when appropriate.
• Ensure that employment practices are professional, consistent, appropriately documented, and aligned with applicable legislation and company policy.

Organizational Development

• With the support of the management team, drive and maintain the company's annual operating plan and organizational priorities.
• Establish a practical framework for goal setting, accountability, and performance measurement.
• Assess organizational capacity and identify when additional people, technology, systems, or outside expertise are required.
• Support succession planning and development of future leaders within the organization.
• Help transition knowledge and decision-making away from individual founders and key employees where appropriate.
• Build a culture of accountability, transparency, professionalism, and continuous improvement.

Policies, Systems & Infrastructure

• Ensure the company has appropriate policies, procedures, and internal controls for its size and stage of growth.
• Review and improve administrative, HR, financial, operational, and management processes.
• In collaboration or support of the Sr. Vice President, Operations, identify opportunities to improve efficiency through technology, automation, and better systems.
• Ensure appropriate documentation and institutional knowledge are maintained.
• Coordinate with external legal, HR, accounting, insurance, IT, and other professional advisors as required.

Leadership & Employee Engagement

• Maintain regular communication with key employees and provide a visible senior management presence.
• Develop strong working relationships with employees at all levels of the organization.
• Understand organizational concerns and employee sentiment and bring important issues forward to leadership.
• Subscribe to a servant leadership approach to foster a professional, respectful, supportive and accountable workplace.
• Address sensitive issues directly, fairly, and confidentially.
• Serve as a trusted and impartial management resource for both the founders and employees.

What Success Looks Like

Within the first year, success in this role would include:

• The founders are spending significantly less time dealing with day-to-day administrative and operational issues.
• The company has a clear and functioning annual operating plan and management cadence.
• Key employees understand their responsibilities, priorities, and accountability.
• Regular one-on-one and performance-management processes are established and consistently followed.
• Finance and accounting functions are well structured and provide timely, accurate and useful information to management.
• HR policies, processes, documentation, and employee-management practices are appropriately established, updated or enhanced.
• Operational and personnel issues are addressed proactively rather than remaining unresolved or escalating to the founders.
• The organization has clear processes for making decisions and escalating issues.
• The company has the infrastructure and management systems necessary to support continued growth.
• The founders have confidence that the business is being professionally managed even when they are focused on clients, engineering, or business development.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive business leadership experience, preferably including experience as a CEO, President, COO, General Manager, Vice President of Operations, or similar senior operational role.
• Demonstrated experience operating in a privately held, entrepreneurial, professional-services, engineering, consulting, construction, or similar environment.
• Strong understanding of finance, accounting, HR, operations, and organizational management.
• Experience working directly with founders or owner-operators and helping professionalize and scale an organization.
• Demonstrated ability to build structure without creating unnecessary bureaucracy or excess spending.
• Experience managing sensitive employee relations matters and resolving workplace issues professionally.
• Strong financial literacy and experience working with Controllers, accountants, and financial advisors.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, negotiation, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to operate both strategically and hands-on.
• High degree of judgment, vision, strategy, discretion, integrity, and emotional intelligence.
• Ability to establish credibility with technical professionals and experienced leaders without needing to be the technical expert.

Physical and Mental Job Qualifications:

• Must possess and maintain a valid Ontario Class "G" Driver's License and access to a properly insured vehicle.
• Ability to work in a hybrid environment, including our office based in Burlington, plus site visits if required.

Additional Information

Some of the Benefits We Have Include
J.S. Held understands all our employees are people and sometimes life needs flexibility. We work to always provide an environment that best supports and suits our team’s needs.

• Our flexible work environment allows employees to work remotely when needed
• Generous Annual Leave Policy
• Comprehensive Medical Insurance
• RRSP Match 

A reasonable estimate of the salary range for this role is $110,000 - $125,000. Any offered salary range is based on a wide array of factors including but not limited to skillset, experience, training, location, scope of role, management responsibility, etc.

Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you have read the J.S. Held Online Privacy Notice and hereby freely and unambiguously give informed consent to the collection, processing, use, and storage of your personal information as required and described therein. California residents can click here to learn more about the personal information we collect and here to learn about additional privacy rights that may be available. 

Please explore what we’re all about at www.jsheld.com.

EEO and Job Accommodations
We embrace diversity and our commitment to building a team and environment that fosters professional and personal enrichment is unwavering. We are greater when we are equal!
J.S. Held is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.
If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request for a reasonable accommodation, please email [email protected] and include “Applicant Accommodation” within the subject line with your request and contact information.

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