Head Specialists

The Head of Specialists – India is responsible for leading, developing, and growing WSP's Specialist Services community across India.

The role acts as the primary custodian of the Specialist Services Strategy within India, ensuring alignment with regional and global objectives while creating an engaged, high-performing, and connected specialist workforce.

The position is primarily a people leadership role focused on talent, capability, collaboration, and strategy execution rather than day-to-day technical delivery.

The prospective candidate can have expertise in one of the following skills Façade, FLS, Geotech, Lighting , Digital Studio , Digital Design ,SRM, Acoustics , Signage & Wayfinding , Landscape , Aquatic Design .

The successful candidate will ensure that the specialist disciplines in India operate as an integrated community, supporting business growth, technical excellence, innovation, and global collaboration while delivering the same operating model and culture successfully established within the Middle East. 

Essential Experience

• 15+ years of professional experience within consulting, engineering, design, or professional services environments.

• Significant experience leading and developing large multidisciplinary teams.

• Demonstrated ability to implement organisational strategies and operating models.

• Experience managing change and driving business transformation initiatives.

• Track record of building high-performing teams and developing future leaders.

• Strong stakeholder management experience across multiple functions, disciplines, and geographies.

Essential Skills

• Strategic leadership.

• People leadership and coaching.

• Talent and succession planning.

• Organisational development.

• Change management.

• Workforce planning.

• Influencing and stakeholder engagement.

• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.

Leadership Behaviours

• People-first leader who develops and inspires others.

• Builds alignment and collaboration across teams and geographies.

• Converts strategy into practical execution and measurable outcomes.

• Champions a "One WSP" mindset.

• Demonstrates accountability and follows through on commitments.

• Creates an inclusive and high-performing culture.

• Drives continuous improvement while maintaining a long-term perspective.

BGV:

• Employment with WSP India is subject to the successful completion of a background verification (“BGV”) check conducted by a third-party agency appointed by WSP India.

• Candidates are advised to ensure that all information provided during the recruitment process — including documents uploaded — is accurate and complete, both to WSP India and its BGV partner”.

Key Accountabilities

1. Strategy Implementation

• Lead the implementation of the Specialist Services Strategy across India.

• Translate strategic objectives into practical actions, measurable outcomes, and annual business plans.

• Drive adoption of the four specialist strategy pillars: 

  • Grow Our Expertise

  • Empower Our People

  • Expand Client Centricity

  • Leverage Our Platform

• Monitor progress against KPIs and strategic initiatives.

• Act as the key link between India, the Middle East, and Global Specialist leadership teams. 

2. People Leadership & Capability Development

• Lead and develop the Specialist Services community across India.

• Build a strong culture of collaboration, engagement, accountability, and continuous improvement.

• Partner with discipline leaders to identify capability gaps, succession needs, and future talent requirements.

• Develop talent pipelines and career pathways for specialist staff.

• Drive retention strategies for key talent.

• Support the development of future leaders through coaching, mentoring, and succession planning.

• Champion diversity, inclusion, and employee engagement initiatives.

3. Organisational Growth & Workforce Planning

• Develop workforce plans aligned with business growth objectives.

• Identify recruitment priorities across specialist disciplines.

• Support strategic hiring and onboarding of key talent.

• Work with regional and global teams to leverage internal mobility opportunities.

• Ensure resources are aligned to current and future business needs. 

4. Community & Collaboration Leadership

• Establish and maintain a unified Specialist Services community across India.

• Facilitate collaboration between disciplines, sectors, and geographies.

• Drive participation in global specialist forums, working groups, and initiatives.

• Promote knowledge sharing and best practice exchange.

• Strengthen connections between India teams and regional specialist leaders. 

5. Performance & Operational Excellence

• Establish clear objectives and measures of success for specialist teams.

• Track specialist growth, capability, utilisation, recruitment, retention, and engagement metrics.

• Support discipline leaders in improving organisational effectiveness.

• Drive consistency in operating processes, reporting, and governance.

• Ensure strategic initiatives are delivered on time and achieve intended outcomes.

Key Performance Indicators

• Successful implementation of Specialist Services Strategy initiatives.

• Employee engagement scores.

• Voluntary attrition and retention rates.

• Internal promotion and succession readiness metrics.

• Recruitment and workforce plan delivery.

• Participation in global forums and strategic initiatives.

• Growth of specialist capabilities and service offerings.

• Delivery of agreed annual strategic objectives.