National Practice Leader for Industrial Manufacuring

NATIONAL PRACTICE LEADER FOR INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING

The National Practice Leader (NPL) for Industrial Manufacturing is a Vice President (Vice President, Senior Vice President or Executive Vice President) with overall responsibility for a practice area at the firm level. The NPL applies expertise and experience to develop long-term roadmaps that advance CPL’s mission and foster growth for the entire organization.

Reporting to the President, the NPL builds on our foundation, personifies our core values, reinforces our brand and engages with stakeholders across the firm to deliver solutions that benefit the culture and the bottom line. The NPL is responsible for connecting CPL’s Regional Practice Leaders to build a unified approach to business development and project management, achieving success by optimizing our play to win strategy.

WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE

• You earned a BS in architecture or civil engineering and have at least ten (10) years of related work experience – or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Five (5) years in a revenue generating role
• Professional licensure (PE or RA)
• Expertise in Industrial Design: A strong background in industrial design principles, trends, and technologies to guide teams and make informed decisions.
• Awareness of sustainable practices in design and the ability to integrate them into projects to appeal to environmentally conscious clients.
• Understanding of the business aspects of industrial design, including market analysis, pricing strategies, and profitability.
• Demonstrated strong interpersonal and written communication skills, which you utilize to form enduring professional connections
• Extensive knowledge of A/E/C trends as they pertain to your area of expertise
• A record of accomplishment in leading change and building trust with internal and external business partners
• Ability to thrive in a team-based and entrepreneurial environment and have an elevated level of leadership capability
• Active association/membership with relevant industry organizations is highly preferred
• Sustainability accreditation is preferred

CORE DUTIES

Vision and Strategy

• Cultivate a cohesive company culture that values inclusivity, innovation, and collaboration across all locations.
• Create and communicate the vision and strategic goals for your practice area, working in tandem with Regional Practice Leaders and National Discipline Leaders
• Synthesize complex financial information into easy-to-understand communication that builds the financial acumen of your team
• Lead by example and serve as a role model for both actions and words

Supervisory and Staff Development

• Motivate and lead a high performing team including the development, engagement, and growth of CPL staff. Recruit, retain, and develop CPL's best and brightest; provide encouragement and regular feedback; and serve as a mentor for all levels of the team.
  • Promote a Culture of Continuous Learning: Encourage all offices to pursue professional development opportunities related to industrial design, such as attending conferences, online courses, or industry certifications.
  • Establish mechanisms for teams to provide feedback on their industrial design experiences. This can help identify gaps in knowledge and areas for further training or resources.
  • Designate the office with experience as a “Center of Excellence” for industrial design. This office can serve as a resource hub for other locations, providing guidance, support, and oversight for industrial projects.
  • Defining and enforce efficiency by leading the organization to develop a centralized repository of resources, including case studies, design templates, and guidelines based on the experienced office’s work. This can be accessible to all offices and serve as a reference for future projects.
  • Actively involve employees from other offices in industrial projects, even in a supporting role. This can help them gain firsthand experience and develop their skills.
  • Oversee career conversations with those in your practice area and ensure that annual career conversations, mid-year check-ins, and the development of career plans are made for each team member
  • Create a succession plan that identifies potential future leaders in your practice

• Regularly communicate with your team to ensure that key messages are clear, consistent, and repeated, including but not limited to:

• Company information
• Regional and local news
• Key wins and project progress
• Guidelines for communicating with and responding to the media
• Business development

• Collaborate with HR and Finance partners to build a resource utilization plan to identify staffing, recruiting, and hiring needs
• Reward success and address poor performance in a timely manner. Seek to develop high performers.
• Conduct terminations of senior employees, both voluntary and involuntary, working with partners in HR.
• Promote a culture of health and safety and ensure that all employees have a safe work environment in the office and in the field.

Operational Performance

• Drive operational performance through work with your Team and other firm-wide market resources.
• Demonstrate business acumen through a thorough understanding and analysis of financial reports and other business tracking systems:

• Use the information to make improvements
• Drive effective decisions and set priorities
• Manage critical drivers of office profitability
• Ensure that QA/QC processes are in place and implemented on all projects.

• Ensure that Project Review meetings are conducted to manage financial expectations, support client relations, and discuss project creation opportunities; hold Project Managers accountable for follow up on action items, delivering projects “as sold,” and following CPL best business practices.

Provide quarterly summary reports with documented understanding of trends and financial results in preparation for the BOD’s quarterly review meetings.

Networking and Community Outreach

• Enhance CPL’s presence by connecting with key IDAs/EDOs, real estate professionals, industry associations, site selectors, Design Build Contractor, and Developers regionally and nationally, ensuring broad exposure and helping further develop relationships with existing and new clients.

• Build and sustain strong partnerships with national and regional site selectors to enhance site selection opportunities for industrial clients.
• Leverage site selector insights to identify emerging industrial trends, high-potential markets, and competitive advantages for clients.
• Work closely with clients and site selectors to evaluate potential sites based on zoning, logistics, labor force availability, and infrastructure suitability.
• Represent the firm at national site selection conferences, trade shows, and networking events to strengthen industry presence and business development.

• Identify and target underserved regions Regionally and Nationally, with high industrial growth potential.
• Develop relationships with design build firms, expand services Regionally and Nationally
• Collaborate with real estate agents (WNY NYSCAR, NAIOP, SIOR), other national or other regional agencies, real estate developers, construction firms, and contractors to support project delivery and site selection efforts.
• Work directly with WNY regional team to bridge gaps in service and formulate a plan to serve across all offices.

Market Leadership

• Demonstrate market leadership and assume responsibility for advancing strategic initiatives and client pursuit discussions and strategies. Lead the development of the market business plan.
• Participate and engage with other market leaders in ways to improve our practice nationally.

• Develop and implement strategic plan initiatives and update regional business plans as necessary
• Lead the development and execution of the business plan, including strategic Initiatives and business development objectives
• Apply the proposal and contract approval process effectively.

• Focus on top line growth and development by working with client leaders and other firm-wide market resources to focus on growing the top line of the market.
  • Utilize the L.E.A.D. model to develop quarterly forecasts of revenue, profit, pipeline, and staffing changes, working with the appropriate teams in finance, culture/HR and marketing to present to the President in preparation of the quarterly Board of Directors meetings
• Support CPL’s value proposition and promote the full range of our integrated design services
• In this role you will have a personal goal of achieving top line success of $3.0M of net revenue in 2024, along with 15% growth (inflation adjusted) every year thereafter.  You will also be responsible for meeting the revenue, multiplier and margin goals for the Practice that you are leading.

WHAT WE OFFER:  CPL cares about your future with us! That’s why we offer the following benefits to you and your family: 

• Internal Mobility & Career Advancement
• Healthcare for you and your family including spouse coverage: Medical, Dental, Vision & Prescription insurances. Single Plans with 100% paid premium
• Flexible Time Off 8 Holidays a year
• Retirement Savings Plan - Contribution from CPL to grow your retirement funds.
• Tuition Assistance: You may be eligible for continuing education assistance.
• Student Loan Assistance Program: CPL will contribute up to a maximum of $100 a month for 5 years ($6,000 total) towards student loan debt. 
• Licensure Assistance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance Company/team member premium sharing
• Flexible Spending Account $5,000 dependent childcare annually paid 100% by team member pre-taxes. 
• FREE Life Insurance and AD D Insurance 
• Voluntary Short-Term Disability Insurance

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE WORKING HERE?  We believe that building a strong community is about establishing a prevailing sense of fellowship among our team members, friends, and neighbors.

• Collaboration – working with others towards the best solution, placing great emphasis on the collective wisdom of our internal teams.
• Family – celebrating others’ successes, genuinely caring about the happiness and well-being of our team members and recognizing their own families as extensions of the CPL family.
• Fun – not taking oneself too seriously, fully understanding that fun at work is conducive to productivity.
• Inspiration – contributing to an uplifting workplace that facilitates growth and success by maintaining a positive, upbeat attitude.
• Integrity – doing what is ethically right and providing reliable follow-through on commitments.
• Ingenuity – seeking new opportunities and consistently identifying unexpected and practical ways to solve problems.

CPL is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and as such affirms the right of every person to participate in all aspects of employment without regard to gender, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, disability, citizenship, military or veteran status, gender expression and/or identity, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.