Vice President of Planning -- Carolinas in Greenville, South Carolina at Goodwyn Mills Cawood LLC

Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC) is one of the largest privately held architecture and engineering firms in the Southeast, with offices located throughout Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

GMC is growing and has an opening for a Vice President of Planning in Greenville, SC. The Planning Vice President is responsible for providing strategic leadership, technical direction, and business development oversight for the firm's planning practice. This position is responsible for advancing the firm's planning capabilities, managing complex and high-profile planning initiatives, cultivating and maintaining key client relationships, and leading multidisciplinary teams in the delivery of innovative, sustainable, and resilient planning solutions.

The Vice President will serve as a senior leader within the organization, working closely with executive leadership to establish practice goals, identify market opportunities, strengthen client relationships, and ensure the continued growth and success of the planning practice. The position will balance high-level strategic leadership with engagement in selected projects, providing technical expertise, quality oversight, and executive-level guidance.

The successful candidate will be a recognized planning professional with strong leadership, communication, relationship-management, and business development capabilities and a demonstrated ability to translate planning expertise into successful client outcomes and sustainable business growth.

Essential Job Duties

Strategic & Organizational Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership and direction for the firm's planning practice, including establishing annual goals, priorities, service offerings, and growth strategies.
• Develop and implement long-term strategies to expand and strengthen the firm's planning capabilities and market position.
• Collaborate with executive leadership to identify emerging market trends, client needs, and opportunities for new or expanded planning services.
• Establish and maintain standards, processes, and best practices that promote consistent, high-quality planning services across the organization.
• Provide executive oversight of significant, complex, or high-profile planning assignments.
• Serve as a senior advisor to project teams and leadership on complex planning, land use, regulatory, and development issues.
• Evaluate the firm's planning resources, staffing needs, technical capabilities, and organizational structure to support current and future business objectives.
• Contribute to corporate strategic planning, operational planning, budgeting, and performance management.
• Represent the planning practice in internal leadership meetings and contribute to firm-wide decision-making.

Project & Technical Leadership

• Provide senior-level oversight and direction for comprehensive planning, land use, urban design, development, transportation, environmental, and resilience projects.
• Lead or oversee multidisciplinary teams in the planning and execution of complex projects from project initiation through completion.
• Review and provide quality assurance for planning studies, master plans, zoning analyses, regulatory assessments, development strategies, technical reports, presentations, and other client deliverables.
• Provide expert guidance regarding zoning ordinances, land use regulations, comprehensive plans, development policies, entitlement strategies, and regulatory processes.
• Establish project objectives, methodologies, schedules, budgets, and performance expectations in collaboration with project managers and technical staff.
• Monitor the quality, scope, schedule, and financial performance of major planning assignments.
• Assist project teams in resolving complex technical, regulatory, client, and stakeholder issues.
• Stay current with emerging trends, technologies, regulations, and best practices in urban planning, sustainable development, resilience, environmental stewardship, and related disciplines.
• Identify opportunities to integrate innovative planning approaches, data analytics, GIS, visualization, and other technologies into the firm's service offerings.
• Serve as a senior technical resource and thought leader both internally and externally.

Client & Business Development

• Develop, cultivate, and maintain strong relationships with key clients, public agencies, developers, community organizations, and industry partners.
• Serve as an executive-level point of contact for strategic and key accounts.
• Identify and pursue new business opportunities consistent with the firm's strategic objectives and areas of expertise.
• Lead or participate in business development activities, including client meetings, presentations, networking events, industry conferences, and relationship-building activities.
• Develop and oversee proposals, statements of qualifications, scopes of work, fee strategies, and interview presentations for significant pursuits.
• Work with leadership and project teams to identify opportunities for expanding existing client relationships and cross-selling complementary services.
• Monitor market conditions and competitive activity to identify emerging opportunities and areas for practice growth.
• Represent the firm in professional organizations, conferences, civic activities, and other industry forums.
• Promote the firm's planning expertise and thought leadership through presentations, publications, professional associations, and other appropriate channels.

People Leadership & Staff Development

• Recruit, develop, mentor, and retain high-performing planning professionals and support staff.
• Establish clear expectations for performance, professional development, and career advancement within the planning practice.
• Provide mentorship and coaching to planners, project managers, and emerging leaders.
• Identify opportunities for staff to expand their technical, project management, client management, and leadership capabilities.
• Participate in hiring decisions, performance evaluations, compensation planning, succession planning, and workforce development.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing culture that encourages innovation, accountability, professional growth, and knowledge sharing.
• Develop and maintain appropriate staffing strategies to balance project demands, employee development, and business objectives.
• Promote effective collaboration among planning, environmental, engineering, landscape architecture, GIS, and other multidisciplinary teams.

Financial & Operational Management

• Establish and monitor planning practice budgets, revenue goals, utilization expectations, and profitability objectives in coordination with executive leadership.
• Monitor project and practice-level financial performance and implement corrective actions when necessary.
• Assist in forecasting staffing, revenue, workload, and resource requirements.
• Ensure projects are appropriately staffed and that resources are allocated effectively across the planning practice.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency, project delivery, and profitability without compromising quality or client service.
• Participate in annual business planning and establish measurable performance objectives for the planning practice.
• Support development and implementation of policies and procedures related to project delivery, quality assurance, risk management, and client service.

Collaboration & External Relations

• Collaborate with leaders across the organization to integrate planning services with the firm's broader multidisciplinary capabilities.
• Develop strategic relationships with consultants, developers, governmental agencies, professional organizations, and other industry partners.
• Facilitate communication and collaboration among internal teams, clients, stakeholders, and regulatory agencies.
• Participate in public meetings, hearings, workshops, stakeholder engagements, and community planning processes as appropriate.
• Represent the firm's interests and professional standards in interactions with clients, agencies, community groups, and the public.
• Promote the firm's commitment to sustainable development, resilience, ethical professional practice, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Minimum Qualifications

Education/Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning, Architecture, Environmental Design, Civil Engineering, Landscape Architecture, Public Administration, or a related field required; Master's degree in Urban Planning, City and Regional Planning, or a related discipline preferred.
• 12+ years of progressively responsible experience in urban planning, land use planning, development, environmental planning, or a related field, including significant experience leading complex planning projects and multidisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrated experience managing client relationships and developing new business opportunities.
• Demonstrated experience leading planning teams, mentoring staff, and developing emerging professionals and leaders.
• Proven track record of managing complex projects, programs, or portfolios with responsibility for scope, schedule, budget, quality, and client satisfaction.
• Experience developing proposals, scopes of work, fee estimates, and business development strategies.
• Strong understanding of land use planning, zoning, comprehensive planning, development regulations, urban design, sustainability, resilience, and related planning practices.
• Experience working with public agencies, private-sector clients, developers, community organizations, and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and apply financial and operational metrics to practice management.
• Strong proficiency with GIS and other planning, mapping, visualization, and analytical technologies; familiarity with CAD and related applications preferred.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities, make sound decisions, and lead teams through complex and evolving challenges.
• Strong business acumen and the ability to connect technical planning services with client needs and organizational objectives.
• Demonstrated commitment to professional ethics, sustainable development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Leadership Competencies

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to establish a clear vision and translate organizational objectives into actionable strategies.
• Business Development: Ability to cultivate relationships, identify opportunities, develop pursuits, and contribute to sustained revenue growth.
• Client Leadership: Ability to establish trust with senior-level clients and serve as a strategic advisor.
• People Leadership: Ability to attract, develop, motivate, and retain high-performing professionals.
• Technical Credibility: Strong planning expertise and the ability to provide sound professional judgment on complex issues.
• Financial Acumen: Understanding of project economics, budgeting, forecasting, utilization, and profitability.
• Communication: Ability to communicate effectively with executives, clients, technical professionals, public officials, community members, and other stakeholders.
• Collaboration: Ability to build effective multidisciplinary teams and partnerships.
• Innovation: Ability to identify and implement new approaches, technologies, and service offerings.
• Accountability: Demonstrated commitment to quality, ethical practice, client service, and organizational performance.

Licensure/Certifications

• Professional certification or licensure such as AICP, RPP, LEED AP, or equivalent preferred.
• Additional certifications related to project management, sustainability, resilience, urban design, or related disciplines are beneficial.

Travel Expectation

• Approximately 15–25%, including client meetings, site visits, public meetings, professional conferences, business development activities, and other necessary business travel.

Physical Demands

• This position primarily involves work in a professional office environment, with periodic work in the field, at project sites, public meetings, and client locations.
• Field activities may involve exposure to varying weather conditions, temperatures, uneven terrain, construction environments, and other typical site conditions.
• Employees are required to use appropriate protective clothing and equipment when performing fieldwork or visiting active project sites.
• Ability to occasionally lift and carry materials or equipment weighing up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to sit, stand, walk, and travel as required to perform the essential functions of the position.

Success Measures

Success in this position will be demonstrated through:

• Growth and profitability of the planning practice.
• Successful development and retention of key client relationships.
• Growth of new and repeat planning business.
• Successful delivery of complex projects with high levels of client satisfaction.
• Development, retention, and advancement of planning staff.
• Increased integration of planning services with the firm's broader multidisciplinary capabilities.
• Strength and reputation of the firm's planning practice within its target markets.
• Development of new planning services, capabilities, and market opportunities.
• Consistent adherence to the firm's professional, ethical, quality, and operational standards.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veterans

About GMC

We believe in community, collaboration, and using the power of creativity and hard work to make a difference. Whether designing schools, parks, hospitals and other commercial developments, or providing clean water, safe streets and restoring resilient environments, GMC takes great pride in serving our communities through the transformative work we do. Every project is guided by the foundational concept that communities are built by people, not companies, and we strive to serve our communities with quality, integrity, creativity and care. One of the Southeast’s most comprehensive multi-disciplined firms, GMC is equipped to provide all of the services associated with architecture, interior design, civil engineering, environmental services, landscape architecture, planning, transportation engineering, geotechnical engineering, electrical engineering, surveying and disaster recovery.