South Central Historic Preservation Program Lead

South Central Historic Preservation Program Lead Description At HDR, we specialize in engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services. While we are most well-known for adding beauty and structure to communities through high-performance buildings and smart infrastructure, we provide much more than that. We create an unshakable foundation for progress because our multidisciplinary teams also include scientists, economists, builders, analysts, and artists. That is why we believe diversity is our greatest strength. HDR is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We believe that the way we work can add meaning and value to the world. That ideas inspire positive change. That coloring outside the lines can illuminate fresh perspectives. And that small details yield important realizations. Above all, we believe that collaboration is the best way forward.

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Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change the world for the better. Read further to learn how you could help make great things possible not only in your community, but around the world.

We believe water is more than a resource, it's a shared responsibility. As part of our Water Business Group, you’ll help shape how communities manage water for generations to come. From delivering safe drinking water and treating wastewater responsibly to developing sustainable water supplies and protecting lives and property through flood control, your work will directly support public health, environmental sustainability, and infrastructure resilience. We bring together experts across disciplines to solve complex challenges with bold thinking and technical excellence. Whether you're modernizing aging systems or pioneering innovative approaches, your contributions will make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. This isn’t just a job, it's a chance to lead change, drive progress, and leave a lasting legacy. In the role of South Central Historic Preservation Program Lead, we'll count on you to:

• Serve as the South Central Historic Preservation Program Lead and senior project manager for historic preservation, architectural history, and preservation planning work across the South Central Cultural Resources practice.
• Grow new business in historic preservation services by identifying target clients, developing client relationships, supporting pursuits, preparing scopes, and developing cost estimates for preservation-focused work. This may include, but it is not limited to taking client meetings, giving marketing presentations, or supporting the marketing team in their promotional efforts.
• Collaborate with marketing and business development leadership to market existing and new clients that may benefit from HDR’s historic preservation services.
• Build and implement a practical historic preservation service platform that complements the current cultural resources management services offerings and integrates with archaeology, environmental planning, transportation, water, power, industrial, municipal, and development-related work.
• Lead and manage preservation projects from inception through completion, including schedules, budgets, scopes, staffing plans, deliverables, quality reviews, client communication, and corrective actions when work varies from approved schedule or cost parameters.
• Expand and deliver existing historic preservation and cultural resources services, including (but not limited to) on-call preservation expertise, historic resource surveys, National Register of Historic Places evaluation and nomination support, local historic district development, area plans, and preservation-related research and storytelling.
• Develop and deliver new preservation services, including code enforcement support, maintenance plans and guidebooks, adaptive reuse planning, implementation schedules, National Register use plans, Certified Local Government status guidance, community research and storytelling, grant assistance, economic development, historic preservation training, etc.
• Support clients engaged in preservation programs, communities experiencing rapid population growth, communities with new NRHP designations or newly adopted plans, infill and redevelopment opportunities, grant winners, and other clients with preservation-sensitive project needs.
• Mentor and support historic preservation team members, including, architectural historians, historians, preservation specialists, and museum collections personnel.
• Serve as primary or secondary author on historic preservation, architectural history, and cultural resources technical reports, memoranda, inventories, planning documents, and client-facing deliverables.
• Manage administrative and technical aspects of historic preservation projects under the National Historic Preservation Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Antiquities Code of Texas, and other applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
• Coordinate Section 106, SHPO/THPO, municipal, stakeholder, and public-facing preservation processes in collaboration with HDR technical leads, project managers, and client teams.
• Collaborate with archaeologists, architectural historians, historians, planners, GIS specialists, environmental staff, senior reviewers, and associated cross business group personnel to plan, staff, execute, and deliver multidisciplinary cultural resources projects.
• Provide technical direction, mentoring, and quality oversight for preservation and architectural history staff, including review of draft reports, resource documentation, National Register materials, preservation plans, and related deliverables before final content review.
• Maintain project records and information using HDR project management systems and tools, and participate in project reviews in collaboration with accounting, project management, and technical leadership.
• Represent HDR with professionalism in client meetings, interviews, community discussions, public-facing preservation settings, conferences, and business development activities.
• Perform other duties as needed.

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to effectively communicate in person, by telephone, and by email.
• Must be able to effectively work in minimally supervised and/or unsupervised environments.
• Work hours other than 8 to 5 may be required, which may include occasional evenings, weekends, public meetings, or client/community events.
• Must be able to travel to client sites, community meetings, project locations, and HDR offices as needed.
• Must have a valid driver's license and be able to operate a vehicle day or night.
• Approximately 10-20% travel anticipated.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in historic preservation, architectural history, architecture, planning, public history, anthropology, archaeology, or a closely related field.
• Meets or is able to demonstrate alignment with the Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualification Standards in architectural history, history, historic architecture, or a related preservation discipline, as applicable to assigned work.
• Experience managing historic preservation projects that include architectural history, archaeology coordination, municipal planning, stakeholder engagement, grant assistance, adaptive reuse, or community-facing interpretation.
• Experience with Section 106 coordination, NRHP eligibility/effects documentation, SHPO/THPO consultation support, local preservation ordinances, or preservation-sensitive planning and development review.
• Experience working with city, county, nonprofit, Main Street, economic development, transportation, water, power, or municipal clients.
• Demonstrated ability to develop new service offerings, build templates and delivery processes, train or mentor staff, and translate market opportunities into executable project scopes.
• Professional certification, registration, or affiliation relevant to historic preservation, planning, architecture, project management, or cultural resources consulting.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• A minimum of 7 years experience
• Professional registration, license or certification may be required based on role
• Strong communication and listening skills
• Ability to handle multiple assignments
• Good leadership and organizational skills
• An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture is a must

What We Believe HDR is our company. Together, we build on each other's life experiences and perspectives to make great things possible every day. This shapes our collaborative culture, encourages organizational trust and connects us closer to the clients and communities we serve.

Our Commitment As employee owners, we all have a role in creating an inclusive environment where each of us is welcomed, valued, respected and empowered to bring our authentic selves to work every day.

Our eight Employee Network Groups (Asian Pacific, Black, Hispanic/Latino(a), LGBTQ+, People with Disabilities, Veterans, Women, Young Professionals) help create a sense of belonging and foster a supportive environment where everyone is empowered to engage and contribute. Each group has an executive sponsor and is open to all employees.