Protection Department Manager; Midwest Region

The Protection Applications Department Manager is responsible for the managerial direction, leadership, development, and growth of the Protection Applications (PA) Department within Burns & McDonnell’s Midwest Region Transmission & Distribution (T&D) Global Practice. This role is responsible for developing a high-performing team, supporting and executing business strategy, promoting Burns & McDonnell’s Mac Culture principles, and ensuring the department delivers high-quality technical work while supporting the needs of our clients and business.

The Department Manager will maintain an active connection to Protection Applications engineering and project execution while carrying full accountability for the leadership and management responsibilities of the department.

Specific areas of responsibility include:

• Provide overall leadership and direction to the Protection Applications Department through clear expectations, accountability, effective communication, empowerment, and sound decision-making.
• Advocate for Protection Applications staff with T&D and Burns & McDonnell leadership and help ensure the needs of the department and its employee-owners are understood and appropriately addressed.
• Maintain an accessible and approachable leadership presence and provide timely follow-up on employee, project, and organizational needs.
• Communicate department priorities, decisions, expectations, and business context with transparency and consistency.
• Foster a healthy, collaborative, and inclusive employee-owner culture grounded in Burns & McDonnell’s Mac Culture principles, safety, quality, integrity, accountability, teamwork, and outstanding service.
• Promote equitable and consistent people practices and decision-making across the department.
• Drive a culture focused on safety and compliance with company, regional, project, and client safety requirements.
• Develop and foster an innovation culture that challenges existing approaches and leverages tools, technology, and processes to improve quality, efficiency, and the employee and client experience.
• Interpret and support company and T&D policies, procedures, initiatives, and strategic objectives within the department.
• Develop leadership capability within the department and create opportunities for employees to grow their influence, ownership, and leadership skills.

• Meet regularly with department staff to understand career interests, development needs, performance, workload, and short- and long-term goals.
• Provide employees with coaching, guidance, feedback, and opportunities that support their continued development.
• Educate employees about career paths and opportunities throughout T&D and help them develop the knowledge, skills, experience, and relationships necessary to pursue their desired career path.
• Lead and conduct the annual performance appraisal process and support other performance and development conversations throughout the year.
• Establish clear performance expectations and provide timely, candid, and constructive feedback.
• Work with Human Resources and appropriate leaders to identify, prepare, communicate, and monitor performance improvement plans when additional performance support or accountability is needed.
• Identify technical, project delivery, leadership, and professional development needs and coordinate training opportunities with technical teams, business line leadership, and other departments.
• Promote mentoring, knowledge sharing, succession planning, and development of future technical and people leaders within the department.

• Establish effective and consistent communication practices for the department, recognizing that employees may require…