Job Title – Water Resources Consultant - Senior Level (Hybrid)
The role – what you’ll do
Barr is seeking a senior consultant to lead Barr’s growth in the Des Moines and central Iowa market. In this hybrid role, you will support technical and project leadership work. You will work closely with clients and multidisciplinary teams to identify opportunities, scope and execute projects, and provide strategic and technical guidance on a wide variety of water resources projects.
You will also help build lasting client relationships, develop new work, and help grow Barr’s Des Moines office and broader presence in Iowa. You will establish and grow Barr’s local and statewide presence through business development opportunities, client relationship development, brand building, industry engagement, strategic partnership development, and coordination of local market initiatives across Barr's market sectors and focus service areas.
The ideal candidate will demonstrate success in growth strategy; client development and retention; opportunity positioning and pursuits; proposal development; reputation building; and successful project delivery. The position also requires strong technical and project leadership, effective interpersonal and communication skills, senior-level collaboration and people leadership experience, and the initiative to work effectively in Barr’s collaborative and self-directed environment.
Your impact – key responsibilities
Business development leadership: develop strategic growth plans; manage and grow client relationships; lead business development efforts; support project positioning, proposal development, brand positioning, communications strategy, teaming partner development, recruitment planning, and industry engagement to expand market presence and build high-performing regional teams.
Industry leadership: represent Barr through client engagement, conference participation, professional organization involvement, thought leadership, and other activities that strengthen Barr’s reputation in Iowa. Help shape Barr’s long-term growth strategy across Iowa by identifying priority markets, service opportunities, strategic partnerships, and future staffing needs that support sustainable office expansion.
Collaborative office leadership: partner closely with Des Moines-based staff to align market-development activities with internal office needs, staff integration, recruiting coordination, and local office culture.
Strategic hiring and team-building input: provide input regarding future team composition, strategic hires, technical capabilities, and business development needs required to support market growth.
Technical knowledge: bring multi-disciplinary design team experience with an emphasis on water resources challenges such as hydrologic and hydraulic modeling and analyses, flood risk management, water quality modeling, stormwater BMPs, green infrastructure, urban stormwater projects, stream and lake restoration, and other tasks.
Project and task management: assist with planning, coordinating, and executing projects; help ensure project milestones are met; and provide regular updates to project team members and clients.
About the opportunity
Hybrid: a hybrid work arrangement may be considered for this position. A hybrid work arrangement refers to splitting time worked between a Barr office and a home office with at least three days, on average, in the Des Moines office. This position is based out of Barr’s Des Moines, Iowa, office.
Founding leadership opportunity: this is a unique opportunity to establish and grow Barr’s long-term presence in Iowa, influence office expansion, build enduring client relationships, and help create the next generation of Barr leaders in the region.
Work environment: ability to work in an office environment. Candidates must be able to perform job duties with or without reasonable accommodation.
About you – required core competencies
Education: bachelor’s degree in water resources engineering,…