Senior Project Manager (Regulatory Specialist)

For over 40 years, Harris & Associates has helped to improve communities and create better places to live through smart, safe, more sustainable planning, design and construction solutions. Harris is a 100% employee-owned company focused on solving today’s complex challenges in planning, design, and construction. Our offices and project sites span the West Coast in California and Washington with a staff of more than 230 employee owners focused on serving clients in the municipal, water, transportation, and education markets.

Harris’ growing Strategic Advisory Services Division does industry-leading work in environmental planning and compliance, municipal and special district finance, one water solutions, and applied technology. Harris continues to expand the scope of these services while also building new capabilities in planning, climate change, hazard mitigation, resilience, and management consulting. If you are a driven, passionate, entrepreneurial, and motivated professional looking for a collaborative environment to grow our planning, land use, natural resources, and environmental compliance services across California at a firm that invests heavily in your growth, you could be a perfect fit for Harris & Associates.

Harris & Associates is looking for a Senior Project Manager/Regulatory Specialist (Southern California)

The Senior Project Manager/Regulatory Specialist is responsible for managing client relationships; leading the preparation of environmental analyses, compliance documentation, regulatory permitting and mitigation packages, and project schedules and budgets; assisting clients with permit compliance; and coordinating internal and external teams associated with project work and other environmental services activities. This individual must have experience with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This individual must also have experience preparing regulatory documents in compliance with the Clean Water Act, California and Federal Endangered Species Acts, California Fish and Game Code, California Coastal Act, and the California State Porter-Cologne Act.

Responsibilities & Duties

• Lead business development activities in the area of natural resources and programmatic regulatory permitting, including the identification of opportunities, preparation of proposals and participation in interviews to win new work
• Cultivate strong relationships with clients, including frequent communication to familiarize them with Harris’s services and identify opportunities associated with natural resources, regulatory permitting, CEQA and NEPA, climate change and adaptation, and other Harris services
• Act as primary point of contact with regulatory agency staff to process permit applications and negotiate mitigation requirements
• Develop mitigation strategies for projects in coordination with the client, lead agency, and regulatory agencies.
• Lead the development of regulatory permit application packages including both programmatic and individual permits incorporating robust mitigation strategies and conceptual mitigation plans
• Manage and lead the preparation of technical reports including biological resources studies, constraints studies, vegetation mapping, reports and documentation consistent with regulatory requirements
• Lead teams conducting field work including wildlife surveys, nesting bird surveys, botanical surveys, vernal pool surveys, wetland delineations, biological monitoring, and restoration
• Assist in recruiting, hiring, skill development, and mentoring natural resources staff
• Manage tasks related to CEQA, NEPA, biological, cultural, and natural resources, including those being prepared by in-house staff and sub-consultants
• Apply natural resources expertise to environmental analyses, special studies, permitting, surveys, and monitoring

Qualifications & Skills

• Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects of varying contract values up to $30M
• Demonstrated ability to manage large teams up to 300 people, including extensive field work components
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate and acquire programmatic permits for large utility clients (such as Southern California Edison, San Diego County Water Authority, Metropolitan Water District) from regulatory agencies including the US Army Corps of Engineers, Regional Water Quality Control Board, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and US Fish and Wildlife Service
• Strong relationships with key clients and regulatory agency staff
• Experience providing regulatory compliance training to clients
• Minimum of 15 years of related work experience managing projects requiring the preparation of environmental compliance documents and permit application packages with supporting technical studies
• Bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, environmental sciences, planning or related field. Master’s degree preferred. An advanced degree (Masters) in any of these areas may be substituted for one year of work experience.
• Certificate in wetland delineation from the Wetland Training Institute
• Strong computer skills including proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite
• Strong oral and written communication/interpersonal skills
• Strong research, mathematical/scientific and analytical skills
• Ability to multi-task and change priorities quickly
• The position may require infrequent travel

Compensation & Benefits

We offer competitive salaries and benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance. Harris & Associates is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an EEO/AA employer. We invite resumes from all interested and qualified candidates including women, minorities, veterans and persons with disabilities.

Harris & Associates is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, disability, marital status, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

79QkJadwFh