Senior Environmental Project Manager

GFT is seeking a Senior Environmental Project Manager  to join our Environmental Sciences Team in

Owings Mills, MD! This role follows a hybrid work model, requiring regular attendance at our Owings Mills  office.

GFT’s Environmental Team

GFT’s Environmental team delivers integrated planning, permitting, design and compliance solutions that support infrastructure development across North America. Our team guides clients through Environmental Assessments and permitting processes, ecological and regulatory assessments and design, and environmental remediation efforts on projects that span transportation, power, water, and facilities markets. From environmental approvals to complex planning solutions, GFT helps clients protect resources, manage risk, and meet regulatory requirements with confidence.

What you’ll be challenged to do: As a Senior Environmental Project Manager, you will be responsible for technical excellence, project delivery, client growth, staff management/development, and environmental practice performance. This position provides strategic direction for complex environmental projects and programs, serves as a trusted advisor to clients and regulators, and strengthens organizational capability through disciplined execution, mentorship, and business leadership.

In this capacity, the successful candidate will be responsible for the following:  

Technical Leadership

• Serve as a senior technical authority in environmental planning, permitting, compliance, remediation, impact assessment, natural resources, ecosystem restoration, and related disciplines.
• Provide technical oversight for environmental studies, permit applications, environmental assessments, impact statements, remediation strategies, compliance documentation, and technical reports.
• Lead technical quality reviews to confirm regulatory defensibility, consistency with corporate standards, and overall technical excellence.
• Develop practical solutions to complex environmental and regulatory challenges while guiding project teams through execution.
• Maintain current knowledge of emerging environmental regulations, industry trends, client priorities, and best practices.
• Represent clients in regulatory coordination and negotiations with agencies such as MDE, USACE, and other federal, state, and local regulators.

Project Leadership and Delivery

• Direct large, complex environmental projects involving multiple offices, disciplines, clients, regulators, and subcontractors.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams through initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closeout.
• Manage field teams, staff, subconsultants, and subcontractors to ensure project activities are performed safely, efficiently, and consistent with scope and quality expectations.
• Serve as the primary liaison among internal disciplines, regulatory agencies, stakeholders, clients, and delivery partners.
• Establish project scopes, work plans, budgets, schedules, staffing plans, risk strategies, and delivery expectations.
• Negotiate contracts, scopes of work, amendments, task orders, and consulting agreements.
• Manage financial performance, including revenue forecasting, profitability, utilization, budget adherence, accounts receivable, and change management.
• Identify, communicate, and mitigate project risks, schedule constraints, resource conflicts, and regulatory challenges.
• Maintain consistent communication with executive-level clients, regulatory agencies, and key stakeholders.
• Deliver projects safely, on schedule, within budget, and consistent with client commitments and business objectives.

Team Leadership and Staff Development

• Mentor project/task managers, technical staff, and emerging leaders through coaching, technical guidance, and leadership development.
• Promote a collaborative, inclusive culture that supports professional growth, employee engagement, and knowledge sharing.
• Conduct performance reviews and provide feedback focused on growth, accountability, and advancement.
• Identify high-potential employees and support succession planning, onboarding, certifications, professional organization participation, and continuing education.
• Strengthen technical collaboration across offices, disciplines, and business units.

Resource Management

• Manage and oversee a team of technical personnel in a supervisory capacity including day to day management, goal setting, mentoring, and other administrative tasks as required.
• Coordinate workload balancing, resource allocation, and utilization planning across projects and programs.
• Identify expertise or capacity gaps and recommend resource optimization strategies.
• Collaborate with business leaders to recruit, retain, and deploy environmental talent effectively.
• Support workforce planning initiatives that anticipate growth, succession, and evolving market needs.

Organizational Leadership

• Contribute to strategic planning, operational decision-making, and implementation of environmental practice initiatives.
• Champion safety, quality, ethics, and corporate values across project teams and business operations.
• Strengthen collaboration among offices, disciplines, and business units to improve delivery, consistency, and organizational performance.

What you will bring to our firm: 

• Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Biology, Ecology, Geology, Natural Resources, or a related field.
• Minimum of 15 years of progressive environmental consulting experience; minimum of 5 years’ experience managing a team/staff.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams in a project management capacity and with large project portfolios.
• Proven record of client management, business development, and strategic pursuit leadership.
• Strong understanding of environmental regulations, permitting processes, compliance requirements, and agency coordination.
• Excellent leadership, communication, negotiation, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, complex projects, and high-visibility client and regulatory relationships.

What we prefer you bring: 

• Master's degree in a related discipline.
• Professional certification such as PMP, CEP, PWS, CHMM, PE, PG, or similar.
• Established client relationships within transportation, water, energy, federal, municipal, transit, or infrastructure markets.
• Experience managing projects exceeding $500K in professional services fees.

Compensation: The salary range for this role is $145,000 - $187,000. Salary is dependent upon experience and geographic location.  Featured Benefits: • Hybrid (in-person and remote) work environment.• Comprehensive benefits package including wellness programs, parental leave, and pet insurance, in addition to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.• Tax-deferred 401(k) savings plan.• Competitive paid-time-off (PTO) accrual.• Tuition reimbursement for continued education.• Commitment to professional development, access to internal and external training programs, and support of active participation in professional organizations• Incentive compensation for eligible positions.

At GFT, a privately held AEC firm, we innovate where transportation, water, power, and buildings converge. We call this the Infrastructure of Life. We measure our success by the strength of our relationships – that’s why we’re the employer of choice for 5,000+ of the industry’s brightest engineers, planners, architects, inspectors, designers, and more.

Our clients choose us for our expertise and prefer us for our nimble approach, creativity, and personal touch. Backed by over a century’s experience, together we’re building a lasting legacy for future generations: stronger communities, a healthier planet, and better lives. GFT: Ingenuity That Shapes Lives™ is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veterans’ status or other characteristics protected by law.

Unsolicited resumes from third party agencies will be considered the property GFT.

GFT does require the successful completion of a criminal background check for all advertised positions. 

Location: Owings Mills, MD Core Business Hours: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Employment Status: Full-Time

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