Senior Regulatory Permitting Specialist

Senior Regulatory Permitting Specialist

We're currently hiring a Senior Regulatory Permitting Specialist in the Sacramento/Central Valley region. On Team 12, you will work closely with WRA's Principals, Directors, and executive leadership to develop, manage, and deliver multifaceted regulatory projects primarily throughout California's Central Valley and Foothills. As WRA continues to expand our presence in this region, this is a unique opportunity to join WRA at a pivotal point in our growth, helping build out our presence and practice in the Central Valley and Foothills from the ground up.

In this role you will collaborate with clients, regulatory agencies, and interdisciplinary WRA teams to develop innovative solutions, lead complex consultation processes, and support successful project implementation. This is a remote position within the state of California; however, candidates residing in or near the greater Sacramento/Central Valley region will be prioritized throughout the process. We will consider candidates within the state of California who have established relationships in the region and are willing to travel regularly to field sites, client and agency offices, and WRA office locations as needed to support project work. This position reports to Rob Schell, Wildlife and Fisheries Director.

In this role, you will:

• Work with Principals as well as Director and Executive-level staff, including subject matter experts, engineers, attorneys, clients, prime or subconsultants to develop a project from idea, through planning and permit consultations in support of critical infrastructure and development in California's Central Valley and Foothills
• Merge technical expertise with regulatory experience to guide and advise clients on project due diligence, design, opportunities and constraints to develop and deliver a permitting strategy, schedule, and budget that reflects client priorities
• Coordinate, delegate, and oversee multidisciplinary teams, stakeholders, staff, and subconsultants on the preparation of technical studies necessary to support the permitting process
• Oversee or directly prepare permit applications
• Proactively manage budgets, prepare scopes of work and change orders. Identify and communicate project risks to Principal-level staff
• Oversee and mentor early career professionals on regulatory processes, project management, and professional development
• Participate in internal and external thought leadership at conferences or professional technical groups through publications, presentations, white papers, panel discussions, or similar

To be successful in this role, you will need:

• A bachelor's degree in biological sciences, engineering, policy, or related field
• At least 10 years of professional experience working in the consulting field
• At least 6 years of expertise preparing and consulting on 401, 404, 1600 LSAA, USFWS/NMFS Section 7 or Section 10 consultations, CDFW 2081 ITPs
• Proven experience building and managing across multidisciplinary teams
• Proven track record in a supervisory or leadership role
• Demonstrated experience in Transportation, Water, or Mine/Quarry Markets
• At least 5 years of project management experience, including preparing scopes of work, budgets and change orders
• At least 5 years working in California's Central Valley or Foothills regions
• A growth mindset
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present technical information to a lay audience
• A valid driver's license, reliable transportation (while WRA has fleet vehicles that can be reserved for field use, during busy field seasons a truck may not always be available) and willingness to travel to field sites and meetings
• The ability to walk, hike, and work outside for long periods of time

Desired but not required skills:

• Specialized expertise with Mitigation, SMARA, FERC Business Development experience
• Experience working on competitive proposals
• Strong leadership skills

WRA has an established internal leveling system for our staff that maps to salary bands that have been informed by market data. Our leveling system is dependent on years of relevant industry experience, education, and the level of responsibility and autonomy at which you're expected to operate.

The salary range for this position is $108,000 $146,000 which represents 2 job levels that WRA is open to considering for this role. In your first conversation with our recruiter, you may discuss leveling and compensation to make sure that expectations are aligned. Additionally, while the position is being advertised as a Senior Regulatory Permitting Specialist, based on leveling conversations, we may determine that Regulatory Permitting Specialist is the appropriate title for you. There will be opportunities to discuss this toward the end of the interview process; however, if you wish to discuss titles earlier in the interview process, please do so with your recruiter.