Planning Director

SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking a Planning Director - for our New Mexico/Four Corners subregion, to lead the growth and expansion of our Planning and NEPA team across the New Mexico/Four Corner's offices (Albuquerque, NM; Durango, CO). This position requires technical expertise in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementation and process management, State and County Permitting aspects, and the ability to lead experts and team members across the planning discipline to consistently produce work of superior quality for clients throughout the New Mexico/Four Corners sub-region.

This position requires excellent leadership skills to successfully manage the execution of project work, workload management of a team of 16+ individuals, overseeing business development processes, delivering for our clients, and building and maintaining an exceptional planning team. The Planning Director will report to the Senior Natural Resources Director. This is a regular, full-time, salaried position with compensation based on individual qualifications and experience. The preferred location for this position would be in New Mexico (Albuquerque or Santa Fe), but may also be located in Durango, CO.

When it comes to SWCA's planning practice, the New Mexico/Four Corners team is renowned for the excellent quality of our work, our commitment to our clients, and an unparalleled team of professionals. We continuously strive to be the premier environmental consultancy in this market by offering a work environment that promotes employee engagement and development. The successful candidate will coordinate closely with peers across the South Region and throughout the company.

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing, 1,850 staff, employee-owned firm, providing a full-spectrum of environmental services. Our Vision (North Star) is to make SWCA the best workplace and industry leader in sustainability, bringing sound science and creative solutions to global environmental challenges while maintaining a dedication to employee-ownership. We live our core values: we collaborate as #OneSWCA; we are #AlwaysLearning, we #NeverSettle, and we #GiveBack.

Candidates must submit a brief letter of interest with their application.

Application deadline: Our team will begin reviewing applications immediately, and interviews will be scheduled with qualified candidates on a rolling basis. The application process will remain open until we have received a robust pool of qualified candidates. Once we have identified suitable individuals, we may close the application process without prior notice. We appreciate the time and effort invested by all applicants and will carefully consider each submission.

As the Planning Director, you will have the following responsibilities:

People/Team Leadership (35% of workload)

• Mentorship: Support career mobility and growth within SWCA through active coaching and mentorship of team members.
• Hiring: Identify and attract top talent to SWCA, and carefully select new candidate hires, when needed.
• Leading: Promote a culture of leadership, teamwork, engagement, high-quality service, and client satisfaction.
• Driving Engagement: Recognize high performance and implement approaches that build and sustain high levels of motivation.

Technical Leadership (30% of workload)

• QA/QC: Take responsibility for program implementation of quality review and control processes.
• Innovation: Create a culture where experimenting to find new solutions is valued and supported, and feedback is routine and expected.
• Contract/Project Leadership: Participate in the execution of work by managing projects and contracts, as well as providing senior-level technical leadership and support.
• Technical Development: Develop and approve research and analysis approaches or designs.
• Strategic Project Engagement: Leverage experts effectively, engaging the right talent to achieve project objectives.

Client and Business Operational Leadership (35% of workload)

• Pursuit Leadership: Ensure appropriate level of review and approval of proposals, contracts, budgets, and expenditures through mastery of and adherence to the SWCA approvals matrix.
• Business Acumen: Monitor financial KPIs and redirect efforts as needed (e.g., productivity/utilization, multipliers, overruns, sales, etc.).
• Consulting Acumen: Maintain and generate awareness of market and industry trends, particularly the latest regulatory changes or technical advances, that impact the business through news sources, event attendance, and using your professional network. Build SWCA's brand as a thought leader in the science of environmental consulting.
• Service Area Expansion: Identify new technically focused opportunities to diversify the business, contribute to go/no-go analyses and lead teams (or act as leading technical contributor) in their pursuit. Provide senior review of proposals.
• Client Engagement: Contribute to the growth and maintenance of client relationships, both locally and regionally.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in planning, environmental studies, environmental management, or a field related to SWCA's planning services.
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in increasing levels of responsibility in management, including supervising and mentoring of professional staff, including recruiting, mentoring, developing, and coaching.
• Extensive experience in NEPA or NEPA Planning, including overseeing office operations, completing reports, reviewing technical work products, and managing project schedules and budgets
• Expert-level understanding of federal, state, and local regulations relevant to NEPA and environmental permitting.
• Strong understanding of financial metrics common in the environmental consulting industry.
• Extensive experience building and maintaining strong partnerships, both internal and external.
• Strong client-facing skills (e.g., communication, relationship building, problem solving).
• Proven record of developing new business and leading major proposal efforts.

Preferred qualifications

• Working knowledge of the New Mexico/Four Corners environmental consulting market and deep familiarity with its resources.

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing employee-owned firm, providing a full spectrum of environmental services. With offices across the United States, SWCA is one of the largest environmental compliance firms and ranks among Engineering News-Record's Top 200 Environmental Firms.

If you would like to contact SWCA regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the online application process due to a disability, please email accommodations@swca.com or call 1-480-581-5378. This contact information is for disability accommodation requests only. All other inquiries will not receive a response.

SWCA is committed to salary equity and salary transparency for all its employees. In alignment with this commitment, SWCA posts good faith pay ranges in all its advertised job postings to promote pay equity and transparency.

An employee in this Albuquerque, NM-based position can expect a salary of $124,571/year to $154,155/year*. Actual pay within this range may depend on experience, qualifications, geographic location, client requirements where applicable, and other factors permitted by law. Regular-status employees are also eligible for performance bonuses. Candidates are also encouraged to consider SWCA's Total Rewards package, which includes a competitive benefits package (https://www.swca.com/careers/benefits-wellness/), forward-thinking workplace flexibility, outstanding corporate culture, award-winning career development, and more.

EOE - women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply. At SWCA Environmental Consultants, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. We strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds, including those with diverse experiences and veterans, to apply. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce enhances creativity, innovation, and overall organizational success.

SWCA continues to invest deeply in career development programs, delivering our award-winning Career Landscape support resources to accelerate the growth of our staff. We recognize the valuable skills and experiences our internal team members bring to SWCA's continued success. Qualified internal candidates are encouraged to apply and will be seriously considered for this position. We believe in promoting from within, where possible, providing our existing employees with compelling opportunities to advance their careers.